Blooming Grove tops Lone Oak

MESQUITE — The Blooming Grove Lady Lions had a few jitters going into their Class 2A, Region II Bi-District playoff game against Lone Oak.

Good thing for the Lady Lions, they got over them really fast.

Blooming Grove (24-8) defeated the Lady Buffs 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-21) Tuesday night at West Mesquite High school and advanced to the Area Round of the University Interscholastic League volleyball playoffs.

“I am very excited,” senior Kelsie Tipping said. “We had a lot of nerves going into it, but we have always been a first game warm-up type of team.”

The District 12-2A runner-up got a big game from its senior middle blocker. Tipping finished the match with a team-high 12 kills, two blocks and a team-high .346 hitting percentage.

“Kelsie did a good job and led our team like she has all season,” coach Bridgett Melton said. “But this was a team win and we played really well as a team (Tuesday).

“We were a little nervous in the first game, but we settled down and played our game. Once we did that, we did a great job.”

The Lady Lions did have some struggles with their nerves in Game 1 as Lone Oak took advantage of a few errors.

Blooming Grove jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first game, but Lone Oak came fighting back.

The Lady Lions held the lead until the Lady Buffs’ Tiffany Brannon had a kill to put Lone Oak ahead 19-17.

But Lone Oak had their own problems with nerves and errors in the first game.

A total 20 of Blooming Grove points came from errors in the first game. The Lady Lions retook the lead after a series of Lone Oak errors to set up game point.

After a Blooming Grove serving error, Briana Sims got a game-winning kill to give the Lady Lions the advantage.

In Game 2, Jacque Sims served a 9-0 run to put Blooming Grove in full control of the game. The Lady Lions never trailed by more than eight points in the second game. Briana Sims set up game-point. Tipping had her only service ace of the night to take Game 2, 25-15 and give Blooming Grove a comfortable lead going into the third game.

“I told them after the first game to stay aggressive and use our hitters,” Melton said. “Once we settled down, we did just that and played our game.”

Blooming Grove jumped out to another big lead to start Game 3. As the Lady Lions commanded a 9-4 lead, Lone Oak came fighting back led behind their outside hitting duo of Melanie Williams and Brannon.

The duo combined for 10 kills in Game 3 and started a 12-3 run to take a 4-point lead midway through the game.

After a Lady Lion timeout, Blooming Grove retook control of the match. Jacque Sims had back-to-back kills to give the Lady Lions a 20-19 lead and would finish off the match with a Tipping kill and Sarah Rodgers service ace.

With the win, Blooming Grove will advance to the Area finals to take on Pottsboro at 5 p.m., Saturday at South Garland High School.

Tipping is optimistic about her team’s chances.

“We can go far, we just have to play our game,” she said. “The mental game is a real big part of this sport.”

Melton said that Pottsboro will bring a big challenge with a pair of 6-foot middle blockers.

“We are going to have to be at our best and play really well against Pottsboro,” Melton said. “They are a very talented team.”

Notes: Blooming Grove fans, along with fans from Lone Oak filled the gymnasium at West Mesquite High School. An estimated 425 fans were in attendance according to a official from West Mesquite High School...Lone Oak’s Williams had a match-high 14 kills, while her teammate Brannon had 10...Jacque Sims finished the match with five kills and two service aces while libero Sarah Rodgers had eight digs...This will be the second time in three years the Lady Lions advanced to the area round of the playoffs.

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Michael Adams may be contacted via e-mail at adams@corsicanadailysun.com