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Open and shut: Lady Bulldogs start, finish strong in five-set win
Photo courtesy of Rog Pachuta / buzzzphotos.com
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
The McKinney North volleyball team opened the second half of district on a winning note Tuesday by going the distance in a 3-2 victory against Greenville (25-11, 25-21, 23-25, 20-25, 15-12). The win evened the Lady Bulldogs district record, 4-4, and avenged a season-opening loss to the Lady Lions.
“The girls are still figuring it out, but they're playing well,” said Shannon Alvarado, North head volleyball coach. “They took the court and took it with force and were able to finish it off in the fifth set. It was nice to see them play through some adversity, though obviously we don't want that kind of adversity.”
The Lady Bulldogs got off to a perfect start and won the first set by a 14-point margin, which rates as their most dominant spread so far in district. They followed that with a win in the second set and were well on their way to a sweep before Greenville fired back with a rally reminiscent of its first meeting with North, which it won 3-1.
But after seeing their advantage slip away, North renewed its game to claim the final set, 15-12, and win its second five-set district match. Tuesday's win was the second in a row for the Lady Bulldogs, as they closed the first round of district Friday with a sweep of Sherman (25-18, 25-21, 25-17).
North rode dramatic contributions from senior outside hitter Allison Camp, sophomore setter Lindsey Denne and senior libero Lexey Wilson in its win against Greenville. Camp led the charge with a team-high 16 kills, while Wilson shored up the defense with 35 digs and Denne had a career-best 51 assists as the primary facilitator of the Lady Bulldogs offense.
The difference between North's first and second meetings with Greenville was a combination of simply giving a better performance during the latter match and improving overall as a team. The Lady Bulldogs were also still making lineup adjustments at the start of district that have since been ironed out.
“The first match [against Greenville] was a bad night for us,” Alvarado said, “but girls are playing better and we're starting to hit our stride at the right time.”
Tuesday's match was the first of a home-heavy stretch of games the Lady Bulldogs will use to close out district. They continue the homestand Friday with a 5:30 p.m. match against Royse City, who swept them in their initial meeting.
“It's a match we can win if we play well,” Alvarado said.
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