Lady Bulldogs win state tourney opener

By Demetrice Elmore
UCA sportswriting

St. Joseph’s Lady Bulldogs remained undefeated after knocking off Alpena in the first round of the Class 3A State Tournament at Harrison Youth Center.

After the Lady Bulldogs' 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 win, they were to play Harrisburg, the second seed from the Northeast, at noon Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

St. Joseph entered that match 21-0.

"They say the first match is the toughest match to play," St. Joseph coach Luke Duke said. “We played like it was. Hopefully we have got our nerves together and the jitters are gone. We were happy to get a win. We will take it any way we can get it in the state tournament.”

Junior Amy Schichtl and sophomore Courtney Briggler led the Lady Bulldogs with eight kills apiece. Junior Jordan Justice contributed six aces while sophomore Torri Carter assisted with three aces. Junior Jessica Justice recorded an impressive 21 digs while her sister Jordan handed out 14 assists. Senior captain Veronica Bausom added 12 digs for the Lady Bulldogs.

“We watched Harrisburg play (Tuesday) and we know they have three good hitters,” Davis said. “This is nothing we haven’t seen. We just have to be sure to bring our A game and everything will be OK.”