Lady Cats Go Undefeated In Home Tournament

Even though the school year still hasn’t officially begun, the Sulphur Springs Lady Cats volleyball team is already in midseason form. Last week the Lady Cats hosted their annual home tournament, looking to get a number of games under their belt and set the tone early, for how this season is going to go. 

The Lady Cats opened the tournament with a pair of games on Thursday, going up against Leonard and Prairiland, defeating both of them with ease. They needed just two sets in both games, defeating Leonard 25-17 and 25-10, before turning around and beating Prairland by almost identical scores (25-16 and 25-10). 

Sulphur Springs continued their hot start with another pair of games Friday, this time facing Cumby and Blue Ridge. They once again were able to get the job done in clean sweeps, beating Cumby 25-12 in both sets, while defeating Blue Ridge by scores of 25-17 and 25-15. 

Finally, the Lady Cats rounded out the weekend with another pair of games Saturday, being paired against Mabank and Kilgore, looking to see if they could finish the weekend undefeated. They were able to do exactly that, beating Mabank 25-17 and 25-16, before sweeping Kilgore 25-11 and 25-17. 

Sulphur Springs not only went a perfect 6-0, but didn’t lose a single set in Coach Tara Wager’s first tournament as the head coach of the Lady Cats. They outscored their opponents 300-170, never allowing more than 17 points in any given set, completely dominating their competition. 

Junior’s Sophie Schaack and Alani Pruitt have led the way offensively for the Lady Cats in the early going, leading the team with 38 kills and 33 kills, respectively. Sophomore Maggie Thompson has also made a huge impact with 31 kills of her own, while also leading the team with 12 blocks. 

Harper Hodges is the lone senior for this years Lady Cats’ squad, and her veteran play has been in full effect, leading the team with 19 aces (no other Lady Cat has more than 8) and a ridiculous 67 serve points (the next most on the team is 36). Hodges is also the primary setter for Sulphur Springs, and has kicked off her senior season by already racking up 102 assists through the first eight games. 

Junior Peyton Taylor is currently leading the team with 53 digs already, averaging 7.6 digs per match and 3.3 digs per set. Schaack and Hodges aren’t far behind her with 42 digs and 30 digs respectively. Sophomore Kylee Harrison is off to a strong start in her second season on varsity with 26 digs of her own, while junior’s Presley Smith (16) and Riley Friddle (12) also have double-digit digs already. 

Before the Sulphur Springs tournament, the Lady Cats had split a pair of games against Pottsboro and Farmersville, bringing their overall record to 7-1 entering this week. They have another busy stretch ahead of them this week, hosting Greenville tonight at 4:30 p.m. before going on to play in the Farmersville tournament this weekend. 

They already have games scheduled against Nocona, Mesquite Poteet and Spring Hill on Thursday, which will determine how the rest of the tournament goes for them. Stay tuned for more updates on how the Lady Cats do in tournament and preseason play, as they prepare to make another strong run in district play and hope to make a playoff push.