LINDALE -- No surprise, District 16-5A is very competitive at the top. There's no margin for error right now.

The Lady Eagles' 25-19, 25-13, 25-10 victory Tuesday at home against league opponent Lufkin allowed it to keep pace with John Tyler and Corsicana in the early chase for first place.

Lindale's win moved it to 3-0 in district competition while the Lady Panthers fell to 1-3 in the standings.

"We keep setting goals and we're meeting those goals against every team," Lady Eagles first-year head coach Jessica Camp, a Lindale graduate herself, said. "We do our homework, watch film and have a game plan. The expectation is the girls follow it and get after it."

Lindale's Rhyan Rand tied teammate Kamryn Pilkinton to guide the Lady Eagles with a match-best 12 points.
Lindale's Rhyan Rand tied teammate Kamryn Pilkinton to guide the Lady Eagles with a match-best 12 points.
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Camp's squad took it to Lufkin in the first set with a nearly flawless frame. The group committed four errors, and two of those were in the act of attempting blocks and touching the net, on the way to 15 various mistakes for opposing scores in the match.

While Lindale never played as close to perfect in the latter two sets, Lufkin's production dropped from 19 points to 13 points and then to 10 points in the final set.

The Lady Eagles beat Lufkin in the assists statistical department, 35-15. McKenna Cox led the way with 24 assists in addition to a match-high three aces, and Peyton Mizell broke double digits with 10 assits in the match.

Briana Kuslak added one assist.

"Those two have been working really hard," Camp said of Cox and Mizell. "We do a lot of setter work, we do a lot of wall work and I'm on them pretty hard about it because if they can get a good set then our hitters can get kills. They've done a good job, have bought into that and have been working hard as setters."

Lindale finished the match with 35 kills in addition to nine blocks and eight aces for a total of 52 points won as part of their 75 points needed to win the match. Lufkin chipped in the remaining 23 points on various errors, which is a borderline satisfactory number to win a three-set match.

Rhyan Rand -- a senior multi-sport standout -- and Kamryn Pilkinton tied for the Lindale scoring lead with 12 points apiece. Rand got there with 11 kills and an ace while Pilkinton scored nine kills and a team second-best three blocks.

Heather McLaughlin recorded five blocks in the match as part of a third-best 11 points.

Miyah Gibson and Lindsey Smith paced Lufkin with four kills and one block each.

"Our main goal this season has been to clean up our errors and to earn points," Camp said. "We look at earned points versus unforced errors. As I tell them, 'The other team is going to get points and is going to get kills. We have to keep our side clean.' Most of the time, you're going to win a game if you keep low numbers in errors."

The Lady Panthers will try to bounce back Friday back home against Nacogdoches.

Lindale will simultaneously visit Corsicana. If Lindale wins and John Tyler falls to Whitehouse elsewhere in district play, the Lady Eagles will enter the weekend in sole possession of first place with nine more league matches to play.

Lindale's Heather McLaughlin works against Lufkin's Makayla Ross (7) for a block in Tuesday's head-to-head match. McLaughlin scored five blocks in the Lady Eagles' win.
Lindale's Heather McLaughlin works against Lufkin's Makayla Ross (7) for a block in Tuesday's head-to-head match. McLaughlin scored five blocks in the Lady Eagles' win.
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