Zhanelle Geathers + Sydney Tiiman Help Lindale Down District 16-4A Rival Whitehouse

LINDALE -- One week ago, the Lindale Lady Eagles suffered a tough, five-set loss to rival Van in their final tuneup before beginning play in District 16-4A.

In seven days time, Lindale has transformed into a district favorite, thanks in part to its four-game victory over Whitehouse on Tuesday that kept the Lady Eagles unbeaten in league action.

Led by the superb hitting of 6-3 junior Zhanelle Geathers and the spot-on setting of junior Sydney Tiiman, Lindale took a 25-14, 26-28, 25-17, 25-22 victory over Whitehouse.

The win improved Lindale to 18-9 overall and 2-0 in 16-4A. Whitehouse (17-11), meanwhile, fell to 1-1 in district.

"It's a great place to be right now," Lindale coach Meghan Koonce said of her team's 2-0 start to league play.

Geathers posted a game-high 19 kills to ignite Lindale's effort, while Tiiman poured in 39 assists. Senior Savannah Cantrell had 10 kills, four blocks and three aces. The duo of Travicia Acy and Hannah Brown combined for 14 kills.

"Individually I think Makenna Allen played some good defense for us tonight," Koonce said. "I think all of my girls played better defense. Hitting-wise, Zhanelle always plays pretty well. Blocking, Travicia (Acy) is coming along pretty well."

Fulani Petties led Whitehouse with nine kills and four blocks. Angela Knight added three kills to go along with 12 assists, while Ronnie Fountain chipped in with 10 assists.

Lindale took advantage of several unforced errors from Whitehouse in the lopsided Game 1 win.

"We had some last-minute lineup changes, and just finding that rhythm took us a while," Whitehouse coach Britney Nordin said. "Lindale's a great team. If you give them any runs or momentum, they definitely take advantage of it."

To the LadyCats' credit, they fought back to even the match with a grueling Game 2 victory.

"My group has a lot of heart and they have a lot of intensity," Nordin said. "They know what it takes to win, it's just trying to get them all together at the same time."

Lindale responded by outlasting Whitehouse in Games 3 and 4 to take the match.

"Playing Whitehouse is a big deal for us, a big rival for us," Koonce said. "We stayed focused on the game. We let them come back and win Game 2, but we stayed focused and cleaned some things up and got 3 and 4."

The Lady Eagles continue their season Friday at Jacksonville, while Whitehouse plays host to Corsicana.