The Bowie Lady Rabbits got a big challenge Tuesday night hosting their first dual match of the season against Iowa Park and Boyd.
Playing some of the toughest teams the Lady Rabbits have faced so far, Bowie lost both matches in straight sets.
Bowie first played the 4A Lady Hawks. While the first set got away from the Lady Rabbits, with Iowa Park up seven points late in the set, the Lady Rabbits closed strong. The Lady Hawks did just enough to win the set, but Bowie made it close losing 25-23.
The second set saw the Lady Rabbits take control early up 7-3. Iowa Park came back and it was a back and forth.
The Lady Hawks grabbed control late in the set and won 25-21.
The third set started off close and competitive. Midway through Iowa Park started to pull away until it had a six point lead 23-17.
Bowie again came back and put pressure on the Lady Hawks, but Iowa Park would win 25-22 to take the match.
BJ Mills led the Lady Rabbits with 10 kills, Neely Price led Bowie with 24 assists and Taygon Jones had a team high 30 digs.
The Lady Rabbits did not play again until three hours later where they played the state ranked Lady Yellowjackets, fresh off a five-set win against the Lady Hawks.
Boyd did not let fatigue affect its performance as it controlled the first set. Bowie fell behind 10-5 and just could not close that gap for the rest of the set. The Lady Yellowjackets would win 25-19.
The second and third sets were more of the same, with the Lady Rabbits never establishing much of a lead and constantly trailing by more points than was comfortable.
Boyd won the second set 25-18 and the third set 25-19 to take the match.
Mills had a team high seven kills, Price had 22 assists, Jones had 23 digs, Jayci Logan and Gracie Duke each had one block.
The Lady Rabbits next play Millsap at 6 p.m. on Aug. 25 at home.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.