TYLER, Texas-Texas High defeated Midlothian in a Class 5A area volleyball playoff Friday night 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, at Robert E. Lee High School.
The Lady Tigers (27-10) advance to next week's Region II-5A quarterfinal match for the first time under head coach Melissa Hardy.
"This is our first time to get past bi-district," Hardy said. "I am so proud of these girls. They have worked really hard. They look totally different than they did at the beginning of the season. They've won some and they've lost some, but from every win they enjoyed it and every loss they learned from it."
The Panthers gained some momentum late in the third match, scoring three straight points to gnaw away at Texas High's lead and bring the game to within six points. Samantha Rodgers was at the service line for Midlothian when coach Hardy called a timeout.
"I actually took the timeout because No. 12 is their best server," Hardy said. "She had scored one point on us and I felt if took a timeout I could ice her, and she missed the next serve."
The Tigers finished with three straight points. The first was a kill by Kaitlyn Cross, who led Texas High with 21 service points (five aces), 17 kills and seven blocks. The penultimate point was given off a setting error by the Panthers.
The final point of the game was a kill by Cashlin Gooden.
"They really wanted this win," Hardy said. "They had that fierceness like: 'We want this, we're going to take it.'"
Treyaunna Rush contributed a triple-double with 17 service points, 14 kills and 10 digs. Vicki Willis had 19 service points and nine digs and Olivia Lower added 17 service points and 12 digs.
The Tigers eased into the contest winning the first match by seven and giving up several points off miscues. Texas High's only loss came in the second set, which they dropped 25-22.
However, the Tigers hit their stride in the third game.
Cross went on a six-point spree to spur her team and after giving up only two points to Midlothian. Katelyn Jordan served five more points to give Texas High a nine-point edge. From there the match was back-and-forth, with the Panthers never coming closer than to six points.
It was Rush that lit the flame from the serving line in the final match with four unanswered points at the top end of play with help from Cross on the front line with a tip and a block. The last set was back and forth, with small runs by the Tigers, who scored 14 points off Panther errors.
The Tigers advance to play the winner of Hallsville-Joshua.
"We will do the same thing we've been doing for the last three games," said Hardy. "We'll take some time to prep and then just come out and play our game."