Varsity Lady Bison take 4th at Elkhart Tournament

Elkhart hosted one of the most evenly matched tournaments around last weekend. Every match up was competitive with all eight teams capable of defeating anyone there. Thursday’s pool play seeded the tournament for Saturday. The Lady Bison ran out of gas over the course of the long day, and dropped the third place game to Crockett. Elkhart and Grapeland met for the championship.

The Lady Bison played shorthanded on Thursday, but managed to give Westwood and Trinity good games, and defeated Elkhart in two sets. Westwood defeated Buffalo 25-23, 25-18. Meredith Shaw led the team in serving and in kills. Lindsey McGill provided sixteen digs.

Buffalo won the first set over Trinity, 25-18, but dropped the next one 20-25. The Lady Tigers edged out the Lady Bison 14-16 in the tie-breaker. Grissett served for nine points to lead the Lady Bison. Trahan and Karlee Ferguson served for six points each. Shaw came through with a .500 kill percentage, landing five kills in ten attempts. Grissett notched four kills while Kylan Ferguson and Desiree Worthy nailed three each. Kylan Ferguson dished five assists and Trahan added four. Grissett was very active on the back row with fourteen digs. McGill came up with eleven. Blocking was at its best for the season: Kylan Ferguson(6), Shaw (3) and Grissett (3) and Worthy (2).

The last pool game of the day matched the Lady Bison with the undefeated host team, Elkhart. The Lady Bison snatched the win from the Lady Elks 25-21, 25- 16. McGill served for seven points to pace the Lady Bison. Shaw and Kylan Ferguson served six points each. Grissett nailed nine kills and Shaw added six to thwart the Lady Elks. Kylan Ferguson and Brooke Trahan dished ten and seven assists. Shaw and McGill came up with eleven digs each.

Buffalo met Overton in the first match of the bracket on Saturday. Overton was the second place team in their pool, losing only to Grapeland on Thursday. The Lady Bison quickly sent Overton to the consolation side of the tournament with a 25-12, 25- 16 win. Grissett served for twelve points in the match, and Trahan totaled nine. Grissett landed five kills to lead the offensive. Trahan scattered ten assists.

The Lady Elks were not to be denied in the semi-final rematch as they came through with a 25-17, 25-12 win over the Lady Bison. Shaw served for seven points, including a six point stretch in the first game. Grissett notched six kills in the match.

Buffalo won the first game over Crockett 25-18. The Lady Bulldogs rebounded to win the match 18-25, 11-25. Briscoe’s serve gave Crockett nightmares in the first game as she served for fourteen points over two possessions and landed seven aces. Worthy’s blocking was a highlight of the match as the senior blocked for four points. Grissett notched seven kills.

“Our inexperience came through down the stretch in the Crockett match,” said Coach Lori Shaw. “We had some hitting errors, so we opted for a conservative approach

and quit swinging.

That won’t work at this level. .................. It was a lesson well-learned,

I hope, and we’ll grow from

.................. the experience.”

The Lady Bison will play in Palestine on Tuesday before the Centerville Tournament Thursday.