Lady Pirates defeat Cowgirls in bi-district battle

For the second time in eight days, Perrin’s volleyball team faced its in-county rival Bryson. The Lady Pirates swept the Cowgirls in their first meeting Oct. 24... and repeated the effort in the Class A Bi-District round Tuesday, Oct. 31 with a 25-23, 25-17, 25-19 win at Mineral Wells High School.

Perrin Coach Rebekah Bland said her squad rebounded from slow starts in the games.

“We got down, but didn’t quit,” Bland said. “The playoffs gave us a little bit of nerves I think but we were able to turn it around.”

Bryson took advantage of the Lady Pirates' nerves, with Kaylie Sherrin rolling off four straight points in game to jump out to a 6-1 lead. Summer Burkett brought the Lady Pirates back into the fray with a three-point run.

The Cowgirls broke serves with kills from Loralai Lee and Brooke Bennett to set the table for Macy Hawkins’ four-point run to extend the lead to 12-6 and force Bland into a timeout.

Kennadee Langham’s pair and a Lucchese Reilly single brought Perrin within three. Sherrin’s single tally put Bryson ahead 19-13. Burkett got the comeback started with a pair. A Langham kill enabled Saldivar to serve up a point to cut the deficit to 18-20.

Erika Hernandez’s single and a Reilly pair gave Perrin its first lead of the game at 23-22. Perrin broke serve with Burkett serving up the final point, ending the game with a kill.

Perrin slowly built its lead in game two, pairs by Reilly and Hernandez putting the Lady Pirates up 8-4 and forcing Bryson Coach Kim Hauger into a timeout. Alyssa Nevarez cut the lead to 8-6 but the Cowgirls would get no closer Jessa Angelly’s pair, a Saldivar single and four-point Langham run moved the Perrin lead to 20-10.

Bryson senior Brooke Bennett’s three-point run, aided by a Sherrin kill brought the Cowgirls within 15-21. Burkett then ended the game with the final two points.

Sherrin’s three-point string put Bryson up 4-2 in game three. Singles by Jaydah McComack and Braydee Thorne extended the Cowgirl lead to 11-7.

A Hernandez kill broke serve with Angelly tying the game at 11 with a three-point run. Sherrin’s pair put Bryson up 14-11. Saldivar matched the pair to bring the Lady Pirates within 15-16. The squads exchanged points before Hernandez broke serve to get within 18-19 and then served up the final seven points, the finale put home by a Burkett kill.

Perrin moves onto the area round Thursday, Nov. 2 to face Harold. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Bowie High School.