Whitehouse Finishes Back-to-Back Games Strong to Sweep Nacogdoches

WHITEHOUSE -- When head coach Britney Nordin needed her players to finish games strong Tuesday night against Nacogdoches, they did.

Whitehouse stormed back in Games 2 and 3 after facing late deficits to sweep the Lady Dragons 25-18, 26-24, 28-26 at Wildcat Arena to improve to 4-0 in District 16-4A play.

The Whitehouse victory sets up a pivotal district match Friday at Lindale, which is 30-3 overall and ranked No. 11 in the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 4A poll.

Whitehouse (16-11) benefited from a balanced attack as four players reached double digits in kills. Megan Harris finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Ashton Ates and Kelly Keller had 11 kills and 26 digs. Lindsey Hannah added 10 kills.

Ronnie Fountain dished out 39 assists and Amanda Dimon had 24 digs.

"I was very pleased with the way they closed. This team does have a lot of fight in them, and they're really starting to believe they can fight back," Nordin said. "They've done it in the past sometimes too late, but now they're really starting to get the momentum back and take charge."

Nacogdoches' Taylor Layton recorded back-to-back kills off Sydney Watson assists to give the Lady Dragons a 22-21 Game 2 lead. That advantage grew to 24-22 before Whitehouse fought back with a 4-0 spurt to end the game and take a 2-0 match lead. Harris sparked the run with a kill, while Ates ended it with a kill.

Layton, Brittianni Phillips, Qymeka Jackson, and Emily Ash provided kills during a 10-5 Nacogdoches run that pushed the Lady Dragons to a 23-17 Game 3 lead before Whitehouse once again bounced back.

Whitehouse, which committed five Game 3 service errors, benefited from one of Nacogdoches' three in the set to spark the LadyCats' comeback. Fountain then dropped in a touch shot before Ates and Keller recorded three kills apiece -- all from Fountain assists -- to tie the game 26-26.

Fountain then served an ace before a back-row violation ended the match, 28-26.

"I really like the improvement and the path that we're taking right now. We need to continue to utilize our strengths and work these next couple of days to prefer for Lindale. I'm looking forward to it," Nordin said. "If we clean up our side it will definitely give us a chance to compete with Lindale."

Nacogdoches continues 16-4A competition Friday at Jacksonville.