Bell, Trinity volleyball stumble as district play starts

Trinity and L.D. Bell went a combined 0-3 this week in volleyball, as one team got district play started on the wrong foot against one of District 7-6A’s frontrunners and the other took a loss to one of the area’s strongest teams.

Bell had dropped all three of its matches in the month of September, against North Crowley (15-25, 24-26, 21-25), Arlington Martin (18-25, 16-25, 25-23, 20-25) and Saginaw Boswell (15-25, 15-25, 23-25) while winning just one set in the process. And the Lady Raiders’ first District 7-6A test made didn’t make things any easier, as Bell travelled to Southlake Carroll, the top-ranked Class 6A volleyball team in the state that finished second in the district a year ago.

The Lady Dragons blanked Bell in a 3-0 win (25-6, 25-8, 25-12) just like they did twice in the 2014 season. The 26 points represented the lowest offensive output in a match for Bell this season.

Middle Sidra Triplett led the Lady Raiders with six kills, while Bella Burns had seven digs and setter Sophie Rodgers has 12 assists in the loss.

Trinity

Trinity’s early-season momentum was stalled this week after the Lady Trojans had won six of their past seven matches. Losses to tough non-district opponents Keller Central (25-23, 21-25, 17-25, 11-25) and Arlington Lamar (25-16, 25-8, 25-19) left the Lady Trojans with a bad taste in their mouths that could not be satisfied on Friday, when district play opened for the other six 7-6A teams and Trinity sat idle.

In the home loss to Lamar, freshman Hannah Zuege led the Lady Trojans with nine kills while Elli Merchant tallied eight. Amanda McDowell had 19 digs defensively while Margaret Dean notched 18 while leading the team with 10 assists.

Trinity will host Bell Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in its first district match.

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Bell, Trinity volleyball stumble as district play starts."