The Bowie Lady Rabbits had a disappointing senior night on Tuesday in their final district match of the season against Iowa Park.
The Lady Hawks pulled out the win in a five-set match that went down to the wire.
The Lady Rabbits came into the match with second place in district secured and no way to move up. This match would be played with no stakes other that to get ready for the playoffs while celebrating its seniors.
Iowa Park was in a similar situation as there was no way to catch third and fourth place regardless of the outcome. Playing their final game, the Lady Hawks went out and played like they had nothing to lose.
Maybe it was those opposing attitudes heading into the game. Maybe Bowie was feeling even more confident since it had won the first match between the two relatively easy 3-1 back in September. Whatever it was, Iowa Park came out first as the aggressors.
The Lady Rabbits fell behind early by three to four points and just never caught back up. The Lady Hawks lead kept from 6-4, 9-6, 12-8 and 20-15. Bowie struggled in some serve-receive exchanges and Iowa Park’s good net play allowed it to get that lead and keep it.
There was no come back run for the Lady Rabbits as the Lady Hawks won 25-20 to take the early 1-0 lead.
The second set was not any better. In fact Bowie started the set worse down 14-6 and 18-7. Only a good run late kept the set score from looking too one-sided. Iowa Park won 25-18 to go up 2-0, but the Lady Rabbits had built some good momentum at the close of the set they hoped could be carried over into set three.
Bowie was down modestly in the third set 6-4 when senior Maddie Madela started serving. She along with the rotation of players the Lady Rabbits had on the court went on a 13-0 tear to go up 17-6 and change the trajectory of not only the set but the match.
Iowa Park was flustered and had no hope to come back as Bowie won the set 25-17 to extend the match into the fourth set down 2-1.
The beginning did not look promising. The Lady Rabbits found themselves down 11-4, 14-6 and 16-9.
This time however, Bowie did find itself coming back. Senior Neely Price served and combined with the solid play won five straight points to cut the lead to 16-14.
Eventually the Lady Rabbits tied the score up at 18-18. It was point for point up until Bowie earned at 23-21 lead entering the final points of the set. With that bit of lead, Bowie closed the set strong, winning 25-21 to tie the match at 2-2 and force a fifth and final set.
Even with the momentum, fifth sets are their own thing. With it being the first to 15 instead of 25, there is less points for a potential turnaround like Bowie had done in the previous set. Every lead beyond one point feels that much bigger in the fifth set.
It was back and forth, with both teams coming back from two points down at times before the score was tied at 12-12. Unfortunately, it was the Lady Hawks who closed out the set, winning the final three points to make it 15-12 and 3-2 for the match.

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