ALLEN, TX -- Bishop Lynch was honored to participate in the prestigious Allen Tournament this past weekend where 32 of the best teams in the Dallas/Fort Worth change to Dallas–Fort Worth area competed over a two-day span. The Friars did very well and were named the consolation champion of the top bracket after having five wins and only two losses.
The 32 teams were divided into eight pools of four teams. The top two teams of each pool moved to the Championship Bracket while the bottom team teams played in the Challenger Bracket.
Friday was strictly for pool play, and the Friars were in a pool with Rock Hill, Frisco Centennial, and Wylie East. BLVB quickly took care of their first game against Rock Hill, 2-0 (25-14, 25-21) and their second game was against Centennial.
After dropping their first set against Centennial 25-18, the Friars pulled a 180 and defeated Centennial 25-18 to force a third. In one of the few disappointing sets of the entire weekend, the Friars dropped the third set 25-21 after being up 18-10.
The defeat against Centennial meant the Friars would have to be victorious over Wyile East in their third match to advance to the Championship Bracket. Knowing that, the Friars came out strong and took the first set 25-21. Wylie East did not go away, though, and took the third set 25-21 to force a crucial winner to take all third set.
The third set did not start in the favor of the black and white as the ladies were down quickly 11-4 forcing a timeout. After the timeout, the Friars battled back but they still found themselves trailing 23-19 late in the match. Despite what happened in the Centennial game, the team buckled down and fought back to win a thrilling 26-24 third set and the match 2-1 to advance to the Championship Bracket on Saturday.
Friday Team Leaders:
Kills:
Paloma Gonzalez - 33
Avery Seitz - 15
Assists:
Cate Hatfield - 53
Maddie Gappelberg - 42
Digs:
Maddie Smotherman - 36
Avery Seitz - 21
Cate Hatfield - 21
Blocks:
Avery Seitz - 2
Madison Pflum - 1.5
Aces:
Riley Seitz - 6
Delaney Moon - 5
Saturday proved to be a great day for the Friars. They were matched up against one of the tournament favorites, McKinney Boyd, in their first game. After winning an incredible first set 30-28, the ladies fell to the Broncos 2-1.
This loss created a matchup against district rival John Paul II. The Friars made quick work of the Cardinals winning 2-0 (25-22, 25-20) to set up a matchup against McKinney. If you recall, the Friars played McKinney earlier this season at the Marcus Showcase where BL fell 3-1. On this day, the Friars were able to get their revenge and take down the talented Lions 2-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-20) to advance to the Consolation Championship against Frisco Lone Star.
As far as we know, this was the first time these two teams have meet on the court in volleyball. The Friars made most of their first meeting from the team up north and ended their tournament on a high note, sweeping Lone Star 25-19, 25-21 to earn the title of consolation champions.
Saturday Team Leaders:
Kills:
Avery Seitz - 32
Paloma Gonzalez - 29
Assists:
Cate Hatfield - 56
Maddie Gappelberg - 44
Digs:
Maddie Smotherman - 45
Cate Hatfield - 29
Blocks:
Madison Pflum - 5.5
Cate Hatfield - 3.5
Aces:
Cate Hatfield - 4
Maddie Smotherman - 2
Aven Crosby - 2
NEXT UP:
Bishop Lynch hits the road for the annual Volleypalooza tournament in Austin. The Friars will be playing from August 24-26 against some of the best teams around the state.
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