DAWGS Edge Cubettes for District Lead

Holy Frijole, Lady Bulldog fans - with their backs against the wall, the Lady Bulldogs "Houdini-ed" their way by the Brenham Lady Cubettes in the final tiebreaker of a hard-fought and exciting District 18-4A match tonight in the DAWG House. The DAWGS set it up to make it happen though, in case no one was noticing, by coming back from a 1 point deficit and their final timeout, to scoring 3 straight in a couple of minutes and quickly saying "Adios" to the dazed Cubettes who were still wondering what had just happened. What had happened is the Magnolia Lady Bulldogs just took a quantum leap at the top in the district race at the midpoint of the season and have put themselves in the drivers' seat to control their own destiny!

To say the DAWGS were a little excited

with this win, is an understatement!

Both undefeated teams (7-0) were evenly matched and tied at the top of the District 18-4A race and were looking forward to this Battle Royale. Brenham was holding a better record (27-6) than the hometown DAWGS (20-12) with some saying they are the better looking team at this point despite (arguably) having a lighter schedule. The (arguably) tougher schedule may have paid off for the zig-zagging Lady Bulldogs as they kept digging deeper (when needed) in this match that 'had it all'. The ladies repeatedly came back after losing the first set 23-25, to turning the tables at 25-22 in the second, then running ahead 25-21 in the third match, to shooting blanks and dropping the fourth set 15-25 (in one of the toughest setbacks the team had taken this season), to trailing the Cubettes by 4 at 7-11 before mounting a surge, outscoring Brenham 9 to 3 at 'crunch time' in one of the most dramatic and pressure-packed final sets you could witness!

This highly charged match against Brenham "had

it ALL" including 2 yellow cards against both coaches!

The DAWGS actually reversed the tables from what had happened to them in the first set of the evening as they controlled the game without relinquishing the lead all the way through until Brenham tied it up at 20-20. The teams tied 3 more times while trading possessions until the Cubettes had a timely kill shot at 24-23 and then quickly capitalized on an untimely serve receive error by the disheartened DAWGS, sliding by, winning the come-from-behind set by 2 at 25-23. The DAWG Pound was somewhat deflated and almost breathless and realized this one was going to have to be special!

Meagan Little again brought her 'A' game to the

court with 6 kills with 2 solo and 6 block assists.

As has been the custom all season long, the DAWGS struggled in the second set and trailed the entire way in this one until catching Brenham at 20-20. The ladies at one point were not much more than a distant image in the rear view mirror of the hard driving Cubbies but somehow had just roared back from being behind by an 8 point deficit at 7-15. The re-surging DAWGS blew by the Cubettes in a 13 to 5 run to tie the set; then kept a choke hold on their guests - methodically squeezing the life out of them 5 to 2 and a 25-22 victory. The impressive "never-say-die" attitude had paid off with big dividends! The match also started leaning more toward a 'defensive' battle than a slug-fest, as both teams played the game hard and right - there were several volleys that seemed to last for minutes, while each point from midway in the set forward, increased in importance.

OH Kelli Stewart's 22 kills lead the way in the

match, but the final 3 were instrumental in

finishing off the Cubettes.

It only stood to reason that now that the DAWGS who had their swagger back, would crumble in set 3 - even after such an impressive comeback.... WRONG!! Magnolia led the set from start to finish and held as much as a 6 point lead in the first half of this one at 10-4 until the Cubettes clawed their way back to a 1 point disadvantage at 13-12. But the ladies from the dairy country couldn't hold it together and eventually fell behind again by another 6 points at 24-18. Their comeback bid at this time was good for 3 points, but the DAWGS just needed to score 1, which they did at 25-21 and it looked as if the match was setting up for a knockout-punch final set.

Sophomore Courtney Felinski had to work

extra hard all evening going over the Cubettes.

But, NOoooo!! The DAWGS came out flatfooted, confused, frustrated and 'fundamentally' flawed as they found themselves in error-mode, trailing by 5 at 1-6 right out of the starting gate and before they even knew what had happened. The Cubettes sensed the DAWGS were wounded and kept pouring it on - playing solid volleyball leading by the same margin throughout (12-7, 15-10, 17-12) and then extended the margin to 9 at 22-13. The Cubettes mercifully put the DAWGS to sleep after mauling them by 10 points with a 25-15 score, and were licking their chops while looking forward to taking their chances in being the first team to reach 15 points in the upcoming tie-breaker. It was a truly disheartening loss and would be devastating to mere mortals, but as it turned out - not our Lady Bulldogs!

The DAWGS releasing that pent-up hostility and energy!

The fans on both sides were sitting on the edge of their seats cheering from the start, as both teams battled on the court. The atmosphere was like a major horse race as two thoroughbreds came around the final turn, both neck-and-neck, heading for a photo-finish in a tough, 'too close to call' race. Brenham led early and had as much as a 2 point edge in the set (3-5, 5-7) then pulled out to a 4 point edge (5-9, 7-11) before they began to stall - coincidentally when the DAWGS were making their move to recapture the momentum - outscoring Brenham 9 to 3 while reaching for that Big Brass Ring. The teams were tied at 13-13 when suddenly the DAWGS hit one in the net to make it: Magnolia 13, Brenham 14... Ouch! A final time out was called by Coach J. When play resumed, Kelli Stewart dinked the ball for a tie at 14-14; then dinked another one for the advantage at 15-14; then slammed one off the Cubettes for the win and the DAWG House went wild!! A crazy, wild finish with all the excitement, and drama that you would want to have locked in the recesses of your brain. The cheering went on and carried onto the floor of the DAWG House as the scalded Cubettes were quickly whisked out the door. "High School District volleyball in Texas - you just gotta love it!

The victorious Lady Bulldogs showing team

unity while the Brenham fans stand in disbelief.

Bethany Yeager led Brenham with 15 kills, while Kelli Stewart led the way for the Lady Bulldogs with 22 kills, 16 digs and 2 block assists. Katzy Randall contributed with 10 kills, 19 digs and 3 block assists; Meagan Little hammered 6 kills, 2 solo blocks and 6 block assists as did Courtney Felinski who finished with the same stats as Meagan but with 3 block assists instead of 6. Paige Holland slipped in 3 kills with 45 assists; Breane Matula had 2 kills with 2 block assists and Angi Gould had a busy night with 16 digs.

The (future Lady Bulldogs) Bear Branch volleyball

teams were recognized and treated to an exciting

volleyball match in the DAWG House.

The next domino to fall: Friday night- Varsity plays at 5 pm at Montgomery, with JV and 9th to follow.

COME OUT TO THE MONTGOMERY GYM TO CHEER ON THE VB TEAM THEN HEAD OVER TO FOOTBALL TO SEE OUR BULLDOGS
BEAT ON THE BEARS!!!

GO LADY BULLDOGS!!