Lady Dawgs lose five-set heartbreaker to Pantherettes - again

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove Lady Dawgs volleyball team has lost just three games all season, but, unfortunately two of them were to District 12-6A rivals Belton.
The Lady Dawgs battled hard at the Midway High School Arena in Waco but came up short in a 19-25, 25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 8-15 loss.
The loss drops the Lady Dawgs (37-3 overall, 12-2 in District 12-6A) to second place behind the Pantherettes (30-14, 12-1) with just two games to play before the playoffs begin Oct. 29-30.
Senior Kamryn Ash’s team-high 41 assists and senior Adian Chace’s 17 kills was not enough to lead the Lady Dawgs to victory.
Sophomore Janice Fa’aola followed Chace with 12 kills. She also led the Lady Dawgs in aces with two.
Leading defensively was Aviyon Wilborn with 25 digs followed by Ash’s 22.
Senior Jada Close led the front-row defense with five blocks while Chace added four and senior Christina Pettigrew chipped in three.
The Ellison Lady Eagles (10-3) and Belton Lady Tigers (9-4) have also locked up playoff spots but seeding is still to be determined.
Temple (6-7) could feasibly catch Belton in the standings but would lose out on tiebreaker scenarios.
Is the season ended today, the Lady Dawgs would likely face Mesquite Horn (16-23, 6-4 in District 11-6A) in the first round of the playoffs with a potential round two matchup with the no. 4-ranked Prosper Lady Eagles (29-8, 9-0 in District 9-6A).
The Lady Eagles’ offense is led by sophomore Sami Jacobs with 329 kills and senior Ciera Hecht with 299. Senior Madi Whitmire leads in assists with 1,159.
Senior Kayla Martin leads the Lady Eagles’ back-row defense with 402 digs while sophomore Shalee Shore leads the front=row defense with 76 total blocks.
Chace leads the Lady Dawgs with 363 kills followed by juniors Leah Powell (272) and Fa’aola (255). 
Ash leads in assists with 832, followed by Chace’s 373.
Leading the back-row defense is injured libero Kristen Wasiak with 510 followed by Powell (37), and Chace (276). Wasiak’s replacement, Wilborn, has 230
Cove’s stats are prior to Friday’s Midway loss.
The Lady Dawgs must first regroup from Friday’s loss with a win over the Lady Tigers at home tonight before closing out the regular season at Killeen.