Lady Cats open their season with strong start
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The Sulphur Springs Lady Cats volleyball team opened their season last week and immediately hit the ground running. The Lady Cats played seven games in their opening week, giving themselves a chance to knock off the rust early.
Mount Pleasant
Sulphur Springs opened the season with a road match against the Mount Pleasant Lady Tigers. The Lady Cats came out the gate hot, taking the first two sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-15. From there ,Mount Pleasant led the way, forcing a fifth set.
Despite the momentum being on Mount Pleasant’s side, Sulphur Springs was able to once again take control of the game. The Lady Cats took the final set 15-10, winning the opening match 3-2.
Senior Addisyn Wall led the team in kills with nine, while junior Mary Taylor was right behind her with seven. Sophomore Trinity Jefferson had a huge game, leading the team in blocks (8) and assists (18.)
The Lady Cats had Wednesday off, before playing in three games on Thursday.
Grand Saline
Their first game Thursday was against Grand Saline, and the Lady Cats handled business. Sulphur Springs controlled the entire game, winning by scores of 25-13 and 25-10.
Wall once again led the team in kills, this time with seven. A big standout in this one was freshman Rainey Johnson, who had all 15 recorded assists for the Lady Cats.
Hughes Springs
Immediately after the Lady Cats went up against Hughes Springs, in what was an equally impressive match. The Lady Cats once again only needed two sets, taking them by final scores of 25-15 and 25-16.
Senior Laney Hurst had a great day serving, picking up a team-high five aces in the match. Jefferson was once again the one setting things up, picking up an impressive 17 assists in the match.
Taylor had five of the team’s seven blocks, while Wall once again led the way with nine kills.
Mount Vernon
After opening their season with three straight wins, the Lady Cats were finally handed their first loss of the season. Sulphur Springs opened the match hot, taking the opening set by a final score of 25-18.
From there, it was Mount Vernon who controlled things, taking the second set 25-21. The third set was a close affair that needed extra time to finally be decided. Mount Vernon was finally able to pull things out by a score of 28-26, hanging the Lady Cats their first loss of the year.
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Statistically it was still a strong outing for Sulphur Springs, as they had 34 kills as a team. Senior Mali Maeker had her best outing yet with five aces, while Wall and Jefferson were right behind her with four each.
Jefferson also had her best performance yet, posting 20 assists in the three-set loss. The Lady Cats would have a day of rest Friday, before playing another three games on Saturday.
Miller Grove
Looking to get back in the win column, the Lady Cats set the tone early in the match against Miller Grove. Sulphur Springs won the first set by a score of 25-14, before taking the second set by an equally impressive score of 25-15.
Community
Up next was a tough opponent in Community. Things stayed close the entire game, as neither team was fully able to pull away from the other.
Despite things staying close, the Lady Cats were still able to win the game in two sets. Sulphur Springs won the opening set by a score of 25-20 before winning an even closer second set by a score of 26-24.
Paris
In their final match of the weekend, Sulphur Springs went up against a team they will become very familiar with this season. The opening set paved the way for what would be a very close game, as the Lady Cats won in a close 25-23 battle.
Paris turned things around in the second set, this time ending up on top in a close 25-22 battle. For the final set of the weekend, the Lady Cats came out, looking to end things on a strong note.
Things once again stayed close, with neither team able to fully pull away from the other. Despite a close battle, Sulphur Springs was able to end up on top, putting Paris away 25-22, and finishing their first week of action with a 6-1 record.
Through their first seven games, the Lady Cats outscored their opponents 14-5, in route to a 6-1 record. No stats have been provided for Saturday’s games at the time of this article.
Sulphur Springs is back in action with a pair of games this week, starting with Tuesday’s home match against Greenville. This will be their final home game for a few weeks, as they hit the road Friday which starts a four-game road stand.
In that time period the Lady Cats will go up against Commerce, Quinlan Ford, Canton and Lindale, before returning home Friday, Sept. 9 to face Redwater.
Stay tuned to Front Porch News for all things Sulphur Springs Lady Cats this season.
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