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Parris Pickett makes a dig in the Lady Cats 3-0 win at home over Pine Tree Friday. Pickett tied with Laney Hurst with a game-high nine digs. Staff photo by Tyler Lennon
SULPHUR SPRINGS— The Sulphur Springs Lady Cats hosted a pair of district matches Friday. They first faced Pine Tree and then took on Mount Pleasant in a makeup game from Sept. 29.
GAME ONE
Sulphur Springs opened the first set against Pine Tree with a 6-0 run, fueled by a pair of blocks from Sadie Washburn and another pair of blocks from Brooklynn Burnside. Later in the set, junior Peyton Hammack made a great dig that led to Carolline Hurley scoring on a kill to put the Lady Cats up, 10-2.
Sulphur Springs continued to dominate throughout the remainder of the hall. Pine Tree used their first timeout with the Lady Cats leading, 14-7. Burnside propelled Sulphur Springs in the final possessions of the set, scoring on a pair of aces and three kills, to help her team take the first set, 25-9.
The second set saw a much closer start, with the two teams trading points back and forth until the score was 8-8. From there, the Lady Cats went on a 12-2 run to give themselves a 20-10 lead. Their 12-2 run was in large part due to Washburn, who tallied three aces and a pair of kills during that stint. The Lady Cats finished strong and took the set by a score of 25-12.
Sulphur Springs opened the third set by scoring the first four points, two of which came on kills from Burnside. From there, the two teams traded points until the score was 14-10. The Lady Cats then finished the set on an 11-3 run to complete the three-set sweep, taking the final set, 25-13.
Washburn led the way for the Lady Cats offensively, finishing with 13 kills and eight aces. She also had a strong defensive game, tallying four digs and three blocks.
Burnside had a strong performance as well, racking up seven kills, four blocks and three aces in the 3-0 win. Hammack was the one setting them up, finishing with 21 assists in the match. She also had eight digs and two kills.
Laney Hurst and Parris Pickett excelled defensively for the Lady Cats, each finishing with nine digs and one assist. Bre’Asia Ivery was right behind them with seven digs and one ace.
Other contributors for the Lady Cats were Caroline Hurley, who had two kills, two blocks and a dig, Kaslyn Hurley, who finished with three blocks and a pair of kills, Nylah Lindley, who had a pair of blocks and a kill, and Addisyn Wall, who finished with two kills and a dig.
GAME TWO
The Lady Cats kept their momentum going into the second game where they took the opening set, 25- 18. The second set was a bit closer, but Sulphur Springs was able to pull it out, 25- 19, before blowing Mount Pleasant out in the final set, 25-6.
Burnside was the leading scorer in this one, finishing with an impressive 14-kill, seven-block performance. Just behind her was Washburn, who had 12 kills, four blocks, three aces and two digs.
Hammack had an even more impressive second game than she did in the first, tallying 32 assists, 11 digs, one ace and a kill.
Leading the way defensively was Pickett who racked up 14 digs in the 3-0 win. Pickett also had one ace.
Ivery and Hurst had strong defensive performances, with Ivery having seven digs and Hurst with six digs and four aces.
Caroline Hurley and Kaslyn Hurley each stuffed the stat sheet, with Caroline Hurley turning in three kills, two blocks and a dig, while Kaslyn Hurley had three blocks, one kill and a dig. Other contributors were Lindley, who finished the game with a pair of kills and a pair of digs, and Wall, who had two digs and one kill.
The Lady Cats are now winners of their last three games, making them 6-6 on the season and 3-1 in district play. The pair of wins also makes Sulphur Springs 5-0 at home.
They look to keep their streak alive with another home match Friday against Hallsville. The varsity is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. with the junior varsity and freshman teams to follow.