State bound!

HALTOM CITY - The Aledo Ladycats volleyball team punched their ticket to the Class 5A Division I volleyball state semifinals on Friday, Nov. 15, as they knocked off the No. 2 team in Texas in straight sets, 25-23, 25-17, and 26-24. 

“Our entire team was something special,” Ladycat head coach Claire Gay said after the match. “They just rallied for each other. At the end of the day, that family mentality is just another level.”

Just days removed from toppling No. 1, Amarillo, the third-ranked Ladycats (35-7) made the voyage to Haltom City to square off with a Colleyville Heritage squad they know all too well. The Lady Panthers (36-7) have gotten the best of Aledo in recent years, leaving the Ladycats with a score to settle.

The victory was the 24th consecutive for Aledo, which has not lost since Aug. 27.

After a back-and-forth battle to start the night, Colleyville Heritage was the first to flinch, calling a timeout with Aledo leading 18-16. As play resumed, so did the Ladycat rally, as they outpaced the odds-on favorite, 3-1. The Lady Panthers were forced to take their second timeout of the set after falling behind 21-17. 

This time the momentum began to sway away from Aledo. Colleyville Heritage went on the offensive, leaning on their prized outside hitter and BYU commit, Suli Davis. Davis led the Lady Panthers back to within striking distance at 23-21, as Gay called her first timeout of the night. 

The break in action worked to perfection as Aledo got back to work. The Ladycats prevailed in set number one, 25-23 to take an early advantage. 

Aledo started off the second set right where they left off with Ella Isbell drawing first blood with a kill from the middle of the net to get the action underway. Isbell, who has progressed by leaps and bounds in her swan song season, became an impenetrable force in the middle for the Ladycat defense in the match, racking up blocks like an expert mason building a wall. 

Having a top recruit in the nation is nice to have, but a great player will only take a team so far in a team sport. With Colleyville Heritage running a majority of their attack through Davis, the duo of Isbell and Kinley Elms up front began to match the timing on her shots across the net. Aledo’s defense shut down the Lady Panthers to put the underdogs ahead two sets to none following a 25-17 second stanza with Isbell and Elms racking up seven blocks each in the match. 

Isbell also led the Ladycats in blocks against Amarillo, giving her 13 total blocks in regionals.

Contrarily, the Ladycats mixed up their offense, keeping Colleyville Heritage guessing throughout. Setters Ava Reding and Sophia Frank were dealing all over the floor, putting the Ladycat hitters in positions to find success. Their efforts were highly rewarded, as Reding ended the night with 22 assists while Frank collected a dozen for herself.

The fight had not left the Lady Panthers in spite of the deficit they faced heading into set number three. Once again, the Ladycats got on the board first thanks to some trickery by Elms, who caught the Lady Panthers on their heels with a quick hit into the middle of their defense. It appeared as though the Ladycats were going to run away with the final set early on as they went up 7-3 before Colleyville Heritage called a timeout. 

However, the Lady Panthers came out of the break invigorated. Slugging their way back into the set, the two squads ended up in a tie at 13-all when Gay used her first timeout of the third frame. 

The two teams went blow-for-blow, as neither squad was willing to concede the advantage. Colleyville Heritage took their first lead of the set at 20-19. The lead was short lived, with the Ladycats answering right back to tie it up at 20-20. 

Aledo called their second timeout as the Lady Panthers went up 21-20. Colleyville Heritage used their final timeout moments later with the score tied at 22.

“[Colleyville Heritage] isn’t going to give up,” commended Gay. “They’re going to find a way to score. They started tipping on us in the third set and it started working for them. Then it was just a dogfight to the end. I told our girls, if you drop set three, we’re going five, so you have to win this right now.”

With both clubs out of timeouts and the score tied, it was a sprint to the finish. Ultimately, it was the Ladycats who prevailed, 26-24, hoisting the regional championship trophy as they move on to the state semifinals for the first time since 2017, Gay’s first season as Ladycats coach.

“All respect goes to their program and their coaches. I feel like we were the underdog coming in. People anticipated they would knock us out again. Our girls weren’t having it. They were tired of it. I think that’s a huge compliment to our team,” Gay said. “They stepped up. They kept their composure. They played consistently as a team. They were respectful throughout. I think that was a huge moment for them.”

Elms did a remarkable job of mixing up her fastball and changeup, keeping the Lady Panthers off balance as she led the Ladycats in kills with 14. Alyssa Todd notched a dozen kills of her own with several coming from the middle of the floor. 

Todd and Ella Meador led the Ladycats with 13 digs each while patrolling the back line. Kenrie Pruitt ended the night right in the mix with a dozen digs of her own.

While Isbell and Elms combined for 14 blocks in the match, Haley Lowe earned five of her own as the trio made it a tough night up front for Davis and the Lady Panthers.