Volleyball is a game where momentum can change with each kill or diving save. The Quitman Lady Bulldogs took down District 14-3A runner-up Redwater in an exciting match that took five sets. Quitman won the battle 25-16, 18-25, 25-18, 20-25, 17-15 in front of a large and vocal crowd at Pittsburg.  

By taking the bi-district win, the Lady Bulldogs get to face off against the state’s top-ranked Class 3A team, the 35-1 White Oak Lady Roughnecks. 

Head Coach Ashlee Lingo was excited about the win. “I am really proud of the girls finishing this game. During game five when we were down by four, it could have been really easy to roll over and let them have the win,” Lingo noted. “These ladies battled! Redwater was a very scrappy team, but we kept pushing. We had a great crowd! This was an exciting win and I couldn’t be prouder of these ladies!”

The match was exciting from the first serve. Quitman took command early when Ava Burroughs got a kill and blocked shot for a point to give Quitman a 5-4 lead. The Lady Bulldogs did not fall behind in the 25-14 win.

After gaining that lead Carley Spears stepped to the line to serve and Quitman scored the next eight points to take a commanding 13-5 lead. The Lady Dragons could not get any closer. Leading 23-16, Burroughs hit a soft tapper just beyond the Redwater middle blockers and Brooklyn Marcee ended it with a kill.

In game two, Redwater jumped to an early lead and the Lady Dragons took this set 25-18 behind the play of libero Kassidy Warner. Warner made several hustle plays from the back line as the Lady Dragons led by as many and nine points when they surged to a 20-11 lead. 

Quitman opened the third set with a block by Burroughs for a score. This set was fought evenly with players diving and hustling on both sides. Spears, who had 41 assists, did a great job of getting the ball to teammates for good shots.

A Kaysi Parker kill gave Quitman a 16-12 lead on an assist by Spears. After a 17-13 lead on a kill by Maddy Pence, Quitman took over the set and won it 25-18 with Parker getting the final score on a well-placed shot.

In set four, Redwater got off to a good start taking the early lead 14-7. The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead to 17-12 on a kill by Ashley Davis, but Redwater made several good defensive returns and won the set 25-20. That set the stage for a dramatic 17-15 final set win for Quitman.

The final set was a close battle between a pair of evenly matched teams. Pence had a kill to get Quitman within two points at 6-4. After Redwater took a 10-6 lead things looked bleak for the Lady Bulldogs, but the never-quit Quitman team rallied to 10-9 on an ace by Pence. A kill by Brooklyn Marcee gave Quitman a 13-12 lead. After Redwater took a 15-14 lead, Quitman tied the game at 15-15. The Lady Bulldogs took the next point after hustling to keep the ball in play and then Quitman scored on a misplayed ball by Redwater to win the thriller 17-15 and advance to the area round of the playoffs. 

It was a true team effort as evidenced by the stats for the game. A pair of back line Lady Bulldogs had great games. Alexis O’Neal had 17 digs and an ace while Addison Marcee hustled for 11 digs. Burroughs led the scoring with 18 kills, five blocks, 17 digs and three aces. Brooklyn Marcee added nine kills, 18 digs and an ace. Pence added four kills, three digs, two aces and a block along with Ashley Davis four kills, two digs and four aces. Parker had six kills and three digs.

Quitman must face its toughest task of the season taking on White Oak in the area game. Time and date were not set at press time.