Lady Dogs fall in Bi-District heartbreaker
The Thorndale Lady Dogs traveled to Brenham to take on the Schulenberg Lady Horns in the Bi-District round of the playoffs on Saturday. The Lady Dogs were defeated in a 3-2 heartbreaker.
The first two points of the first set went to Schulenberg. Thorndale came back with four straight points, including an ace by Landri Martinka (26) for a 4-2 lead. The Lady Dogs extended the lead with a kill from Natalie Newton (3) to make the score 7-4. They stayed aggressive with an ace by Hadley Meadors (10) for a 11-6 lead, and Thorndale expanded their lead to 14-7. The Lady Horns came back and the score became 14-12. Thorndale tried to slow their momentum with a kill by Kinley Meadors (25) to make it a 15-12 lead. However, the Lady Horns came back and tied the set at 15 and took the lead 16-15. Thorndale fell behind 20-16, and would lose the first set 25-19.
The first point of the second set went to Thorndale. The set stayed even until an ace by Abby Dickerson (11) then a kill by Emily Reeves (12) gave the Lady Dogs a 13-10 lead. Thorndale continued the scoring run with a combined block by Reeves and Kassidy Eubanks (4) for a 16-10 lead. Schulenberg started their own offensive run to make the score 17-14. Thorndale tried to slow them down with a kill by Kyndal Robinson (14) for a 18-14 lead. The Lady Horns kept battling to bring the score to 18-17. Schulenberg tied the set at 18, then took the lead 19-18. The Lady Dogs would come back and tie the set at 21 on a clutch ace by Hadley Meadors, and would take the lead 22-21. That was soon followed with a kill by Kinley Meadors for a 24-23 lead, and the Lady Dogs would win the second set 26-24 on a big kill from Robinson.
The first two points of the third set went to Schulenberg. The set stayed even until the Lady Horns took a 6-2 lead. The Lady Dogs kept fighting with an ace by Hadley Meadors for a 6-4 deficit. That was soon followed with a kill by Newton for an 8-6 deficit. Robinson made it a one-point game with a big kill to make the score 10-9. Thorndale continued to trail but got a big point from Eubanks for a 17-15 deficit, then they tied the set at 17 on a big block by Kinley Meadors. Unfortunately, the Lady Horns pulled away to win the third set 25-18.
The first point of the fourth set went to Schulenberg, but Thorndale jumped to a 5-2 lead, then 10-2 on an ace by Martinka. The Lady Dogs extended their lead with a kill by Robinson for a score of 12-3. Schulenberg went on an 8-0 run to make the score 12-11, then they tied the set at 12. Thorndale stopped their momentum with a clutch kill by Kinley Meadors for a 13-12 lead, and they extended their lead with an ace by Robinson to make it a 15-12 lead. Their scoring run continued with a combined block from Newton and Kinley Meadors for a score of 18-12. Schulenberg rallied back and the score became 20-17. Thorndale tried to shut them down with a huge kill from Newton for a 22-18 lead. The Lady Dogs would win the fourth set 25-21 on a big kill by Reeves.
The first four points of the fifth and final set went to Schulenberg. Robinson broke the drought with a point to make it a 4-1 deficit, and they would come back and made the score 5-4. Thorndale tried to stay alive with a kill by Kinley Meadors for a 7-5 score. The Lady Dogs would tie the set at 8, then take the lead 9-8. The set would be tied at 12, but Schulenberg would finish the job and defeated Thorndale in the fifth set 15-12 to end the season for the Lady Dogs.
Hadley Meadors had a great game with 15 assists, 2 aces, and 4 digs. Abby Dickerson was great as well with 15 assists, 1 ace, and a dig. Kyndal Robinson played terrific with 20 kills, an ace, and 4 digs. Kinley Meadors was also a big factor with 12 kills, a solo block, and 3 digs. Congratulations to the Lady Dogs on a fabulous season.