Lady Bulldogs sweep week, make program history against Fordland
Photo by Karla Smith Gainesville senior Addie Alms sends the ball over the net in a recent victory. Alms led the Lady Bulldogs to a win over a tough Fordland team on Friday night, marking the first time Gainesville has defeated the Eagles since the volleyball program began five years ago.
The Gainesville Lady Bulldogs volleyball team put together a perfect week, earning three varsity victories while also seeing the junior varsity squad go undefeated.
Gainesville opened the week Tuesday with a 3-0 home victory over Seymour, winning 25-19, 25-14 and 25-11.
Addie Alms led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 kills and 13 digs, while Avery Gaulding added eight kills and 12 digs. Macy Hambelton contributed 12 digs. Baylor Hewett recorded three aces and 15 assists, and Regan Blackburn added 14 assists.
Coach Heidi Gaulding said strong passing helped the Bulldogs establish an offensive rhythm.
“We had a good night of passing, which led to the setters being able to put the ball in a place where our attackers could get off good swings,” she said. “The girls seemed to put all the pieces together to find a rhythm.”
Gainesville continued its winning ways Thursday with a 3-1 road victory over Sparta, taking the match 25-13, 19-25, 25-20 and 25-23.
Alms led the offense with 13 kills, followed by Hambelton with 11 and Avery Gaulding with 10. Hewett finished with 28 assists. Alms added three blocks and 15 digs, while Rylee Kowerduck had 16 digs and Hambelton had 14. Gaulding served five aces.
The Lady Bulldogs saved their biggest accomplishment of the week for Friday, defeating Fordland 3-1 at home, 25-14, 16-25, 27-25 and 25-17.
The victory marked a significant milestone for the Gainesville program. Since volleyball returned five years ago, the Lady Bulldogs had never won a single set against Fordland, a perennial tough opponent.
That changed Friday as Gainesville not only won its first set against Fordland, but went on to claim the match.
“I am proud of the heart and desire that this group of girls is playing with!” Gaulding said.
Alms led Gainesville with 13 kills, while Hambelton added 10. Hewett recorded 18 assists and Blackburn had 11. Alms also led defensively with 11 digs and shared team-high honors with Lola Wade with three blocks apiece. Avery Gaulding contributed five aces.
The Gainesville JV squad also enjoyed a perfect week, winning all three of its matches.
The JV Bulldogs defeated Seymour 25-22 and 25-22 Tuesday, then topped Sparta 25-18 and 25-19 Thursday. On Friday, Gainesville outlasted Fordland in three sets, 26-24, 17-25 and 15-12.
Gaulding said the JV team faced plenty of competitive rallies throughout the week but continued to battle and finished with three victories.
“The JV girls had a very tough week of volleyball and came out on top,” she said. “Each team they played this week had many back-and-forth rallies, but they were able to pull off three wins.”
Overall, it was a week that showed the continued progress of the Gainesville volleyball program, with both varsity and JV teams finding ways to win in challenging matches.