Lady Dogs fall to Rockdale in 3-1 set
The Lady Dogs returned home on Tuesday to host the Rockdale Lady Tigers. Rockdale was the winner, beating Thorndale 3-1.
Thorndale came out of the gate slowly as the first seven points of the first set went to Rockdale. The Lady Dogs broke the drought, then scored with a big block by Jessica Yount (22) for a 7-2 deficit. Thorndale marched back and made the score 7-6 on two consecutive aces by Kassidy Eubanks (4). Rockdale answered with a railed 3-0 run to stay ahead 10-6. The Lady Dogs stayed strong with a kill by Emily Reeves (2) for a 11-7 deficit, then continued to close the gap more with a kill by Kyla Daniell (11) to make the score 12-10. Rockdale responded with 4-0 run to grow their lead to 16-10. Thorndale continued to fight back with a 4-2 spurt aided by a kill from Eubanks to close the gap to18-14. Thorndale stayed alive with an ace by Hadley Meadors (10) for 19-16 deficit, but it was not enough and would lose the first set 25-18.
Thorndale began slowly as the first three points of the second set went to Rockdale and the Lady Dogs soon trailed 5-2. The Lady Dogs tried to come back with a kill by Bethany Preusse (15) for a 6-4 deficit, and took the lead 8-7 with a big kill by Preusse. Rockdale retook the lead, but Thorndale got a big kill on a spike by Reeves for a 10-9 deficit. Thorndale fought back again and retook the lead, then made the score 12-10 on ace by Allison Owen (26). That was soon followed with a block by Reeves for a 14-11 lead, and Thorndale increased their lead to 19-13. Rockdale marched back and the score became 19-16, but Thorndale stopped their rally with a kill by Owen for a 20-16 lead. The Lady Dog lead increased to 23-17, and Thorndale would win the second set 25-19.
The first point of the third set went to Rockdale and Thorndale found themselves trailing 8-2. The Lady Dogs would get a kill by Preusse for an 8-3 deficit, and Eubanks tried to keep the rally going with a huge kill to close the gap and make the score 9-6. Rockdale responded with a 7-2 run and took a 16-8 lead over Thorndale. Yount spiked down a kill for a 17-9 deficit, but the Lady Tigers continued to pull away to lead 20-11. Thorndale tried to stay alive with a combined block by Reeves and Kaylee Beason (14) for 21-12 score, but it was not enough and would they lose the third set 25-15.
The first point of the fourth set went to Rockdale, however, Thorndale would take the lead and get two consecutive kills by Eubanks for a 3-1 lead, and soon expanded that lead to 6-1. Reeves showed her versatility with a big kill followed by a block to go up on Rockdale 10-3. The Lady Tigers stormed back to make the score 12-8, but Reeves ended their run with a clutch kill for a 13-9 lead. Thorndale stayed on the attack with a kill by Eubanks to expand their lead to 17-10. Rockdale went on another run and the score became 17-15, but Thorndale stopped their run with a kill by Reeves to stay ahead 18-15. Rockdale continued to pressure Thorndale and rallied with a 10-3 run to finish the set and defeat Thorndale 25-21 to win the match. The Thorndale Lady Dogs volleyball team participated in an in-season tournament over the weekend hosted by Leon. The Lady Dogs came out of the tournament with a record of 3-6.
Thorndale played three games on Thursday; the first game was against the Brazos Christian Lady Eagles. Thorndale lost to Brazos Christian 2-0, losing the first set 25-13 and the second set 25-15. The second game was against the Franklin Lady Lions. Franklin won 2-0, beating Thorndale 25-16 in the first set and 25-19 in the second set.
The final game of the day came against the Bremond Lady Tigers, and Thorndale lost 2-1. They lost the first set 25-15, won the second set 25-14, and lost the third set 25-18. Thorndale played another three games on Friday; the first game was against the Groesbeck Lady Goats. Thorndale lost to Groesbeck 2-0, losing the first set 25-21 and the second set 25-16. The second game of the day was with the Grapeland Sandies. Thorndale swept Grapeland, winning the first and second set 25-16. Their final game of the day was against the Central Heights Lady Devils, where Thorndale lost to the Lady Devils, losing the first set 25-21 and the second set 25-10.
The Lady Dogs found themselves in the silver bracket and played two games on Saturday; the first game was against the Grapeland Sandies. Thorndale swept Grapeland 2-0, winning the first set 25-9 and the second set 25-23. Their final game of the tournament came against the Cayuga Lady Cats. Thorndale swept Cayuga 2-0, winning the first set 25-10 and the second set 25-16.
The Lady Dogs will return to action this weekend in an in-season tournament hosted by Little River Academy. Friday night, they will pause their tournament play and travel to Lexington in a game set for 4:30 p.m. Details regarding game opponents and game times in the tournament are yet to be announced.