The Lady Tigers kicked off district play with a huge win against the Whitehouse Lady Wildcats 3-1, Friday Sept 9, 2022. This win advances the Tigers district record to 1-0 and their overall record to 7-0. 

Both teams came out hot in the first set, trading points and swapping kills. Senior Bella Cherry and Junior Mally Lumpkin came up with some big kills to keep the Tigers close with the Lady Cats. 

The set remained close throughout its duration. Freshman Taryne Stiger put up a huge block for the Tigers, but neither team produced enough consecutive points to gain a lead. 

Junior Cy Hopkins pulled out two aces, followed by two kills by Cherry, putting Texas up 23-20, forcing a Lady Cat timeout. 

A missed serve by Texas on game point brought Whitehouse within striking distance, but Cherry came up with a big kill to win the set for the Tigers 25-23.

Whitehouse put down the first ball of the second set for a kill, then went on to take a 4-1 lead, shifting the momentum to the Wildcats. 

Texas had a string of mental and unforced errors, allowing the Lady Cats to take control of the set. 

A few kills for the Tigers kept them up in the set, but ultimately they couldn’t overcome their errors. The Lady Cats won the second set 25-18.

The Lady Tigers came alive offensively in the third set, putting up 20 kills collectively in the set alone. 

The Cats took a 3-1 lead early, but Texas quickly overcame it with two aces from Cherry and a four kill run from junior Cy Hopkins. The Tigers took advantage of tight sets, taking aggressive swings and picking apart the Whitehouse defense. 

Texas began playing a scrappy defense, allowing them to take control of the set. The Tigers took a 21-13 lead over the Lady Cats.

Whitehouse put down a few balls for kills, pulling the game back into reach. Texas had a few defensive errors, closing in on their point gap to 24-23. 

The Tigers buckled down on the last point, and took the third set 25-23. 

The fourth set was intense. Trading points, neither team put up any big kills. 

After a few swings from Lumpkin and Hopkins, the Tigers put up a five point lead 14-9. 

The officials were being tight with doubles calls, which hurt both teams and killed a lot of rallies. 

Tied at 20, Stiger came out with three huge aces for the Tigers putting them up 23-21. 

A huge block from Whitehouse, followed by back-to-back overpasses by Texas tied the game at 24. 

Cherry came up with a kill for the Lady Tigers, giving them the set win 26-24 and the match win 3-1.

“I think we prepared very well for this game,” Lumpkin said. “We talked about our game plan and we executed. If we keep doing that throughout district, I think we will be in a good position.”

The Lady Tigers will face off against the Longview Lady Lobos at home Tuesday, Sept 13, 2022, for their second district game.