SPORTS
Volleyball Roundup
Bowie
The Bowie Lady Rabbits lost a tough opening district match to Henrietta on Saturday morning at home.
The Lady Cats won in straight sets 3-0 against the Lady Rabbits, who struggled to stay with the more experienced Henrietta team.
Coming into district play, Bowie is still growing week by week and will need to in a district with plenty of great teams at the top. Henrietta is the defending district champs and returns plenty from that team to look poised to getting it again.
With the Lady Cats having some big blockers at the net and ability hit on quick hitting set pieces, it was a challenge for the Lady Rabbits despite the inexperience.
The first set did not start well as Henrietta got out to an 8-2 lead. Even when Bowie started to settle down and play more competitively point-to-point, it was the Lady Cats that won the next six five-point exchanges 3-2 which caused their lead to grow throughout the set. Henrietta won 25-14.
The start of the second set was up and down for both teams until the Lady Cats grabbed control. Henrietta started 4-1, but then Bowie went on a 4-1 run to tie the set at 5-5.
Then the Lady Cats went 5-0 to establish control and the Lady Rabbits could not get it back. Henrietta won the next four five-point exchanges 3-2 to grow its lead again. The Lady Cats then ended on a three-point run to close the set winning 25-13.
Bowie needed to show more in the third set now down 2-0. The Lady Rabbits were only down 6-4, but again Henrietta started to win the five-point exchanges 3-2 to slowly but surely grow its lead to 21-14.
Bowie showed some life, going on a 4-1 run to get back some of the deficit, but the Lady Cats sealed the set on a three-point run to win 25-18. Henrietta took the match 3-0.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians lost a match against Lindsay on Friday night.
The Lady Knights won in straight sets 3-0, though two sets were pretty close.
Nocona was still missing senior outside blocker Meg Meekins, who missed her second game with an undisclosed injury.
The two teams have met in the third round of the playoffs the past two seasons, with Lindsay winning the first time and the Lady Indians winning last year’s match.
The first set was close, but the Lady Knights held control and won 25-22. The second set was not as competitive as Lindsay won 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set could have gone either way as it went to extra points. In the end, the Lady Knights came out on top 27-25. Lindsay won 3-0.
Kaylea Bowles led the team with 15 kills while Ava Johnson was second with 11. Kasi Castro had a team high 22 assists while Leah Meekins was second with 11 assists. Avery Crutsinger and Castro both had one service ace.
On defense, Paige Davis led the team with two blocks while Jolie Rose and Krisyah Parker each had one. Aubree Kleinhans led the team with 24 digs while Jonson and Meekins each had 10.
Nocona is next scheduled to play at 4 p.m. on Sept. 20 at Saint Jo.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers finished second at their hosted tournament during the weekend.
The Lady Panthers went 5-1 overall during the tournament before losing in the championship match.
Saint Jo was hoping to get some good momentum going in its final tournament of the season with district play closing in.
The Lady Panthers swept through pool play, beat Ector, Sacred Heart and Lipan without losing a set.
Saint Jo then started bracket play with a win against fellow district opponent Prairie valley. The Lady Panthers won in two sets to move on. Against state-ranked 2A team Detroit, Saint Jo won a close three-set match to move on to play in the championship match.
There they played fellow state-ranked 1A team Harrold. The Lady Hornets were state runners-up last year and with them moving into Saint Jo’s region, the team that could potentially stand in the Lady Panthers way if they want to make it to the state tournament.
Saint Jo lost the first set 25-18, but the Lady Panthers battled back in set two to win 25-18 to tie the match at 1-1. In the third and final set, it was Harrold that came through to win the closest set of the match 25-22, securing the championship for the Lady Hornets.
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs had an up and down tournament at Saint Jo last week.
The Lady Bulldogs went 2-3 overall, winning some matches but struggling against tough competition in others.
Prairie Valley started off well with straight set wins against Tishomingo and Munday in pool play. Unfortunately, the Lady Bulldogs lost to Grayson Christian to end the day 2-1.
This was good enough to advance the team into the gold bracket. Unfortunately, this meant the team was paired against future district opponent and eventual tournament runner-up Saint Jo. Prairie Valley lost 2-0 to move to the consolation side of the bracket. There the Lady Bulldogs faced 2A Alvord and fell short to end the tournament.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Lady Horns came back from a tough start to their tournament in Saint Jo to finish strong and earn the consolation championship.
The Lady Horns went 2-4 overall, but won their last two matches to earn the silver bracket consolation title.
Part of the trouble was in pool play where Forestburg had eventual tournament champion Harrold, state-ranked 2A team Detroit and 2A Chico to play all in the same day.
After the Lady Horns lost all three of those matches, they got put in the silver bracket where they played Sacred Heart. It was a close match in both sets, but Sacred Heart won both to send Forestburg towards the consolation side of the bracket.
There the Lady Horns beat Tishomingo easily to meet Ector in the title game.
After losing set one, Forestburg came back to win closely in both sets two and three to wrap up the victory.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Lady Eagles played some of the best volleyball they have all season at the Saint Jo tournament.
The Lady Eagles went 3-3 overall and ended up finishing second in the silver bracket.
The young and still inexperienced Bellevue team has struggled at times to compete this season while its tough schedule has tested it.
It seems to be paying off as the Lady Eagles easily won the first match of the tournament in pool play against Olney. Unfortunately, matches against Dodd City and Alvord did not go well and Bellevue ended pool play with 1-2 record.
That sent the Lady Eagles to the silver bracket. There they won matches against Tishomingo and Sacred Heart in straight sets to reach the championship game of the bracket.
Playing against 2A Chico, unfortunately Bellevue fell to the bigger school in straight sets to finish as runners-up.
Missing scores
The Bowie News did not receive scores from Gold-Burg’s match on Friday.
To read the full story pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
To see pictures of Bowie volleyball, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868909&T=1
To see pictures of Saint Jo volleyball, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868727&T=1
To see pictures of Prairie Valley volleyball, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868729&T=1
To see pictures of Forestburg volleyball, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868730&T=1
To see pictures of Bellevue volleyball, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868726&T=1
It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
-
NEWS3 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS2 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS2 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS2 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS2 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS2 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS2 years agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS2 years ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint