Regional Semifinalist, 35-8 overall
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Banquet Awards
Regional Semifinalist, 35-8 overall
Friday, November 09, 2007
Wildcats Send Lady Bulldogs Packing
The DAWGS never quit as shown here by Michele Williams
blocking a Lady Wilcat attempt across the middle.
That sets the stage for the 5A Regional finals on Saturday looking like:
Lady Wildcats Escape DAWGS Grip
Both teams went on to battle in this one as both obviously thought this was a pivotal win. If the DAWGS were to win it, it would've made it extremely difficult for the 'Cats to come back and win 3 straight after being down 0-2. It was paramount that the 'Cats equalize the match and momentum on this one and take some of the steam out of the stronger Lady Bulldogs.
Lady Bulldog junior hitter Meagan Little jammed 'em with a missle in the middle!
It was coming down to a 'photo-finish' in a game that both teams needed desperately to win. Here's the audio:
DAWGS Show Lady Wildcats The Way
The match was a courtside view of two contrasting volleyball styles. On one side you had a district champion who ran the tables this season against their talented (and taller) rivals with a team that doesn't have a player over 5'10" but is extremely adept in passing and defensive manuvering, with at least one exceptional hitter and all-around player. On the other, you have a district champion who mauled their rivals offensively with a talented, (taller, and more experienced) team that had no obvious or apparent holes to fill...and, with several exceptional players. On paper, it was tough to do the math and didn't look like an even match!
When the DAWGS took the court against the (38-5) Lake Highlands Lady Wildcats in the first set, the meeting was looking like it was on paper!! When Magnolia needed points, the ladies went to the 'well' ... Michele Boom Boom Williams lit 'em up when she got the ball (1-0 and 2-2); Meagan Little tied the game at 3-3 with a kill; Hannah Fort placed a tip at 5-5; and the DAWGS got very little help from the Lady Wildcats who had committed but 1 service error - even when the score was at 10-10.
Lady Bulldogs Michele Williams was one step ahead of the Lady Wilcats.
The game changed at this point as Jamie Kaleh had a Happy Birthday gift of a shot at 11-10, and Alicia Shaffer rattled off 2 service aces for a 13-10 lead and the 'Cats immediately called a time out. Lake Highlands picked up 2 points quickly behind a couple of errors when time resumed, but could only manage another 6 points in the game, as the stronger DAWGS bombarded them with a variety of Kaleh, Fort, Little and Stewart kills and shots off the Wildcats' outstretched hands on their way to a 25-18 victory. The audio is below:It all seemed pretty routine, but one underlying characteristic was missing that the DAWGS had experienced almost all season long...the 'Cats were indeed beaten in this set by a stronger, more aggressive, offensive team...but, the Lady Wildcats made very few mistakes. It was just a matter of time because it was going to take the team who could make the fewest mistakes overall to win this one..
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
DAWGS Come Back Big Time
The DAWGS were in a celebratory mood when Hannah Fort ended the match
with a kill in a great comeback win against the A & M Consolidated Lady Tigers.
The Lady Tigers pounced on Magnolia and opened up a 6-0 lead while the Lady Bulldogs were still celebrating the previous set win and were in the midst of having serve receive problems and hitting errors in this set. It wasn't until Michele 'Boom Boom' Williams fired a missle with her patented "Glide Slamma-Jamma-Roosky" kill shot at 1-6, when the DAWGS woke up and realized that they were still in the game,....but it was the next shot that really ignited the fans in the Sam Houston Coliseum. It started when Boom Boom followed up her Glide shot by unleashing another massive kill shot that (unintentionally) ricocheted off a poor Lady Tiger's noggin that flew back from the Tiger's middle court, over and across the net AND the DAWGS' backcourt ...only to drop 10 feet past the back boundry line for the Lady Bulldogs' 2nd point!! After the crowd let out a collective gasp -it quickly turned to astonished cheers when they realized there was not an injury (though it may take a while to get the imprint of the ball off the Tiger's head), the forces of momentum and confidence began the long turn back the DAWGS' way! It wasn't that the Lady Bulldogs immediately made up the scoring defecit, but they began playing even more aggressively from this point going forward.Now that the DAWGS got their paws wet, they began to right the ship and turn up the heat. They stayed within striking distance despite being as far behind as 7 points (5-12), and started one of their best comebacks in recent memory or (arguably), in Lady Bulldog state playoff history.
