Liberty Christian knocks off scrappy Nolan Catholic and more from the Fort Worth area
October 12, 2021
Argyle Liberty Christian 3, Nolan Catholic 0
With an massive upset on their mind, the Nolan Catholic Vikings played close with the Liberty Christian Warriors, the defending TAPPS D1 state champs, but behind the trio of Reagan Fifer, Madison Morrow and Jadyn Fife, it was Liberty getting the road district sweep, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 on Tuesday night.
The Warriors (34-8, 2-0 in TAPPS 1-6A) got off to a quick start as Fifer, the junior setter, hit a lefty kill down the middle to give them a 10-4 lead forcing a Nolan timeout.
Liberty, which moved up one spot to No. 2 in the Star-Telegram rankings for UIL Class 4A and below, extended the lead to 11-4 after the pause, but the Vikings rallied.
Freshman phenom Suli Davis had a big-time kill and solo block to pull the Vikings within 16-14. Davis is coming off a 42-kill performance in her previous game against FW All Saints, a TAPPS state record.
Liberty called timeout, but responded thanks to a Fife block.
The set was tied at 23-23 that led to another timeout, but the Warriors scored the final two points, which was capped off with an ace from Fifer.
Liberty started the second set hot as well, with an 8-1 lead. Morrow, a senior and the reigning District MVP, got a pair of kills and Fife, a senior middle, helped push the margin to 20-14.
Morrow and Fifer helped push Liberty to another set and 2-0 advantage.
Nolan (14-10, 2-1) started off better in the third set, looking to extend the match. Davis and Morrow traded kills, and Liberty was forced to call time when the Vikings pulled within 13-10.
But a 7-2 Liberty run was capped off with a Fife kill and Morrow set down another Fifer assist on match point to send the Vikings packing. Liberty extended its win streak to 12 games.
Mansfield Legacy 3, Burleson 0
The Legacy Broncos, who returned to the area volleyball rankings for the first time since the opening month, picked up a big home district win against 8-5A leading Burleson, 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 on Tuesday night.
Legacy, No. 7 in the area 5A ranks, came in second behind the Elks and a game out of the column. The Broncos improved to 18-16 overall and 8-2 in district.
Brynn Dowd had a game-high 20 kills for Legacy while Arianna Mongare and Katie Brothers added 12 kills apiece. Five Broncos had at least 10 kills, led by Kylie Patten’s 17 and Angie Brothers put in 41 assists.
Burleson, No. 6, drops to 8-1 and 20-20 overall.
The season series is split with Burleson winning on home court in September.
Fort Worth YWLA 3, FW Carter-Riverside 2
The YWLA Owls trailed 2-1 only to rally past the Carter-Riverside Eagles to clinch the program’s first playoff berth, 22-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 15-7 on Tuesday night.
YWLA improves to 17-8 overall and 7-2 in District 8-4A.
The program is in its fifth season.
The Owls won less than 10 games in their first two years and 11 games combined in their past two years.
Boswell 3, Euless Trinity 0
Having clinched a playoff spot in District 3-6A last Friday, the Boswell Pioneers continued their onslaught toward a district championship with a 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 home win over the Trinity Trojans on Tuesday night.
Boswell, No. 5 in the area 6A rankings, improved to 24-12 overall and 10-0 in district.
Trinity, No. 10, drops to 25-15 and 6-4. It owns a three-game lead for fourth over LD Bell and FW Paschal.
The Pioneers opened the game with 5-0 and 7-1 runs, but the Trojans would tie it at 9-9. The first set was also tied at 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 before Boswell got blocks from Madi Parrish and Stephanie Gutierrez. Parrish then got back-to-back kills to win the set.
A pair of kills from Gutierrez gave Boswell a 9-6 lead in the second. A big block and kill from Peighton Serda pushed Boswell to an 11-0 run and 20-7 lead. Caitlyn Boyd won it in the third to keep the Pioneers unbeaten in district.
Birdville 3, Grapevine 1
Maya Duckworth and Caroline Kahle combined for 39 kills and the Hawks beat the Mustangs in a key District 6-5A home game on Tuesday, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 25-15.
The win pushed Birdville to a tie with Grapevine for the fourth and final playoff spot in the district.
Both teams are 5-5 and split the season series.
Birdville, No. 5 in the area 5A rankings, improved to 22-16 overall. Grapevine is 12-16.
Duckworth, an Iowa State commit, added eight blocks and 13 digs. Briley Balderas had a team-high 21 digs and Kahle finished with 16 digs. Ashley Munoz and Georgia Stinson each had 20 assists for the Hawks.
Weatherford 3, LD Bell 0
For the sixth straight season, the Weatherford Kangaroos will be playoff bound, after clinching a District 3-6A berth with a road win on Tuesday over the Blue Raiders, 25-19, 25-9, 25-23.
TCU commit Kate Hansen finished with 18 kills and 16 digs for Weatherford. Riess Griffith chipped in 12 kills and 10 digs, and Avree Hudson (19) and Caitlyn Benson (11) combined for 30 assists.
The Roos, No. 8 in the area 6A rankings, improved to 19-18 overall and 9-1 in district. They are a game back of first place Boswell and will host the Pioneers on Friday.
Bell dropped to 17-19 and 3-7.
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 9:11 PM.
