Lady Bobcats win Orangefield Tournament

The Lady Bobcats hosted the Orangefield Volleyball Tournament on Thursday and Saturday, August 24 and August 26. During the two days of play Orangefield went undefeated to capture the tournament trophy.

On Thursday Orangefield swept all three of its opponents in straight sets in a best two out of three sets format in the tournament. The Lady Bobcats beat Bob Hope early in the morning 25-10 and 25-20 in their opening match. Orangefield bested Deweyville 25-17 in both sets before defeating the West Orange-Stark Lady Mustangs 25-10 and 25-6 in the afternoon.

Volleyball action resumed on Saturday morning at the Orangefield Gymnasium. The Lady Bobcats played a very tough Evadale team in their morning match.

Evadale took the first set 25-17 over the Lady Bobcats. Orangefield bounced back to grab the second set 25-20 before winning decisively 15-4 in the third set. Leaders for the Lady Bobcats were Hannah Block with 3 aces, Kaitlyn Jenkins with 4 kills, Kaylea Gravett with 8 digs, Lela Francis with 2 blocks, and Brianna Moore with 12 assists.

Another tight match followed for Orangefield against Anahuac. The Lady Bobcats rallied from being down through much of the first set to force extra points before finally taking the set 29-27 to grab the advantage.

The second set was another nailbiter going extra points. Orangefield won the set 26-24 to sweep the match and earn a spot in the championship round.

Brianna Moore lead the Lady Bobcats with 2 aces and 23 assists. Greenlea Oldham topped the Lady Bobcats with 10 kills and 4 blocks. Hannah Block was a leader with 9 digs.

It took three sets to determine the Lady Bobcats' opponent in the final round. Anahuac won the first and third sets to defeat Evadale so the Lady Panthers could face Orangefield again.

The opening set of the championship match was almost a repeat of the earlier meeting between Orangefield and Anahuac a few hours earlier. Anahuac took several leads only to have the Lady Bobcats rally.

Mikayla Locke of the Lady Bobcats made a nice volley that put Orangefield at set point but Anahuac tied the score at twenty-four. Locke hit another strong volley that put the Lady Bobcats at set point again and a failed volley by Anahuac ended the set 26-24 in favor of Orangefield.

The second set looked like it might be a breather for the Lady Bobcats when they jumped to a 15-6 lead. Anahuac would not go down easily winning ten of the next eleven points to tie the set at sixteen.

After a point by the Lady Bobcats, Anahuac took its first lead in the second set with two straight points. Orangefield regained the advantage 20-18 before Anahuac tied the set at 21 points apiece.

The Lady Bobcats won a pivotal point to get the serve back. Brianna Moore closed out the set serving with Orangefield taking all three points on Moore's serve to capture the set 25-21 and sweep the match two sets to none.

Leaders for the Lady Bobcats were Kaitlyn Jenkins with 3 aces, Greenlea Oldham with 4 kills and 2 blocks matching Lela Francis, and Hannah Block with 9 digs. Brianna Moore showed her setting ability with 23 assists.

Moore was the only Lady Bobcat selected to the all-tournament team. Brianna received a medal for her outstanding contribution in being named to the select team.

Orangefield Coach Ashlee Peevey was excited about her Lady Bobcats' great team effort. "We just played together today more than I've seen thus far in the season. We played as a team, they worked together, their energy was great all throughout the day which sometimes is hard to get from teenaged girls. We kept having close sets today. Luckily we were challenged, but the Lady Bobcats kept rising to the occasion. I'm very proud of them," Peevey responded.

The Orangefield Lady Bobcats played at Deweyville on Tuesday, August 29. Their upcoming matches are Friday, September 1, at Woodville and Tuesday, September 5 at Port Neches-Groves.