Dauphin eighth graders claim volleyball city title

The Dauphin Junior Lady Dolphins avenged an earlier loss to Enterprise Junior with a 25-15, 25-21 win over the Wildcats in Tuesday’s city championship game.

“We tried hard. Both teams were good,” said Tierra McCain, Lady Wildcats head coach. “We could’ve done a better job serving and receiving the ball.”

McCain said Autumn Curry had a good performance with digs, while Kinlee Sanders was the team’s best server.

Sarah Tindol led the Lady Dolphins with 13 service points and two aces. DeAnna Gadzala had 10 points.

The win is a sign of improvement from the 11-3 Lady Dolphins eighth graders, Dauphin head coach Patsy Holland said.

“Every one of them are getting better. It’s what you want – they start from scratch,” she said. “They are getting more confident.”

The city championship was one of three games in a tri-match. Both teams defeated Geneva.

Enterprise Junior took a 29-27, 25-12, win.

“We kept letting the ball hit the floor. We finally figured out the first set shouldn’t have been as close as it was,” McCain said. “Geneva had good servers, and we kept hitting it in the net in the first set.”

Dauphin took a 25-22, 25-14 win.

Tindol had seven points and an ace to lead the Lady Dolphins. Gadzala had six points and two aces.

Samantha Drummond and Natalie Reeves had five points, and Reeves had one ace.

Enterprise Junior took another loss Thursday, falling to Charles Henderson 25-22, 18-25, 12-15.

“I think the team got too confident after the first set, and they slacked off a little,” McCain said, adding her team allowed too many aces.

Dauphin, on the other hand, took the momentum gained in Tuesday’s tri-match into another tri-match win thursday.

The Lady Dolphins beat Providence Christian 25-17, 25-15 and Dothan’s Beverlye Middle School 26-24, 13-25, 15-9.

Against Providence, Tindol and Drummond had eight points each. Reeves added seven.

Against Beverlye, Reeves had 11 points and three aces. Tindol contributed seven points and two aces, while Lindsay Pomranky had four points.

The Lady Wildcats are next in action Thursday when they play Providence Christian in Dothan at 4 p.m.

The Lady Dolphins will travel to Kinston Monday for a 4 p.m. match.

Dauphin freshmen pick up two wins

The Lady Dolphins’ freshman squad defeated Dothan 25-21, 25-11 and Houston Academy 25-12, 25-15 Monday.

“Dothan and Houston Academy is not as strong as teams we’ve lost to,” Holland said of her 7-5 squad.

Against Dothan, Tahmya Newsome had nine points, three aces and four kills, while Courtney Walker had seven points and five aces.

Patty Green contributed six points, one ace and one kill, while Caitlin Lee had five points, two aces and 10 assists.

Against Houston Academy, Lee had 11 points, seven aces and six assists.

Hannah Thompson added 10 points, four aces and a kill.

The freshman team is at home Tuesday against Enteprise Junior in the city championship. Play begins at 4 p.m.