GIDDINGS — The Flatonia High School volleyball team defeated Thorndale High School Nov. 3 at Giddings ISD by a final score of 25-13, 25-15, 25-18. Flatonia had control of this game from the very start as they didn’t let up and played solid on both sides of the ball.
“Essentially, whenever the environment is hyped and the pressure’s on, I think our girls thrive really good,” said Flatonia head volleyball coach Lauren Hoffman. “We do a lot of pressure situations in practice to prepare for stuff like this so they’re ready to go. Mindset going forward, we’re ready for the next round. Prep starts tomorrow, even tonight, so we’re ready to go.”
Flatonia outside hitter Katelin Sullivan had an impressive game with 21 kills and came up with some big points in clutch situations.
“In the playoffs, we all have to work together,” Sullivan said. “I feel like we did the same thing all season, so really focusing on fundamentals and playing our game is really important.”
Flatonia had a 14-7 lead in the first set before a few kills from Flatonia, which included two kills from Emma Kosler, one from Sullivan, and a tip ball from Summer Sodek, made it 18-9. A block and another kill from Sullivan put it at 21-11, then an ace from Sullivan and ball out of bounds from Thorndale won Flatonia the set 25-13.
Both teams went back and forth early in the second set and the Lady Bulldogs eventually extended their lead to 16-8 after another tip ball from Sodek to go along with a few more tip balls and some kills mixed in.
One more tip ball and a kill from Sodek made it 20-14, which led to two more kills from Sullivan, including the game winning kill to win the set
25-15.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a big lead in the third set and put the score at 8-1 on a few kills, a block, a tip ball, and an ace.
Flatonia kept this same kind of lead throughout the set and the closest margin Thorndale reached was 13-9 after an ace. Sullivan recorded a couple more kills later in the set, then a kill from Kosler, a mishit from Thorndale, and an ace from Kosler for the final point won the Lady Bulldogs the set and match 25-19.
