Whitehouse Spoils John Tyler’s Senior Night With A Road Sweep Of Lady Lions

TYLER -- One week ago, the Whitehouse LadyCats suffered their first district loss of the season, which resulted in a first-place tie atop the 16-5A standings.

Whitehouse coach Britney Nordin called the loss to Lindale a "wake-up call." Two matches later, consider the LadyCats wide-awake.

Whitehouse has now swept its two matches since, including Tuesday's 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 victory over John Tyler at the Lions Den, which spoiled the Lady Lions' Senior Night.

Whitehouse (25-11, 9-1) remains in a tie for first place with Lindale with two matches remaining in the regular season.

"I think it was a good reality check," Nordin said of last week's loss to Lindale. "It's a competitive district and it's a competitive bi-district, so we need to keep that in mind. Take no game for granted or no match for granted. I think it was a great lesson to learn at that time. Hopefully, the girls stay focused and finish out the season and take that into the playoffs."

Ashton Ates led Whitehouse with 11 kills to go along with two aces and a block. Kelly Keller added eight kills and a pair of aces, Megan Harris had seven kills, Beth Hood finished with four kills and three blocks, while Ronnie Fountain dished out 28 assists to go with two kills.

John Tyler (17-20, 6-4) was led in defeat by Deedy Rouege, who finished with 11 kills, three assists and a block. Jo Preston added six kills, Chenique Baxter had four kills, Dazmonique Johnson had a pair of kills and four blocks, and Kandice Jackson served up 20 assists and added two kills.

Whitehouse began the match by winning five of the first six points in Game 1, and eventually built a 14-5 lead. John Tyler had the early upper hand in the second set, but a 7-2 run helped Whitehouse regain the lead it would never relinquish. In the third game, John Tyler again built an early advantage, but the LadyCats dominated down the stretch to finish off the sweep.

"We stayed focused throughout the entire game, and that's something we've been having to work on," Nordin said. "So that was nice to see. And they stayed aggressive the whole game, even when it got in long rallies or a tight point."

Each team returns to action Friday. Whitehouse hosts Jacksonville, while John Tyler entertains Corsicana.