Bosqueville Bulldogs bounced by Lady Cats in area

A slow start cost Archer City a set in their bi-district win over Alvord. The Lady Cats did not make that mistake a second time, racing out to a commanding lead before blowing away an overmatched Bosqueville team, 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-8), in the Region II-2A area round of the playoffs.

Archer City (19-4) meets No. 6 Poolville in the regional quarterfinals. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, in Graham.

“When we played Alvord in the first round, it woke us up,” Archer City head coach Krissa Johnson said. “We played that first set against them really slow. We were very sluggish throughout the match. We finally picked it up. That’s what we’ve been preaching to one another. It wasn’t just me; it was everybody. We have to start strong and we have to stay strong.”

The Bulldogs had no answer for the Lady Cats’ middle attack of juniors Mallory Maxwell and Bailey Grant. Maxwell rarely failed to put down a kill on any of her swings, registering 13 kills, eight digs and a pair of aces while Grant logged a 10-kill performance from the middle in the win.

From the outside, junior Chandler Clark provided consistent points for the Lady Cats, matching Maxwell for the team high with 13 kills and added a pair of blocks and pair of aces.

“Bosqueville's biggest strength was their middle,” Johnson added. “That’s what we were looking at coming into the game. They had two very tall middles. The films that we had, they blocked well. We worked on cutting the ball and seeing the block with all of our hitters across the board. It showed tonight.”

Junior Maddie Lopez and sophomore Jill Liles did a phenomenal job of setting the table for the Lady Cats’ offense. Lopez finished with 18 assists and seven digs while Liles added 17 assists, seven digs and a pair of aces.

After a 5-0 run to open the first set, Archer City strung together a 13-1 run when leading 6-4 to blow the opening frame wide open for a 19-5 lead. Five different players recorded kills during the run including two kills each from junior Olivia Vogtsberger, Grant and Liles. Clark finished off the opening frame with a kill down the line to stake the Lady Cats to a 1-0 advantage.

Much like the first set, the Lady Cats jumped out to a 5-1 start in the second set. Leading 6-4, Archer City rolled on to a 10-2 run, highlighted by four kills from Grant to push the lead to 16-6. Miscues from the Bulldogs allowed Archer City to take the second set and a 2-0 advantage in the match.

In the final frame, Archer City’s lead grew as large as 19, up 24-5, before Grant punched the Lady Cats’ ticket to the regional quarterfinals with a spike.

Stay up-to-date with the Lady Cats’ run through the postseason by following @ACNSports on Twitter.