GENTRY -- The Decatur Bulldogs traveled into Pioneer country Sept. 12 for a scrimmage match against the Gentry Lady Pioneers at Gentry High School. This was the first meeting between these two rival teams since Decatur moved from the 4A to the 2A conference in volleyball earlier this year.
The Lady Bulldogs came into this contest after losing the day before against the Lavaca Golden Arrows Sept. 11. Gentry, on the other hand, came into the scrimmage having yet to win a single contest.
From the opening serve, it looked as though the Lady Pioneers would continue their losing streak after the Lady Bulldogs took an early lead in set one by 10 points. After a quick Lady Pioneer time out, the Lady Bulldogs suddenly went cold, allowing Gentry to make up ground and eventually overtake Decatur to win the first set, 25-14.
Decatur repeated its earlier performance by taking another 10 point lead in the early stages of set two. Both teams got into the contest, fighting for every point they could earn. Gentry finally prevailed by overtaking Decatur to take a 25-20 second-set victory.
Simple mistakes and lack of communication continued to plague the Lady Bulldogs in the third set and they were never able to recover. The Gentry Lady Pioneers won their first 2018 volleyball match against the Decatur Lady Bulldogs in the final set, 25-16, to take the match in three sets.
Earlier in the evening, the Decatur Lady Bulldogs seventh grade team split a pair of sets with its Gentry counterparts, 1-1. Gentry took the first set, 25-18, while Decatur took the second set, 25-22.
The Gentry junior high team won its match against Decatur, 2-1, with the Lady Pioneers taking set one, 25-20, and the third set, 15-11, while the Lady Bulldogs took set two, 25-16.
The story of the day for Decatur was the Decatur junior varsity team winning its second match of the week, defeating Gentry's JV, two sets to one. Decatur took set one, 25-20, and set three, 15-6, while Gentry took set two in a close contest, 25-23.
Sports on 09/19/2018