Lady Bison bring home tournament hardware

Karlee and Kylan Ferguson -- sisters and now Varsity teammates -- take the floor for the Lady Bison. Contributed photo Volleyball season is off to a great start, and the Lady Bison brought home the first place trophy Saturday from the Challengers’ Bracket of the Grapeland Tournament. Eighteen schools participated in pool play Thursday and Friday before dividing into two brackets for Saturday. Buffalo won the title with wins over Latexo and Hubbard following a forfeit by Coolidge.

Friday, the Lady Bison met Warren, Kennard and Cayuga in pool play. Coaches used the abbreviated pool games very much like scrimmages, trying out several line ups to assess personnel. Buffalo came up short against Warren, 17-25, 23-25. Meredith Shaw, Brooke Trahan, and Jordyn Briscoe served for four points each to pace the Lady Bison. In the second pool game, the Lady Bison defeated Kennard 25-16, 25-14. Trahan served for eight points in the match, and Shaw and Karlee Ferguson served for five points each. In the final match of the day, Buffalo fell to Cayuga 16-25 and 17-25. Briscoe served for ten points.

Saturday’s action was stymied early when Coolidge failed to report to the tournament. Following warm up, the Lady Bison advanced to the semi-finals by way of a forfeit. Facing more challenging opponents in the second two contests, Buffalo showed signs of promise as they defeated Latexo and Hubbard 2-0.

The Lady Bison defeated Latexo 25-19, 25-11. Shaw led off with four consecutive service aces to give Buffalo a 5-0 lead. Buffalo controlled the match through 17-6 before they were threatened with an eight point Latexo run. The Lady Bison stopped the damage, and recovered to win 25-19. Kelsey Canady and Trahan helped the Lady Bison get off to a good start in game two. Canady served four aces, and Trahan followed with five consecutive points for Buffalo to lead eleven-one. The Lady Bison cruised to a 25- 11 victory. Desiree Worthy led the team with five kills. Karlee Ferguson and Kaila Grissett each nailed two. Kylan Ferguson and Shaw landed one each. Kylan Ferguson and Worthy each recorded a block. Libero Lindsey McGill contributed twelve digs.

Hubbard proved a worthy opponent in the championship match. The Lady Jaguars hurt the Lady Bison early with tremendous serving, jumping out to an eleven-two and then a 16-eight lead. After a rally point, Shaw toed the line and served the Lady Bison ahead to nineteen-sixteen before finally clipping the net. The Lady Bison went on to win 25-23. The second contest was a battle as well, as both teams played quality defense and turned up the heat on offense. Buffalo struggled a little at the serving line, giving up three crucial errors to keep Hubbard in the match. After a rally point gave the Lady Bison a one point advantage at 22-21, freshman Ferguson served three points, including an ace at match point. Shaw downed six kills in the match while Grissett nailed four. Worthy dropped two. Shaw and Grissett scored eight digs each. McGill came through with sixteen digs. Worthy had two solo blocks, and Grissett rejected one. Kylan Ferguson led in assists with eight while Trahan added four. Shaw and Kylan Ferguson led the team with twelve and seven service points.

“Today was a great day,” said head coach Lori Shaw. “I started to see some growth in the team as well as bonding. Areas to address were presented, so we have a practice plan for Monday, but that’s what tournaments are for. We will have a nice blend of youth and experience on this squad.”