It started with an Alicia Shaffer kill at 9-14; then a Hannah Davies' ace serve at the beginning of the next rotation to put the score at 10-14; then it was a Boom Boom explosion off the Tigers' paws at 11-14; next point was a result of the Tigers hitting out-of-bounds at 12-14 and a Tiger time out was called to give the ladies a chance to re-group while cooling off the sizzling DAWGS. When play resumed, Boom Boom ran her patented Glide to put it at 13-14; then another Boom Boom Boomer off the defenders' hands at 14-14; and after a reeling Tiger hitting error at 15-14 - the comeback was on.... and the DAWG pound was REALLY howling!!
'Boom Boom', shown here with team mates Jamie Kaleh (7) and Brittany Wheaton (5)
was relentless against the Tigers, tallying up 22 Kills with 2 solo and 2 assist blocks.
Still the Tigers were wounded, but they were far from dead...!!! They clawed back and took the lead for the last time at 16-15, only to stir Michele and the DAWGS up again with a kill at 16-16; followed by Boom Boom's Sidewinder shot at 17-16; then a 'fake to Boom Boom' who drew the defenders in to her, by Hannah Davies who backset the High Flyin' Kelli Stewart -who blasted a missle of her own off the Tigers' hands at 18-17; and again, it was a Boom Boom kill at 19-17 and a serve receive error at 20-17 that forced the Lady Tigers to burn their last time out. The Lady Bulldogs kept their pace and closed it out once again at crunch time, as you may be able to tell with this audio clip. I must apologize for being caught up with all the action, but it was certainly too exciting to contain oneself:
GO LADY BULLDOGS!!!
ALL THE WAY TO STATE!!!
DAWGS Turn the Table Back Their Way
Coach J found a way to turn the match back the Lady Bulldogs' way.
Williams opened the DAWGS scoring behind a couple of classic sets and blistering kills at 2-2; then a Kelli Stewart ace at 3-2 (one of her 5 for the night); a Boom Boom block in the middle at 5-2, and a hit at 6-4 before the rotation took over and Hannah Fort blocked 2 successive attacks by the Tigers as the DAWGS began pulling forward at 8-4.
Gotta Love that DEFENSE! Junior Kelly Stewart and Michele Williams shutting down the left.
After a few Tiger errors, junior Meagan Little jammed 'em with a kill in the middle, then Alicia Shaffer sneaked a left handed tip shot at 14-7; followed up by a (rotation-returning) Michele Williams who blasted a missle in there at 15-9; then a Shaffer jump serve and a Tiger hitting error later had the DAWGS howling again up front and on top at 17-9. Meagan scalded the Tigers again at 21-11 with a shot and it was beginning to look like this was going to be a real dogfight!!
Here's an audio file for this one:
Tigers Roar Past DAWGS
The DAWGS were neck-n'-neck with the Tigers at 10-10, but A & M Consolidated willed themselves forward with great defensive movement and seemed to find holes in the DAWGS' defense when hitting crosscourt. The DAWGS' offense was not clicking as in the first set and the ladies found themselves trailing by 6 at 12-18 when time out was called and the ladies regrouped to make a run at the lead.
There was a battle in the trenches and the DAWGS and team mates
Hannah Davies and Alicia Shaffer had MH Michele Williams' back.
When play was called back in the Lady Bulldogs gave it a great effort, but the Lady Tigers would not shake loose and maintained the same edge at 23-17, but it was inevitable...
Here's the file on this one:
DAWGS Pile On TIGERS
Meagan Little and Hannah Fort cutting this Lady Tiger attack attempt off!
