Lady Dawgs wallop Waco High in sweep

By TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove volleyball team made quick work of the Waco High Lady Lions in a District 12-6A clash Tuesday night at Bulldawg Gymnasium.

A few early miscues by the Lady Dawgs allowed the Lady Lions to stay close in the early goings with Cove leading 7-4. The Lady Dawgs then finished the first set on an 18-5 run before allowing just 13 points in the next two sets combined on their way to a sweep (25-9, 25-8, 25-5) of the Lady Lions.

After a kill by Waco junior anna Garcia made it a one-point contest, 3-2, in the opening set, a pair of kills by Cove senior Leah Powell opened a 6-2 Cove advantage.

A point by Waco junior Icy Anderson pulled the Lady Lions back within three, 7-4, before four kills by Cove senior Janice Fa’aola and another by senior Jaela Rice, along with a block by Rice led the Lady Dawgs on a 9-1 run to take a 16-5 lead.

A block by Waco junior Ke’Audra Dunner briefly halted the run before kills by Powell, Fa’aola and senior Sam Ingram, along with an ace by junior Emily Vanderpoel opened up a 20-6 Cove lead.

Kills by Ingram and Powell led the way in the final five Cove points.

After an ace by Waco senior Mahagonie Dotson gave the Lady Lions the lead to open set two, the Lady Dawgs scored 13 unanswered points to take a dominant 13-1 lead before a pair of Cove miscues and a block by Waco junior KeT’urah King gave the Lady Lions their second, third and fourth points of the set.

Kills by Powell, Rice and Ingram, along with a pair of aces by Fa’aola led the way in the 13-0 run.

A strong dig by Rice and a dump by Cove sophomore Kyra Gaston halted the 3-0 run by Waco, followed by four-consecutive aces by Rice for a 19-4 Cove advantage.

Another block by Waco’s King made it a 20-5 Cove lead before an ace by Ingram and a kill by Powell gave Cove set-point at 24-5.

Three-straight Cove mistakes allowed the Lady Lions to stay in the set before a kill by Powell closed it out 25-8.

The Lady Dawgs then dominated the final set to close out the sweep.

A block and a kill by Rice coupled with an ace by Vanderpoel helped Cove jump out to a 9-1 lead.

Kills by Powell and Cove junior Larissa Melendez along with three aces by ingram and another by Rice pushed the Cove lead to 14, 17-3.

A long serve by Cove gave the Lady Lions their fourth point before a trio of kills by Fa’aola, another by Melendez and an ace by Powell helped close the set 25-5 and match 3-0.

Powell and Fa’aola led Cove’s offensive attack with 10 kills each while Ingram and Vanderpoel led in assists with 14 and 13, respectively. Ingram and Rice also tied for the lead in aces with four apiece while Vanderpoel added three.

Rice led the front-row defense with six blocks, followed by Gaston and Ingram with three each.

Leading the back-row defense was Fa’aola with 15 digs with sophomore Emma Wasiak and Ingram following with seven each.

The win improves the Lady Dawgs to 19-8 overall and 2-0 in District 12-6A play while Waco falls to 0-2 in district.

The Lady Dawgs return to action on the road tonight at Harker Heights (0-2) before returning home on Tuesday for their first big test of district action when the Midway Pantherettes come to town.