Quitman sweeps Mineola in district volleyball

By Larry Tucker
editor@wood.cm
Posted 10/1/20

After falling to Harmony Tuesday night, the Quitman Lady Bulldogs gave notice they are still to be reckoned with, stunning state-ranked Mineola in straight sets 25-18, 25-18, 25-22.

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Quitman sweeps Mineola in district volleyball

Posted

After falling to Harmony Tuesday night, the Quitman Lady Bulldogs gave notice they are still to be reckoned with, stunning state-ranked Mineola in straight sets 25-18, 25-18, 25-22. 

The win moves Quitman and Mineola to 1-1 in district volleyball. Mineola had defeated Mt. Vernon earlier in the week to open district. For the season, the Lady ‘Jackets are 9-3 while Quitman moves to 6-9. 

Quitman Coach Ashlee Lingo said the Lady Bulldogs made some rotation changes and they paid off.

“I am really proud of the ladies efforts tonight,” she said. “They really worked as a unit and it looked really good. We took a tough loss on Tuesday against a really good Harmony team. After that, I knew we needed to change up some things. So we made some changes and it worked against Mineola. We had a game plan and I feel the girls executed it. I am hoping these ladies continue to realize they deserve to be in the running for the district 13-3A title.”

A spirited home crowd buoyed by the Quitman football team in support of the Lady Bulldogs for the first game set the tone for the entire match. Quitman raced to a 5-1 lead when Ava Burroughs blocked a shot for a score. Carley Spears made a perfect set for a Burroughs kill giving Quitman an 11-3 lead followed by an ace by the 6’1” Quitman middle blocker.  

Although falling behind, Mineola was sparked by the consistent hustle and play of seniors Alyssa Lankford and Tahjae Black. Lankford was all over the floor diving after balls and playing stout defense.

An ace by Lindsey Hornaday put Quitman up 16-4. Mineola made it 16-7, but a perfectly executed soft drop shot by Brooklyn Marcee made it 17-7. The Lady Jackets refused to quit and fought back behind the play of Valerie Garcia and Brittany Pickle to cut the Quitman margin to 18-15.

From there it was all Quitman, as Burroughs added a pair of kills and an ace to finish off the set 25-18. It also must be noted the fine all around play of Quitman’s Lucy Brannon has also been a key for the Lady Bulldogs. Brannon is playing healthy after bouts with a severe illness this summer.

In the second set, the score remained close until Quitman started pulling away midway through the action. After Quitman took an 18-14 lead, the Lady ‘Jackets got no closer as the Lady Bulldogs closed it out 25-18.

The final set was a barn-burner as the Lady Jackets started with a 3-0 lead, but Quitman came back scoring five straight to take a 5-3 lead. Neither team was able to gain more than a three-point advantage.

Mineola took a 13-12 lead on an ace by Kaiden Gardner, and back to back kills by Pickle increased the lead to 15-12. Quitman tied the game at 15-15, and Black gave Mineola a 16-15 edge on a deep kill. 

Quitman came back to take an 18-16 lead on a Burroughs block and Hornaday score. A Quitman service error tied the score at 20.

With Quitman looking to put it away, Pickle and Garcia again had kills to cut the Lady Bulldog lead to 23-22. Brannon gave Quitman a 24-22 lead with a kill, and the Lady Bulldogs finally won it 25-22.

For Quitman, Burroughs had 18 kills and six aces while Brannon added 19 assists and a kill. Marcee continued her solid back court efforts throughout the match with 10 digs. Halie Davis played well with five kills and a dig while Hornaday had a kill and three aces with Alexis O’Neal recording an ace and three digs.