Lady Panthers edge Lancaster
Monitor Staff Reports
MABANK–In a must-win situation, the Mabank Lady Panthers knocked off the visiting Lancaster Lady Tigers 3-1 Tuesday night to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Now 17-18 on the season and 3-4 in District 15-4A play, the Lady Panthers were scheduled to host fifth-ranked Red Oak Friday night.
Tuesday, Oct. 16, the Lady Panthers will travel to West Mesquite, and will stay on the road Friday, Oct. 16, when they visit Mesquite Poteet. Both evenings open with 5:30 p.m. sub-varsity matches.
The illness-riddled Lady Panthers were clearly out of sync in Tuesday’s second-round opener, but managed to hold off the Lady Tigers in a tighter-than-expected match, 26-24, 27-25, 21-25 and 25-11.

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Back after missing the entire first round of district play with a broken foot, Mabank Lady Panther junior Torrie Garrett goes up for a spike during Mabank's District 15-4A second-round opener against Lancaster Tuesday. Also shown are senior Whitney Evans (13) and freshman Kourtney Holyfield (6).

“The girls needed a win tonight to stay in the playoff hunt, and they produced one,” veteran coach Stacy Shelton said afterward.
“We now must beat West Mesquite, Forney and Terrell to get into the playoffs. We could get some help from other teams upsetting Forney or Terrell,” Shelton said.
“We have been really struggling as of late with injuries and illness,” she added. “We had several girls playing sick tonight.
“We finally got Torrie (Garrett) back from a broken foot, but we still have Sadie Roberts out with a hamstring injury,” Shelton said. “We really have to step our game up from now on.”
In her first match after missing six weeks, Garrett had seven kills and two blocks, along with two digs on defense.
Alison Castle led the Lady Panther offense with 18 kills, adding seven digs, one save and one service ace.
Both Lauren Norwood and Whitney Evans had four kills each. Norwood added nine digs and one assist, while Evans had one block, nine digs, one save and one ace.
Freshman setter Kourtney Holyfield had 30 assists, one ace and two digs, while Roberts, despite her injury, contributed two digs.
Jena Penney had two kills and one dig, while Taylor Chapa had six digs and Meagan Royal had one save and one ace.
 

 

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Eustace sweeps hosting Kemp
Monitor Staff Reports
KEMP–The visiting Eustace Lady Bulldogs remained unbeaten in the first round of district play with a 3-0 victory over the Kemp Lady Yellowjackets Tuesday night.
Now 22-11 on the season and 4-0 in District 14-3A volleyball play, the Lady Bulldogs were scheduled to host Mineola in the final first-round contest Friday.
The Lady Yellowjackets fell to 0-4 in district play, and were scheduled to wrap up first-round play at home against the Van Lady Vandals Friday night.
Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Lady ’Jackets open second-round action on the road against Mineola, while Eustace will travel to Wills Point. Sub-varsity action will open at 5 p.m. in Mineola and 4:30 p.m. in Wills Point.
Friday, Oct. 16, the Lady Bulldogs will travel to Canton, while the Lady ’Jackets will host Wills Point, with sub-varsity matches opening at 5 p.m. in Canton and 4:30 p.m. in Kemp.

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Kemp Lady Yellowjacket Kimmie Gorka (14) tries to tip over a block by Eustace Lady Bulldog Jenny McConathy (3) during the second game of Eustace's 3-0 win over the hosting Lady 'Jackets Tuesday. Also shown are Kemp's Shelbie Wright (far right) and Eustace's Tori Bynum (left foreground), Kim Austin (7) and Harmony Allen (4).

The Lady Bulldogs’ dominating front line – taller and more athletic than the Lady ’Jackets – quickly took control of the contest, as Eustace won 25-13, 25-13 and 25-17.
As usual, senior Jenny McConathy led the Lady Bulldogs at the net, racking up seven kills and seven blocks, along with four digs.
Junior Allison Cass had a strong all-around game, notching four kills, two blocks, 14 digs on defense and serving four aces.
Sophomore Catania Grant racked up five kills, two blocks, four digs and one ace, while junior Harmony Allen had four kills, two blocks and nine digs on defense.
Senior setter Kim Austin had 15 assists and six digs, while Aurora Beasley had two kills and one dig and senior Tori Bynum had four digs and served up six aces.
Defensively, Erica Sanchez had eight digs for the Lady Bulldogs, with Shelley Temple adding four digs, Alyssa Walker three digs and Kelsey Maltos one dig.
Kemp senior Amanda Lawrence forged a strong all-around game for the Lady ’Jackets with 12 serves, two kills, three blocks, seven digs and eight assists, while Sharda Bettis led the Kemp defense with 13 blocks.
Senior Shelbie Wright, the only Lady ’Jacket taller than any of the Lady Bulldogs at 6-2, had three kills and five blocks, along with six serves, while Amber Brewer had a strong defensive game with seven blocks, three digs and six serves.
Kylie Goswick also had a strong defensive game, notching six blocks, one kill and five digs, with Kimmie Gorka adding four kills, seven digs and five serves.
Setter Heather Henderson had 21 assists and one dig, while Hannah Carpenter had seven digs and eight serves, with Amanda White adding seven digs and both Lacey Pettigrew and Kayleigh Morton contributing one dig each.
Eustace also swept the sub-varsity matches, winning a very tight junior varsity contest 26-24 and 25-16, and the freshman match 25-16 and 25-4.