FHS senior outside hitter Lindsey Barron sparked the Lady Bulldogs with a solid all around match, blasting a match-high 16 kills along with eight digs.
Barron said she felt her club brought everything they were suppose to bring to get the victory against a good Mandeville team. “We knew this would be a big match. I was able to have a good hitting match because my sets were so good. We really picked up our passing. That’s why I was getting good sets off the amazing passes,” Barron said.
 FHS' Taylor Anderson (30) positions herself for a kill against the block of MHS'€™ Katie Lindelow and Nichole Freeman (27) in Thursday'€™s district match at Mandeville. FHS (10-0) took the match to remain unbeaten in district play at 4-0. (Staff Photo by Mike Pervel) |
Barron said the victory is a big momentum builder for the Lady Bulldogs.
“However, we can’t look past SSA. We worked very hard as a team to beat Mandeville,” Barron added.
FHS coach Danny Tullis said Mandeville wasn’t able to push much in the match because they weren’t getting their serves in.
“I think we did a good job serve-receiving to target. When we are able to do that, we are a very solid team,” Tullis said.
“I was proud of our team’s performance in a hostile environment (large, noisy Mandeville crowd).”
Tullis thanked the FHS drum line, dubbed as the FHS Net Nasties, for showing up on the road to help pump up the crowd.
“You can put it in the paper. Our drum line is awesome. They are always at our home games, and even have cheers for us,” Tullis said.
Fontainebleau set the tone early in game one with Amanda Schneck serving two straight points, including a Barron kill.
Mandeville freshman hitter Katie Lindelow answered with her first of 11 kills in the match to make it 2-1.
Lindelow also gave it her all on the defensive end, picking up a match-high 21 digs. With FHS holding a 9-5 lead, MHS’ Mel Gaines fired off three straight points, including an ace to narrow the margin to just one.
MHS tried to keep it close, but never led in game one. Following a Barron kill, which made it 12-10, FHS junior Jessica Guttierrez gained momentum for the Lady Dawgs, reeling off four consecutive serves to build a 16-10 advantage.
Later, a Schneck kill gave Fontainebleau a 21-15 lead. Sophomore libero Caitlyn Auxilien, who posted eight digs, did damage with her serve, scoring four straight points to put game one away, 25-15.
Game two opened up exactly as game one had with FHS taking a 2-0 lead. Just as in game one, Mandeville was unable to secure a lead. Holding a 3-1 lead, FHS’ Cabeceiras netted two service points. Fontainebleau took a 16-9 lead on an unforced error. Cabeceiras stepped in, serving three consecutive points, one an ace to give her club a 10-point advantage. With FHS leading 22-13, Anderson put the game away with three consecutive points, including a game two ending ace.
Game three also opened with FHS racing out to an early 3-0 lead with Schneck serving.
Mandeville after a lack luster performance in the first two games, dug deep to stave off a sweep. The Lady Skippers finally managed to take advantage of a few Lady Bulldogs’ lapses, which opened the door in game three. Mandeville tied the game at 4-4 on an authoritative kill by Lindelow. Then the teams traded points with FHS sophomore Sarah Ulm delivering a block, one of four in the match. Lindelow answered with another kill. Mandeville’s Nichole Freeman connected on two serves for a 7-5 lead. Freeman also contributed eight kills and four blocks for the Lady Skippers. MHS pulled to an 8-6 lead on an unforced error. Lady Skippers’ sophomore Delaney Pittari staked her club to a nine-point advantage, rattling off seven consecutive points at 15-6. Pittari also tallied nine assists.
MHS senior Elizabeth Rinaudo later added a kill along with two straight serves for a 21-10 lead. Rinaudo was the Mandeville assists leader with 19, and also chipped in with 14 digs. Gaines later converted two service points to close out game three, 25-14.
Coach Tullis said his team played a strong match other than going into that passing slump in game three. “When we feel confident in our passing, and are getting balls to our hitters they do a good job getting the ball down. This team plays off of emotion when making the big plays,” Tullis said.
“We have size, athleticism and energy. I definitely think the kids believe in themselves.”
Mandeville coach Christy Sanantonio was disappointed in her club’s performance.
“We couldn’t serve to save our life. It is the mental aspect. We are totally capable, and the potential is there. We are stacked with hitters, but we are missing the mental part of the game sometimes,” Sanantonio said.
“We have to have all six people on the floor step up to contribute as a team.”
Fontainebleau came back with an early surge in game four, running out to a 4-0 lead. Following a serving violation, Guttierrez re-ignited the Lady Dawgs with three straight points. Fontainebleau never trailed in game four.
Guttierrez known for her hustle and energy said everybody did their job in a big team victory. “We started off really strong, but we laxed off a little bit in game three. We didn’t keep pushing. Once we got our heads back together, it was fine,” Guttierrez said.
“We are working on moving the ball around. Everybody knows Lindsey Barron is an amazing player. She is our go-to-player so they try to stop her,” the junior added.
Later in game four, Schneck gave FHS a 12-6 lead with two service points, coming on a Barron block followed by a quality kill. Barron later fashioned another kill to increase the lead to 14-9, giving the serve to Cabeceiras. She made the most of her opportunity, blasting five straight points. Barron was dominant at the net during the five-point run, collecting three kills for a 19-9 lead. Lindelow finally stopped the FHS run with a kill, but the Lady Skippers were unable to get back into it, falling 25-11.
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