The Patriots swept the Aberdeen Christian Knights in straight sets on Thursday night in Tulare. In set one, the Patriots rolled to a 7-0 lead and kept building it until the Knights responded as the Patriots made some uncommon errors. The ladies eventually took set one by a score of 25-16.
In set two, the set went back and forth a while until the Patriots would go on run behind Katelyn Schroeder's serving late in the set. The Patriots finished set two by winning by a score of 25-15.
Even though the Patriots had a 2-0 lead, the Knights were not going to go away quietly. Combined with some great defense by the Knights and some costly errors by the Patriots, the Patriots and Knights exchanged points most of set three. The Patriots finished out the close set by winning 25-20 and winning the match 3-0.
The offense did not look as crisp as it had in earlier matches, but the ladies found a way to score points. Schroeder led the offense with 11 kills. Ella and Lila Johnson and Rebecca Huizenga each added 6 kills for the win. Our hitters got plenty of opportunities as Lila Johnson recorded 19 assists and Gracyn Bixler recorded 13.
The Patriots recorded 7 aces on the night, with Ella Johnson leading the way with 3.
The bright spot for the Patriots was the net play on defense, as the front line had several blocks throughout the match. Isabel Gilbert and Cora Hofer each tallied 3 block assists and Schroeder and Huizenga each tallied 2 block assists.
Schroeder led the team with 19 digs and Cambree Hoekman recorded 16.
The Patriots move to 12-0 on the season and will play host to Highmore-Harrold Pirates in a 281 conference matchup in Hitchcock on Thursday night. First serve is scheduled with the Jr. High Match beginning at 5:15 p.m.