Lady Dogs start off district play with sweeps
The Thorndale Lady Dogs volleyball team hosted the Granger Lady Lions on Saturday, Oct. 5. Thorndale defeated the Lady Lions, winning 3-1.
Thorndale started the first set strong, scoring the first five points. The Lady Dogs continued to pile on with an ace by Kennedy Robinson (14) to take an 8-2 lead. Thorndale kept up their impressive serving with an ace from Katelynn Zrubek (2) for a 10-4 advantage.
Granger clawed their way back, but Thorndale halted their momentum with a kill by Reese Cloud (4) for a 13-10 lead. Granger continued their rally and tied the set at 13, then pulled ahead to lead 17-14. The Lady Dogs ended the drought with a kill by Robinson for a 17-15 deficit. The Lady Lions answered with a 5-2 run to stay ahead 22-17 and won the first set 25-19.
The first point of the second set was scored by Thorndale. Zrubek put the team on her back with a block followed with an ace to take a 5-3 lead. The Lady Dogs surged ahead with a to extend their lead to 8-3. Thorndale remained aggressive with a kill by Karley Breithaupt (3) for an 11-5 advantage and increased their lead to double digits at 16-6. Zrubek continued to show spectacular defense with two consecutive blocks for a whopping 20-6 lead. The Lady Dogs kept up the pressure with a kill by Kyla Daniell (13) to make the score 21-10. Thorndale finished strong and won the second set 25-11.
Thorndale continued their dominance and scored the first three points of the third set. The Lady Dogs added on to their great serving with an ace by Daniell to take a 7-3 lead. Thorndale showed superb defense aided with a block by Cloud to take a 12-4 lead. The Lady Dogs stayed aggressive with a powerful kill by Robinson to make the score 16-8, then expanded their lead to double digits with a kill by Zrubek for a 19-9 lead. Thorndale held strong to win the third set 25-13.
The first point of the fourth set went to Granger, then Thorndale responded with a 3-0 run aided by two consecutive aces by Hadley Meadors (10) to take 3-1 lead. Granger answered back and retook the lead 4-3 and surged ahead to go up 14-5. The Lady Dogs ended the drought with a spike from Breithaupt to make the score 14-6.
Thorndale continued to fight back and won the joust with a tip kill by Cloud to make it a 14-8 deficit. The Lady Dogs showed great fight and rallied all the way back to tie the set at 15, then took back the lead 16-15 on a big kill by Robinson. Thorndale kept up their momentum and increased their lead to 18-15. The Lady Dogs remained aggressive with a clutch spike from Robinson for a 21-17 advantage. The Lady Dogs completed the heroic comeback with a strong finish to win the fourth set 25-19.
The Lady Dogs traveled to take on the McDade Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Thorndale swept McDade 3-0, winning the first set 25-10, 25-9, 25-13. With this win, Thorndale has a record of 18-14 and a perfect district record of 4-0.
Up next, the Lady Dogs will travel to take on the Holland Lady Hornets. The game will be Saturday, Oct. 12, and is set for 1 p.m.