The Bowie Lady Rabbits hosted reigning 1A Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state champs Christ Academy on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rabbits won in four sets against the Lady Warriors in their final match before district play starts Tuesday.
Bowie was coming off a tough loss to Peaster the following week which snapped a nine-game winning streak. With it being the last game action until they start to count towards playoff seeding, it was important the Lady Rabbits had a good showing to feel good about heading into district play.
Despite Christ Academy’s impressive resume of three state titles in the last four years, the Lady Rabbits came out ready to dominate.
Bowie comfortably took the first two sets 25-17 and 25-15, controlling them with superior net presence and tough serving.
In the next set the Lady Rabbits suffered a bit from third-set-syndrome. After winning the first two sets with little trouble, sometimes teams do not come out focused to close things out in the third set which can allow a much closer or even losing the third set.
That was what happened for Bowie, along with a starter going down with an ankle injury that sidelined her for the rest of the match. Coach Ashley Sanders was already challenging her team, using different lineups and subbing out players who usually never leave the court.
All of that seemed to contribute towards a lackluster third set where the Lady Rabbits were never really into it. The Lady Warriors started making plays at the net and their serves were giving Bowie trouble. Wichita Christian won 25-17 to continue the match.
The fourth set was the most competitive of the match. Not wanting to open the door to a possible set five, the Lady Rabbits were more focused but it was a struggle to the finish line.
Bowie was up 9-6 early on, but lost the lead and looked like it might be getting left behind again down 14-11. The Lady Rabbits came back to tie the score up soon after and it was back and forth to the finish line.
Bowie grabbed a little lead 21-19 before closing out the set strong to win 25-22 and the match 3-1.

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