Thursday Volleyball Roundup: Lindale, Whitehouse Start White Oak Tournament Strong + More

WHITE OAK -- Whitehouse won two of its three matches at the first day of the White Oak Shirley Atkins Invitational.

Whitehouse ended the day with a 25-23, 25-23 win over Lufkin after beating New Diana 12-25, 25-23, 25-20 and falling to Spring Hill 25-12, 25-17.

The win vs. Lufkin put Whitehouse in the No. 2 spot in its pool and pushed the LadyCats into the championship bracket, where they play Saturday. Kaitlyn Anderson had seven kills vs. Lufkin, while Ashton Ates added five. Ronnie Fountain had 16 assists and two aces. Megan Harris also had two aces.

Ates and Lindsey Hannah recorded seven kills apiece vs. New Diana, while Fountain had 23 assists. Amanda Dimon added nine digs. Harris and Ates notched five and four kills, respectively, in the loss to Spring Hill. Dimon and Hannah served two aces apiece.

SHIRLEY ATKINS INVITATIONAL

Lindale Wins Three Matches at Shirley Atkins Invitational

WHITE OAK -- Lindale reeled off sweeps of Class 2A No. 6 White Oak, Avery, and Troup on Thursday at the Shirley Atkins Invitational.

Rhyan Rand had nine kills, two blocks, and three digs in the 28-26, 25-21 win against White Oak, while Kaitlin Rice added six kills and three digs. Sydney Tiiman dished out 29 assists and recorded three aces and six digs. Zhanelle Geathers had seven kills, two aces, and two digs.

Geathers led Lindale (18-2) with eight kills and five blocks in a 25-12, 25-22 win vs. Avery. Makenna Allen had five kills and four digs, while Tiiman added two kills and 22 assists.

In the 25-14, 25-18 win vs. Troup, Geathers had eight kills and two blocks, while Rand added five kills and four digs. Allen had four kills and five digs. Rice chipped in with four kills and three digs, and Travicia Acy had two kills and three blocks.

Lindale resumes Shirley Atkins Invitational action at 9 a.m. Saturday in White Oak.

Troup Upsets White Oak in Pool Play

Troup fell in two games to Class 4A Lindale and three games to Avery, but the Lady Tigers upset Class 2A No. 6 White Oak 25-16, 22-25, 25-20 behind 13 kills, one ace, and three digs from Josee Ross.

Troup's Cheney Cover had nine kills, five blocks, and 11 digs in the win vs. White Oak, while Carly Dyess added 23 assists and one ace. Paeton Nolan chipped in three kills, four blocks, and five digs. Bethany Mason had one ace and nine digs.

Class A Avery came back to beat Troup 21-25, 26-24, 25-20. Dyess had 24 assists and three aces. Mason contributed three aces and 14 digs.

Ross had eight kills and a block in the 25-14, 25-18 loss to Lindale, while Cover had four kills, one block, and four digs. Nolan had two kills, three blocks, and five digs. Mason served an ace and notched eight digs.

BROWNSBORO TOURNAMENT

Bullard Wins Three in Pool Play

Bullard won all three of its matches and lost only one set in Thursday's action at the Brownsboro Tournament.

Mackenzie Fish had eight kills and six digs, while Rachel Kelley added seven assists and three aces to lead Bullard to a 25-18, 25-15 win against Alba-Golden. Mallory McCoy also had seven assists, while Ashley Searcy added two blocks. Katie Tresize had four kills on five swings and Katie Cole led the Lady Panthers with nine digs.

Bullard (15-5) followed that win with a 25-17, 25-10 victory against Mineola. Cole had eight digs and two aces, while Davis added five digs and two aces. Fish recorded four kills and Kelley dished out four assists.

After dropping the first game 25-12, Bullard came back to beat Emory Rains 25-12, 25-21 to end the afternoon. Davis had a big match with six kills and 15 digs, while Fish had eight kills and 13 digs. Searcy added six kills and three blocks. McCoy led the Lady Panthers with 20 assists, while Cole had 10 digs.

Bullard plays host team Brownsboro at 10 a.m. Saturday in the championship bracket.

Gary Goes 3-0 in Pool Play

Gary recorded three consecutive wins Thursday during pool play at the Brownsboro Tournament.

Gary beat Brownsboro 15-25, 26-24, 25-12 before topping the Emory Rains JV 25-10, 25-12. The Lady Bobcats then beat Palestine 25-10, 25-15 to push their record to 11-6 entering Friday's 4:30 p.m. home match against Elysian Fields. Gary returns to the Brownsboro Tournament for 8 a.m. Saturday championship bracket competition.

Ryley Beckham led Gary with 23 kills, six aces, and 21 digs, while Collyn Pinkerton had 20 kills, eight blocks, seven aces, and eight digs. Josey Greer dished out 54 assists and had two kills, one block, one ace, and 12 digs.

Gary's Bailey Reistad had nine kills, six aces, and 15 digs, while Melody McCroskey had 20 digs. Kendal Curry added four kills and three blocks. Sydney Ritter and Railey Daniels combined for four kills. Daniels had a team-high 35 digs plus six aces, and Ritter contributed two blocks.

Tyler All Saints Sweeps Pool Play Matches

Tyler All Saints didn't lose a single set Thursday, beating Van, Kaufman, and the Paris North Lamar JV in Brownsboro Tournament pool play.

All Saints got eight kills from Lanna Johnson and 17 assists from Maddie Smith in its 27-25, 25-18 victory vs. Van. Emma Lewis led with six digs.

In a 25-22, 25-19 win vs. Kaufman, Johnson had eight kills and seven digs, while Smith dished out 20 assists. Ferrel Clyde had a team-high three blocks.

Clyde's seven kills and Smith's 20 assists led All Saints to a 25-14, 25-14 win vs. North Lamar's JV. Frances Hackney had a team-high nine digs.

All Saints plays at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Brownsboro Tournament championship bracket.