Lady 'Cats sweep Lynchburg-Clay in three sets

     DODSONVILLE – The Whiteoak Lady Wildcats keep on winning.

     On the night where the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs celebrated “Volley for a Cure,” the Lady ‘Cats continued to take care of business in the Southern Hills League, defeating their county counterpart LCHS in three straight sets Monday night.

     WHS, who improved to 13-4 overall, winning their eighth straight game, won by scores of 25-21, 25-11 and 25-14.

     “The girls put themselves in good position to win,” Whiteoak coach Don Rahe said. “I still give them all the credit for all the success we’ve had this season. They run their own open gyms, they keep working hard and they want to win.”

     Win they did against their county rival Monday evening, but it came with a hard-fought battle from an improved Lady Mustang team.

     “Our girls played well tonight,” Lynchburg-Clay coach Erin Walters said. “Our passing was better, but we need to work on finishing games, and our coverage still needs work. “I am pleased for the most part, and I am really proud of them (Monday).”

     After the tough battle, brought on by the Lady Mustangs, in set one during their “Volley for a Cure” game, the Lady Wildcats took full control in set two.

     In the second set WHS took a 6-0 lead with one point coming from an ace by junior Jessica Jones. L-C came back with two straight points, one of which was scored by Elizabeth Spidel off a successful serve, that Whiteoak was unable to bring back over the net.

     Trailing by a score of 9-3, Lynchburg-Clay’s Daisy Christophel scored two straight points for the Lady Mustangs, bringing L-C within four points of the Lady ‘Cats.

     Whiteoak increased their lead to 11-6 with an ace from sophomore Jessie Gilliland. The sophomore added two more points with her serves, as L-C had trouble returning Gilliland’s serves over the net.

     WHS increased their lead to 16-7 with back-to-back points by sophomore Brooke Burns and senior Desiree Green.

     Again, the combo of Burns and Green improved the lead of WHS (20-7), with consecutive points in the same fashion.

     Late in the second set Christian Easterling tipped the ball over the net for a point. Her point was followed with a point by Christine Easterling. WHS scored the final point for the 25-11 set two win.

     The third, and what proved to be final set, was tied early on at 2-2 and 3-3 with WHS gaining points from senior Sarah Smith.

     Consecutive aces by junior Brittany Tolliver gave the Lady ‘Cats a 7-3 lead.

     With the score at 9-5, Christophel gave L-C a point, cutting the WHS lead down to three. Gilliland answered with a spike and later with an ace to give Whiteoak a 12-7 lead.

     L-C made the score 14-9 with a serve by Christine Easterling.

     WHS gained a seven-point lead with an ace by Tolliver, making the score 17-10.

     Magan Stegbauer scored two points late in the set, with L-C scoring four consecutive points, cutting the WHS lead to 18-13.

     Burns and Smith added two points, pushing the WHS lead back to seven.

     Consecutive aces by sophomore Ally Avedesian gave WHS the set win and the match in three sets.

     “We have depth and that makes a big difference, Rahe said. “We have a lot of respect for Lynchburg-Clay. They are a good team.

     “In our games, teams worry about Jessica Caplinger and Brooke Burns, but they also have to worry about (Jessie) Gilliland. She can kill the ball from the outside. We have three good hitters and that makes a lot of difference.”

     Rahe complemented the effort of the Lady Mustangs.

     “Erin (Walters) has done a great job in coaching her team,” he said.

     The “Volley for a Cure” earned over $2,300 Monday night. Last year the event earned $1,100.

     “I want to thank all our sponsors, donors and everyone who helped out in anyway with this event,” Walters said. “I want to thank Patti Phelan. She did a lot to get this event together and worked with our donors.”

     All proceeds from the event go to the Susan G. Komen, For the Cure fund.