ARLEY, Ala. — The Addison Lady Bulldogs traveled to Arley to participate in a tri-meet with the 4A East Lawrence Lady Eagles and 1A area foe Meek Lady Tigers Tuesday night. Addison took two of three from the Lady Eagles and swept its match against the Lady Tigers. For Addison, this was Sophomore Ava Bartlett’s coming out party. Bartlett dominated both matches and had more kills than a John Wick movie.
Meek opened against East Lawrence and lost a close match, 13-25, 25-18 and 13-15.
Addison 2 – East Lawrence 1 (25-19, 22-25, 15-13)
The first set had the ladies from Addison jumping out, as usual, to a quick 13-4 lead. They were led by the serves of Mattie Johnson and Karson Wyatt. Bartlett, Lauryn Cunningham and Katie Barrett controlled the net. Then as usual, Addison went into a lull and the Lady Eagles took 5 out of 7 points to cut the lead to 15-9. Addison took the next five points as Annabeth Powell dominated with the serve and the Bulldog defense controlled the net. With Addison up 20-9, the Lady Eagles rolled to 7 straight points and took 9 out of 12 to get right back in the match. Addison led 23-18 and held on for a 25-19 victory. Bartlett was overpowering on defense as she destroyed the ball on several occasions.
The second set was particularly tough on the Lady Bulldogs. Addison jumped out 14-5 and looked to be in cruise control, as Cunningham and Powell continued to serve well. Mattie Johnson stepped up in this game and played outstanding defense. The next eight points would be split with Addison holding a commanding 18-9 lead. Then the bottom dropped out as the Lady Eagles dominated the Lady Bulldogs for the remainder of the set. The Lady Eagles took the next 16 out of 20 points to win the set 25-22.
The third and final set was almost a carbon copy of the second set. Addison came out focused and dominated early getting a quick 5-2 lead. Powell’s serves were on point and Brystil Moser continued to pick up digs. East Lawrence, after a timeout, went on a 10-4 run to take a commanding 12-9 lead. It looked like the Lady Bulldogs would lose the match, when Addison Head Coach Kaydi Woodard took a timeout of her own. Addison came out refocused and determined and they were led by K. Wyatt who took 6 out of 7 points to come away with a 15-13 victory.
Addison 3 – Meek 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-15)
The first set was a typical Addison match. The Lady Bulldogs dominated early grabbing a 9-4 lead. Bartlett again was strong on defense and Cunningham had an effective serve.
Meek would take the next 4 points to cut the lead to 9-8 and then Barrett served for 8 straight points for a Bulldog lead of 17-8. In this game of runs it continued as Meek took 7 out of 9 points to cut the lead to 19-15 and it looked like the Lady Tigers had all the momentum. The Lady Bulldogs would close the game out by taking 6 of the last 8 points to take a solid 25-17 win.
The second set had Meek jumping out 6-2 as the Lady Tigers won several long volleys against the Lady Dawgs. Cunningham would lead the Addison comeback as she served for 5 straight points to give the Lady Dawgs their first lead of the set, 7-6. This back-and-forth affair continued as each team would go on mini runs of 2 or 3 points. Meek held a 19-17 lead and had the momentum. That is when Bartlett hit a ball very hard for a spike and picked up the kill. This seemed to change the tide of the game as Addison rolled their way to a 25-20 win, taking the second set. Cunningham had several solid serves to lead the Lady Dawgs to victory.
The final set was never in doubt as Addison jumped out 16-3 and coasted their way to a 25-15 win. Powell and K. Wyatt were again dominant servers while Barrett, Johnson and Bartlett handled the net.
Addison should remain the no. 1 ranked 1A volleyball team in the state after this week’s action.
Addison Head Coach Kaydi Woodard,
“This (Meek) is a tough place to play, and we have a very good rivalry with them. We always get the Lady Tigers best when we come here. I thought in both matches, we struggled more with our outside sets than the middle. Ava (Bartlett) is really coming into her own and played maybe her best game this year. I think that as this very young team matures, we will be able to quit being so up and down during a match. It will just take time and playing experience, but I am very satisfied with where we are today.”
Addison sophomore Ava Bartlett,
“My timing tonight was really good. I was able to get to the ball at the right point and just make really solid hits. Our communication on defense was very good tonight and I believe we are getting better each week. Just happy to be able to come here and get a big area win.”
Addison official stats
Aces: K. Wyatt 7, Cunningham 4, Bartlett 3
Digs: Moser 34, Barrett 23, Cunningham 12
Assists: Powell 48
Kills: Bartlett 24, Barrett 10, Cunningham 9, Powell 8, Johnson 5
Blocks: Johnson 10, Bartlett 9, Powell 3
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