Tigerettes continue district dominance
GRANGER — It was business as usual Saturday for the Thrall Tigerettes. They traveled up Texas Highway 95 to Granger and handed the Lady Lions a 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 loss. With the win, the Tigerettes remained atop the District 26-2A standings with a 6-0 record and ran their regular season record to 25-7. Granger falls to 14-16 for the season and 2-3 in the district.
It was all Granger through the first part of the opening set.
Granger got two blocks from Krista Hutka, and Clarissa Miller served up a pair of aces to give the Lady Lions a 9-3 lead.
But, the Tigerettes began to claw their way back. A 4-0 run, led by a Melaina Grissom kill and an Emily Holybee ace, cut the score to 9-7 and kills by Nevaeh Irvin knotted the score at 10.
“Granger got off to a good start,” said Thrall Coach Bethany Grissom.
“We expected them to play us tough, and we had to fight hard to get back into that first set.”
Melaina Grissom put the Tigerettes ahead for good, serving four straight points, and another 4-0 run, led by kills from Brynn Leschber and Amber Kevil, gave the Tigerettes a 16-11 advantage. The teams traded points for the remainder of the match and a pair of Granger miscues sealed the first set for the Tigerettes.
Granger got off to a quick start again in the second set, leading 3-0 with the help of another Hutka block and a Miller ace. But, once again, the Tigerettes roared back.
Thrall, on the strength of kills by Melaina Grissom, Leschber and Kevil, took their first lead at 9-8. And when Leschber picked up a block and a kill, the Tigerettes’ lead was stretched 11-9.
Granger battled back and knotted the score at 13 on back-to-back kills by Tessa Burton and Sofia Bernal, but the momentum soon swung back to the Tigerette side of the court. A 5-0 Thrall run that featured two kills by Melaina Grissom and a Leschber ace, put the Tigerettes ahead for good at 18-13. Kevil’s kill closed out the second set and gave the Tigerettes a two-sets-to-none lead.
The final set was close early. Granger got kills from Bernal, Jaila Rollie and Abigail Crouch who tied the score at six.
But, when the Tigerettes picked up a side-out, Melaina Grissom served six aces, including five straight, and the Tigerettes led 14-6.
From that point, the teams traded points until Granger’s final shot landed just outside the line, giving the Tigerettes the sweep.
“We’re playing pretty good volleyball, but we’ve still got some work to do before the playoffs start,” Coach Grissom said. “We are still having too many service errors and we’re making a few too many mistakes in our pass-receive game. But, the girls are working hard and I feel we’ll be ready for the playoffs.”
Thrall stepped out of district play Tuesday night to face the Milano Lady Eagles (15-9).
Granger, meanwhile, was scheduled to travel to Holland (8-18, 1-3).
Thrall High School varsity volleyball sophomore Brynn Leschber (7) goes up high for the kill Oct. 10 during the Tigerettes’ home district match against Bartlett High School. Photo by Larry Pelchat
