Set #4 and we're sure Tomball will want to forget about this one for a long time!! After playing aggressively and playing each game close to the vest, the crowd just had to expect another "nail-biter" like the last three and the Lady Cougars would come out clawing. But this time it was the Lady Bulldogs who pounced on the Lady Cougars - coming right 'out-of-the-chute', scoring 5 straight as MB Hannah Fort served brilliantly to open the scoring at 5-0, then the Magnolia defense went to work blocking every and any attempt to put the ball over the net by the Coogs. The DAWGS chewed their opponent into pieces in this one while the Coogs fired blanks and eventually had to kneel....
Hannah Fort may have had her finest night as a Lady Bulldog as she repeatedly turned the momentum Magnolia's way with her timely hits. Hannah finished the night with 2 aces, 14 kills, 6 block assists, and a rousing 8 digs - but all were when they seemed to be needed the most. Michele Williams led the hitters with 19 kills, 9 digs with 1 solo block and 3 assist blocks; Alicia Shaffer got on track as the match progressed and added 12 kills, 14 digs, 1 block and 2 block assists; Kristyn Bergen led the backrow with 17 digs, 1 assist block and 2 kills; OHR Kelli Stewart had 3 block assists as did OHR Ashlynn Newman, but Ashlynn also had a solo block. Setter Caitlin Holland kept the DAWGS in the hunt as she spread around 26 assists to her hitters, while playing solid defense with 5 digs. Hannah Davies had 17.
Getting back to this rout, errrr... game, ...MB Michele Williams blocked the ball at 7-1, then OHR Ashlynn Newman and Michele Williams teamed up for an assist block each at 9-2. Williams blistered the Lady Cougars with a blast at 11-2; then the OHR Kelli Stewart / Hannah Fort combo blocked 'em at 14-4 as Magnolia began to pour it on. OH Alicia Shaffer jammed the deflated Coogs with a kill down the left line at 18-4 and a dink mercifully, at 21-4, and well..... you get the idea .... Coach J cleared some of the bench, while the DAWGS coasted to a 25-6 finish .....
WOW!! What a finish: DAWGS 3-1 after a shaky start against a "fired-up" Tomball Lady Cougar team and now heading to the Regional Semifinals to be held in this very Johnson Coliseum on Friday evening, again around 7:00 PM against Plano West - which figures to be the battle of the year for both clubs!!
