Ladycats cruise past Brewer

The Aledo Ladycats volleyball team started off District 5-5A play on the right foot with an impressive performance Friday night.

Before the Bearcats football team finished off their 64-0 district-opening win at Brewer, the Ladycats handled business at the Brewer Lady Bears in their first district contest. The Ladycats (19-7 overall) won in straight sets by a final score of 25-11, 25-13 and 25-16.

Aledo raced out of the gates to open up the first set. Star junior Alyssa Todd had the opening kill, junior middle blocker Lilly Lufkin followed with two blocks on the next three points and Brewer quickly called a timeout after an opening 5-0 barrage from Aledo.

The Ladycats’ opening run grew to 9-0 as Todd hammered two more kills, Kinley Elms recorded a kill and senior setter Ava Reding served an ace. However, the home team Lady Bears surged back into the match with a surprising 6-0 run of their own.

After Todd put down a kill to end Brewer’s run, the Ladycats’ surge resumed as Aledo’s lead grew to 17-7 following an 8-1 push by the Ladycats that forced Brewer to use its second timeout. Dominant front line play from Elms and senior Haley Lowe carried Aledo during its big run, and Lowe recorded a kill and a block on back-to-back possessions out of the timeout.

Senior defensive specialist Ella Meador served two aces in the closing run while teaming with libero Kenrie Pruitt for a bevy of digs and quality passes to setters Ava Reding and Sophie Frank. Todd ended the first set with a thunderous kill as Aledo’s energy and effort carried over into the second and third sets.

Strong play up front continued to be a theme for Aledo throughout the match while the back row players and setter contributed mightily as well. The Ladycats went on to roll past Brewer, outscoring the home team by 21 points in the final two sets combined.

Elms led the way with 16 kills and five blocks, while Lowe produced six kills and three blocks. Todd finished the night with 10 kills, while senior Ella Isbell added four blocks. Meador and Pruitt shined on the back row as each player finished with 20 digs.

Meador also served five aces while Reding had two aces along with her team-high 25 assists. Caroline Pruett also contributed from behind the service line with two aces while Lufkin had two blocks. Frank also chipped in with seven assists.

Ladycats sweep Midway to conclude pre-district slate

In their final pre-district tune up, the Aledo Ladycats volleyball team hosted the Waco Midway Lady Panthers, who entered the match with a 21-11 overall record. Aledo overcame a sluggish start to down the Lady Panthers for a victory in straight sets. The Ladycats won their seventh match in a row by a final score of 25-21, 25-14 and 25-19.

“We came out a little flat, but we did bounce back and set the tone without making too many errors in a row,” Ladycats head coach Claire Gay said. “We’ve talked a lot about finishing matches in the locker room and we try to instill drills in practice where the girls have to work really hard to finish with pace and discipline.”

Aledo got a notable contribution from Morgan Esteves, whose quality workload on the night outshined her final stat line that included six kills, and Gay has been pleased to see her senior’s contributions strengthen as she had to overcome an early injury.

“We had an injury with Morgan at the beginning of the year, who has been kind of a utility player for us the last three years. We needed a spark on the outside and she really stepped up to the plate,” Gay said. “Her getting hurt in that first scrimmage was a bummer for us, but she’s gotten healthy and has been getting her confidence back. She’s a great ball handler and has done a really good job for us especially in these last couple of games.”

Todd led the offense with eight kills to go with nine digs while Lowe and Esteves each finished with six kills. Lowe also had two blocks while Reding, Meador and Frank recorded two service aces apiece. Reding and Frank combined for 23 assists while Meador recorded a team-high 15 digs. Kenrie Pruitt and Logyn Denbow recorded 11 and 10 digs, respectively, while Elms tallied five kills.