Throughout the first two sets of Tuesday night’s match, it looked as though the Lady Cats Volleyball team were about to be swept for the second game in a row against another district foe, this time the Marshall Lady Mavs.
The Lady Mavs ran away with the first set, thanks in large part to a strong defensive presence the Marshall varsity squad provided at the net. Many blocks ended up as points for the Lady Mavs, and it certainly didn’t help the Lady Cats that multiple errors put the home squad in a hole. Marshall dominated early, winning the first set by a score of 20-25.
The Lady Cats fought back in the second set, taking the lead early, at one point 17-13, but the Lady Mavs struck back with more ferocity, winning the second set, 23-25.
That’s about when the magic started.
In the third set, with the Lady Cats staring at the brink of defeat, and their fifth loss in a row, at that, would not go gentle into that good night. The Sulphur Springs squad began the match set ahead, and tied the game five separate times following the hot start; 4-4, 5-5, 7-7, and 8-8, 14-14 and from there, fought ferociously all the way to a victory in the third set, 25-19.
The fourth set was all Lady Cats, all the time, as they throttled the visiting Lady Mavs, 25-13.
The fifth set was dramatic and full of tension in the Main Gym, but the Lady Cats’ momentum carried them all the way to a resounding 15-8 set 5 win, giving the Sulphur Springs varsity squad the dramatic come-from-behind win.
Lady Cats (1-1 district, 4-6 overall) Volleyball Coach Bailey Dorner said it was nice to see strength through adversity in her squad in the win over the Marshall Lady Mavs (0-2 district, 2-5 overall).
“A lot of times when we have a fifth set, we get really relaxed,” Coach Dorner said, adding on that sometimes her team will give up a big lead early, like they did in the first set against Marshall.
The coach said “It was nice to see us on the opposite side, to jump out there and get ahead of them right off the bat.”
“It was nice to see them stay on their toes and finish a game,” Coach Dorner said about her squad’s performance.
Coach Dorner said the volleyball team has not won a match that has gone to 5-sets since August, during the preseason — of 2019.
“We joke we have a curse about the 5th set,” Coach Dorner said, “but we overcame it tonight.”
Coach Bailey Dorner said it was nice to see the Lady Cats fight; that her squad fought with a little heart and that fighting with a little competitive edge was nice to see for the varsity volleyball coach.
With the dramatic, come-from-behind victory, the Lady Cats (1-1, 4-6 overall), Sulphur Springs notched their first district win and snapped a four-game losing streak.
Next up the Lady Cats Volleyball Team will have a dual-match on Friday, first playing Pine Tree (1-1, 2-5 overall) at 4 P.M., and a make-up game with Mt. Pleasant (0-0, 0-1 overall) that was originally to be played on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020.
