MARSHALL - The Sulphur Springs Lady Cats were on the road Tuesday to face Marshall for a district rematch. The Lady Cats won their first match back on Friday, Sept. 17 3-1. All four sets were very close, with final scores of 24-26, 26-24, 25-21 and 26-24.
After a loss in their last match to Texas High, Sulphur Springs was looking to get themselves back into the win column. Senior Brooklynn Burnside gave the Lady Cats some early momentum, pushing them ahead 5-4 to open the first set with a kill. Marshall scored to tie things up on the following possession, but junior Addisyn Wall scored on a kill of her own to give Sulphur Springs their lead back.
Kaslyn Hurley added a kill of her own just a few possessions later as the game continued to go back-and-forth. Despite their best efforts, the Lady Cats went on to drop the opening set by a very close score of 25- 23.
Hurley continued her strong play in the second set, scoring on a block to try to prevent Marshall from running away, as she cut the deficit to 10-7. With the set on the line, senior Peyton Hammack scored on a block of her own to keep the set alive, although they eventually fell 25-20.
Needing to win the third set to keep their hopes alive, senior Myssiah Dugan and junior Laney Hurst provided their team with a block and an ace respectively to give their team some firepower. The set remained close all the way through, as Burnside gave her team a 19-18 lead with a late block.
Leading 20-19, it was Hammack who came through with a big kill. The Lady Cats held on, taking the set 25-22 to force a fourth set.
In the fourth set it was once again Burnside who got things going with an early kill. Mali Maeker followed with an ace to give the Lady Cats a 3-1 lead, although that lead wouldn’t last long.
Sulphur Springs began to fall behind early, but a block fro Dugan would help them cut the deficit to 11-8. The Lady Cats tried their best to hold on and force a fifth set, but they would ultimately fall 25-19, to take their second consecutive loss.
Burnside and Wall were the leaders offensively, as their 11 kills and 10 kills respectively combined for over half of the team’s 40 kills. Burnside also had an impressive seven blocks, while Wall turned in five digs. Another big contributor offensively was sophomore Kinslei Smallwood, who had six kill, as well as one block and one dig.
Hammack had yet another impressive outing as the team’s leading setter, finishing with 32 of the team’s 34 assists. Hammack also had five digs, three kills and two blocks.
Defensively the Lady Cats had strong showings from a number of players, including Hurst who had a team-high 18 digs and senior Parris Pickett who had 12 digs. Sulphur Springs also got a great showing from Dugan, who had a team-high nine blocks to go along with her three kills.
Hurley finished the game with three kills, three blocks and three digs, while Maeker had a pair of aces and five digs.
The loss makes the second consecutive for the Lady Cats and drops their district record to 5-4. Despite the back-to-back losses to Texas High and Marshall, Sulphur Springs still sits firmly in fourth place of the district, with the next closest team being Longview with a district record of 1-5.
Sulphur Springs will look to finish their season on a strong note, hoping to improve their seeding heading into the postseason. The Lady Cats have just two games remaining, including their final home game Friday, Oct. 22 against Hallsville. The varsity will begin at 4:30 p.m.