Monday, November 05, 2007
REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 pm
Sam Houston State University
$5 adults, $2 students
Friday, November 02, 2007
DAWGS Deal Lady Mavericks Out
The DAWGS took complete control of this last set by leading from start to finish. Michele Williams started the onslought with a tip and a follow up block against the Lady Mavs who barely had to time to return the ball at 1-0 and then followed up with a block assist with team mate Kelli Stewart at 2-1 to keep the DAWGS facing forward. Kelli had a great match tonight slammin' home 6 kills with 4 block assists while keeping the Lady Mavs a little gun shy on their left side for the evening! The DAWGS stretched their lead to 5 points with some great defense from libero Brittany Wheaton and a couple kills from senior outside hitter Jamie Kaleh to keep the upper hand at 8-3 and for the Lady Mav's Head Coach Karen Huffman to burn their first time out a lot earlier than she would've liked.
Lady Bulldog Jamie Kaleh showing perfect form while blocking Lady
Mavs OH Alexandra Alexander (10) while Michele Williams assists.
The Lady Mavs cut into the lead briefly but never got closer than 3 points as the DAWGS balanced their attack with good passing and setting allowing the hitters to hammer their opponent from everywhere. Hannah Fort and Kelli Stewart blocked an attack attempt on the right at 10-5; Michele and Kelli blocked another one on the next rotation at 12-6; Meagan Little and Kelli blocked in the middle at 14-10; while Jamie Kaleh added a kill at 13-9 and the DAWGS volleyed for their scraps, working hard for their points.After one such volley, Alicia Shaffer snuck in a tip at 17-13; and after both sides traded passing errors, junior setter Hannah Davies placed a quick set into a hard charging Boom Boom Williams' sights for a patented 'Boom Boom Sidewinder' quick kill at 19-14 and it was tough to figure which team wanted to get this match over with the most (but both for obviously different reasons)! The DAWGS clearly were the stronger team in this match and played well tonight. They played the cards that were dealt to them magnificently! Here's a little audio file as the Lady Bulldogs got a little closer to the end and were still holding some good cards...
Michele Williams led the kills with 9 and had 1 solo block to go with 4 assist blocks; Jamie Kaleh followed closely with 8 kills; 1 block assist, 13 digs and 2 service aces; Hannah Fort had 7 kills to go with her 3 block assists; Kelli Stewart had 6 kills and 4 block assists; Meagan Little and Alicia Shaffer chipped in 3 kills apiece with 1 block assist each with Shaffer having 10 digs with her match-leading 5 service aces for a busy and productive night. Junior Hannah Davies dished out 19 assists with her 2 aces; while freshman Paige Holland passed out 13 assists, and 9 digs to go with her 1 ace serve; while Brittany Wheaton rounded out 11 digs with 1 ace serve.
Another great match in the books as the ladies are on a 13 match Sweep Streak and eyeing their path to State. The DAWGS are taking their steps by setting and reaching their intermediate goals and will need your continued support as they go for it!! Check with the blog for updated information on their upcomoing playoff game, and come watch your fightin' LADY BULLDOGS go for the BIG Brass Ring!
DAWGS Play Stronger Hand
In the second set the Lady Bulldogs took an early lead and had a 6 point edge at one point, leading 11-5. The DAWGS jumped out front behind a Hannah Davies service ace at 1-0, a Michele Williams blast at 2-1; followed by Jamie Kaleh's tip shot at 3-1; then a Williams/Kaleh assist block at 5-2; a Meagan Little kill at 6-5; 3 straight hitting errors by the MAVS and a Hannah Fort shot in the middle put the DAWGS in great shape at 10-5 and a time out was needed by Round Rock to take their pulse and check for damage control.
Gang of Lady Bulldogs: (L to R) OH Kelli Stewart, MH Michele Williams,
Setter Hannah Davies, OH Jamie Kaleh, and Libero Brittany Wheaton.
Coach J giving last second instructions to freshman setter Paige Holland.
DAWGS Aces Too Much For Lady MAVS
Lady Bulldogs Kelli Stewart (L) and Michele
Williams (R) made life miserable for the Lady Mavs.
Lady Bulldog Alicia Shaffer had 5 Aces against the Lady Mavs with her serving.