WACO -- The Bishop Lynch volleyball team had been preparing all year for a deep playoff run, and that is exactly what they did. After defeating the top seed Antonian from the southern schools in a dominant 3-0 fashion, the Friars found themselves in a championship matchup against district rival Prestonwood Christian.
Prestonwood was the number one seed and is a top nationally-ranked team that had only lost one game all season. The Friars had taken three sets off the Lions in their two games earlier in the season, showing that this was going to be a fight for the championship.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle that ended with the Lions getting a 25-20 first-set win. The offense for BL was there in the first set as
Leah Oyewole and
Lauryn Lambert each had four kills in the first set, and
Paloma Gonzalez and
Lyric Berry each added two.
The second set did not start out the way the Friars wanted as PCA jumped out to an 11-3 lead. After using a timeout, our ladies battled back and after Berry had a great block followed by a great kill, the Friars were only down three, trailing 15-12. Prestonwood would pull away and take the second set 25-19. The comeback fell short, but the effort didn't as the Friars had 14 digs and three blocks in the second set.
The third was more like the first, but the Friars jumped out to an early 4-2 lead. Each team would take a one-point lead only for the opposing team to tie it up. Seniors Oyewole and Berry were leaving everything on the court, as the two of them combined for seven kills in the third. The match was tied at 12 when the Lions' offense picked up and made it 15-12. The Friars were able to close the gap to two points at 22-20, but weren't able to complete the comeback and dropped the third set and championship match.
The volleyball team has nothing to hang their heads about, as they had an incredible season, finishing 33-11. The 33 wins are the most the volleyball program has had since 2017. The championship run was the first time the volleyball program made it to the championship since 2016.
The Friars had four selections for the All-Tournament team. Seniors
Lyric Berry,
Leah Oyewole, and
Ashlyn Zilliken, and junior
Lauryn Lambert all made the All-Tournament team for their great play in the TAPPS 6A State Final Four.
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