Cowgirls win in three against Cobras

     Tuesday night, the Edna Cowgirls won in three against their rivals, Industrial Cobras, with final scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 25-13. It was clear both teams came prepared for the fight with every point they earned, and both teams moved well among the court.

     Cowgirl Bailey Brown said she's been swinging away her hardest with her spikes and working through the blocks. It's clear her work has been paying off. "We have improved so so much, our back row  defense is amazing, our front row hits have been out of the world," she said. "We put up big blocks on a strong team and we are fighting." She added the team will continue building and work together to push through and finish games for district. 

     Cowgirl Haleigh Evans started the night with her serve and quickly, Cobra Savhannah Kitchens gave a spike that earned Industrial their first point. Cobra Maddison Heibel was next up to serve and an out of bounds spike from Brown may have been the only one she gave up to the Cobras. Brown's next spike was well-placed, getting the ball back to Edna.

Twice more Brown gave spikes that were too much to handle by her opponents, but the Cobras were still up by three points. Cowgirl Crystal Coulter gave an aggressive spike that was missed by Cobra Kelsey Van Pelt and the 'Girls came to tie with the Cobras 7-7.

     The teams went ball for ball and tied the score with each point earned. Evans gave a tip that gave the 'Girls a hard-earned point, Coulter placed a tip, Kitchens threw down another spike and Cobra Jessica Martin found a hole in the Edna team and tipped the ball in it. Edna began to take control of the game and edged up their points to 19-13.

     Cowgirl Sierra Pruitt took hold of a spike that found Cobra ground, and Evans made a quick move to earn themselves another point. Cowgirl Reagan Luedecke had a deep dig on Cobra Kayla Weixelman's spike that earned the 'Girls another point, 23-14. Cobra Sarah Kusak gave a tip that brought the ball back to the Cobras, although her attempted block in the next play for Coulter's spike didn't pan out. Pruitt earned the final point in the first match with a tip, 25-16.

     The Cobras started the second game with fervor and was earning more points than the Cowgirls, moves made from Weixelman, Cobra Joy Schroeder, Kitchens and Kusak earned points for their team quickly, bringing the score to 12-11 in their favor. Edna was inching up though, with moves made by Brown, Cowgirl Kadi Elledge, Coulter and Evans. Pruitt made three excellent moves in a row that brought the 'Girls back in the winning position with two spikes and a tip. Coulter, Evans, Elledge and Brown took it from there, earning the points to make it to 25. Big moves from Kitchens and Weixelman brought their score to 19.

     The last match went a little quicker, but only because Edna came out in front fast, 10-3. A Cobra spike from Van Pelt earned then a point and good blocks from Schroeder and Weixelman continued their hope. Edna kept earning points though, unfortunately sometimes because of Cobra mistakes, making the score 20-13 quickly.

     An ace by Elledge and two big spikes and a tip from Coulter were the winning points of the night, giving Edna the edge.

Without a doubt Evans, one of the Captains, was keeping her teammates in check. "I was just trying to make sure they were calm because we've been practicing really hard and staying together as a team and talking to each other, that's what going to win us games," said Evans.

     There was talk that whichever team won on Tuesday night may have the best bet at a District Championship. Evans said, "It's a possibility, we've been working hard in the gym and ready for every game that comes to us."

    Both teams gave a good show to the fans, and the fans cheered their teams on with everything they could.