The Bowie Lady Rabbits’ volleyball team played in its first tournament last week at the always tough Nike Advantage Sports Complex Classic in Carrollton.
The Lady Rabbits only lost one game each day as they made it into the division two gold bracket on Saturday.
The tournament attracts some of the best teams in North Texas at different levels of classification, meaning this will probably be where Bowie sees some of its tallest competition all year.
Right away the Lady Rabbits faced off against 6A power Allen’s junior varsity team in pool play. Bowie could not get anything going as the Lady Eagles won in straight sets 25-13 and 25-20.
The Lady Rabbits next played a foe who was more on their level, but would still provide a challenge in Gunter. After losing the first set 25-16, Bowie bounced back in a big way to win the second set 25-15 to force a third and final set.
With all the momentum on their side, the Lady Rabbits won a closely contested third set 25-22 to win their first match of the tournament.
Pool play ended with a game against 4A Sunnyvale. Bowie took it to the Lady Raiders as it won in straight sets 25-14 and 25-22.
The 2-1 record in pool play allowed the Lady Rabbits to play among the best teams in the gold bracket. Bowie was quickly tested as it faced off against 4A Sanger.
The first set was close, but the Lady Rabbits were able to pull away in the end to win it 25-21. The second set was similar, but the Lady Indians were not going away without a fight as they took set two 25-20 to force a third set.
Bowie bounced back in a big way as it grabbed a big lead early and never let go. The Lady Rabbits won the third set easily 25-11 to win the match and advance in the bracket.
Bowie next played a private school out of Plano, Prince of Peace Catholic School. While the scores were competitive enough, the Lady Rabbits were playing from behind in both sets as the Lady Eagles won both 25-16 and 25-21. Prince of Peace would eventually go on to finish runners-up in the tournament.
The loss allowed Bowie to play only one more game no matter what. The Lady Rabbits were matched up with another big time program’s junior varsity as the played 5A Aledo.
The sets were close, with the second set being as close as a winning set can get, but the older and more mature Bowie team won both sets with scores of 25-21 and 25-23.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.