Season winds down, as KHS, Overton and Sabine get key wins
Oct. 20—It's October, so if you're not expecting a scare, shame on you.
Kilgore volleyball fans got a bit of a scare from the Lady Bulldogs on Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs, battling Chapel Hill at home and constantly, it seems, fighting with CHHS and Henderson for a berth in the UIL Class 4A playoffs, Kilgore lost its first two sets, only to bounce back and win in five, 17-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-10.
Overton picked up a huge win on Friday, and Sabine got a win, as well.
Kilgore: The Lady Bulldogs' win, slimmest of margins as it was, allows Kilgore to stay in the hunt for one of the four playoff spots in District 16-4A, although the Lady 'Dogs are not in one of those spots currently. There's more to do.
Kilgore, 4-5 in district play and with two wins each over Chapel Hill and Cumberland, have two regular season games left: at home against Lindale on Tuesday, which happened after the print deadline for this edition of the News Herald, and then on the road at Henderson on Friday, a 4:30 p.m. varsity start.
For an update on what happened last night, see the sports section on kilgorenewsherald.com
Winning both would be a big help, but wouldn't necessarily guarantee KHS a playoff spot. Being in fifth currently, they would need a little help.
Friday in the matchup against Chapel Hill, Maleah Thurmond had 13 kills, three blocks, and an ace. Catherine Dennis had eight kills, four assists, 13 digs, and four aces. Brook Couch, just a freshman, had seven kills, six digs, and three aces; and Summer Hayden-Epps had six kills and nine digs.
Also for Kilgore, Bryonne Brookes had two kills, two blocks, and seven digs; Ashton Vallery had 22 assists, seven digs, four aces and a kill; Alana Mumphrey had 10 assists and five digs; Jazmine Vasquez had six digs and an ace; and Isabell Witt had a kill and 11 digs.
Some impressive numbers for the season so far: Thurmond has 142 kills, 44 solo blocks and 27 block assists, and Vallery, the team's only senior, has 300 assists and 44 aces, all prior to Tuesday's home game against Lindale.
Overton: As mentioned, coach Rickey Hammontree's Lady Mustangs did have a big win Friday night, sweeping Union Hill, 25-21, 25-19, 25-14. This win, which ups their overall record to 24-11, allows Overton's Lady Mustangs to clinch second in district and prep for the upcoming battle in the UIL's Class 2A playoffs.
Kaley McMillian had 10 digs, 18 assists and five aces; Mary Fenter had nine kills, 13 digs and three aces; Kayla Nobles had eight kills and two digs; Chloe Laws had five kills, 27 digs and an ace; and Avery Smith had two kills, 22 digs and four aces.
Overton was to host King's Academy (Tyler) on Tuesday, a non-district matchup, and will host Union Grove on Friday, starting at 5:30.
Sabine: The Lady Cardinals shook off a tough non-district loss Tuesday for a big district win on Friday.
The Lady Cardinals shut out Daingerfield, and are now 7-2 in district play in a tough 3A district.
For Sabine, Maddie Furrh had 14 kills and two blocks; Cale Brown had 12 kills, eight blocks and two digs, and Ella Roberts had an outstanding nine blocks for the Lady Cardinals.
Also for Sabine, Roberts added two kills and six digs; Ally Gresham had 14 digs and four assists; Caitlyn Stewart had five assists and two digs; Katie Stansberry had two digs; Peyton Childress had five kills and five digs; Kaleigh Carney had one; Riley Lux had 20 assists and six digs; and Kathryn Dalby had two blocks.
Sabine has three games left: at home against New Diana, which would have been last night after press deadline; at home against Hughes Springs this Friday, at 4:30; and then at White Oak next Tuesday at 6:30.
