PLANO - Bishop Lynch volleyball traveled up north and defeated district rival John Paul II 3-1 on Thursday evening in the Birds Nest. Bishop Lynch (23-7, 2-1), despite not having one of their top players in Lauryn Lambert, was able to win despite the John Paul II (19-8, 0-4) homecoming crowd.

Seniors Lyric Berry (20), Liya Girma (12), Leah Oyewole (10) and Ashlyn Zilliken (10) all had double-digit kills and hit at an outstanding rate of .330%. Girma has especially stepped up for the Friars as she is filling in for Lambert. Girma finished with 12 kills, five aces and five digs. 

Multiple individuals stepped up in a big way on Thursday night, but none as much as Lyric Berry who dominated the middle on both offense and defense. She finished with a team season-high 20 kills, hitting a world class .500 percent. She also shut down the middle on defense, having five blocks.

The first set BL won 25-16 despite having five service errors and nine total errors.
The Lady Cardinals weren't going to back down with their home crowd behind them and took the second set 25-23. Though JPII is 0-4 in district play, they have played two five setters and played well against Prestonwood so their record doesn't show the full scope of their season play.

After equalizing the match at 1-1, JPII had all the momentum going into the third set. Zilliken quickly stopped the momentum and the crowd energy by getting three quick kills and helping the Friars open up the lead to 10-6. BL never looked back and took the third set 25-20. Zilliken finished with five kills in the third set alone.

Even when their backs were against the wall falling down 2-1, the Lady Cardinals continued to give everything they had against the black and white. The fourth set was by far the most competitive, with both teams only able to get one point leads. Offensively, Berry and Girma each had five kills in the fourth set. The Friars finally put away JPII on their third match point when Girma had her fifth ace of the match to make it 27-25 and give BL the 3-1 road district win.

Junior captain Cate Hatfield finished with a double-double, having a career high of 35 assists and grabbing 13 digs. Sophomore libero Maddie Smotherman played a great defensive game as she had 20 digs.

The Friars have now defeated John Paul II six times in a row and are 17-2 against them since 2013.


Sub-Varsity:
JV1: The junior varsity one team had a busy day yesterday, going 3-0 in the Flyers Tournament. They also defeated John Paul II 2-0, going a total 4-0 on the day. They are 13-1, 3-0 this season.
JV2: The junior varsity two team lost a tough three-setter to John Paul II last night. They are 12-6 on the season. 
Freshman: The freshman ladies knocked off the Lady Cardinals 2-1 last night. They are 10-4-1, 3-0 on the season.

Next Up: Bishop Lynch will host TCA next Tuesday, September 27th, in the Competition Gym at 6:00 PM

Around TAPPS last night:
Prestonwood defeated TCA 3-0
Ursuline defeated Parish 3-1
Nolan Catholic defeated DasCHE 3-1

District Standings:
1) Prestonwood Academy: 27-1, 4-0
2) Ursuline Academy: 14-8-1, 4-0
3) Parish Episcopal: 8-2-1, 3-1
4) Bishop Lynch: 23-7, 2-1
5) Trinity Christian Academy: 9-16, 1-2
6) Nolan Catholic: 16-11, 0-3
7) John Paul II: 19-8, 0-4


  Read Full Article