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Photos by Nicole Flowers
August 10, 2023
Volleyball off to red-hot start
By Brady Keane
The Bandera Prophet
The Bandera varsity volleyball team is off to a red-hot start to the 2023 season, as the Lady Bulldogs rattled off three consecutive wins before departing for the Westwood Showcase Tournament in Round Rock Wednesday evening.
After taking down San Antonio Veterans Memorial and Somerset in three sets on Monday, Bandera cruised past Hondo in straight sets Tuesday afternoon, to move to 3-0 on the year.
“I’m proud of the way our girls are playing right now,” Head Coach Sananda Molina said. “They’ve made a commitment in practice and are improving in each game. But our focus is on continuing to work hard together with a growth mindset throughout the season.”
In the season opener against Class 6A Veterans Memorial, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back from an opening set loss (23-25) to take Set 2 in dominant fashion 25-14. Bandera finished off the third set with a 25-19 win.
“That was a great comeback victory for us,” Molina said. “The girls played with a lot of passion and desire. It was a total team effort.”
It was a similar story for Bandera in the team’s second match against Somerset after a 22-25 loss in the first set forced the Lady Bulldogs to fight back again. The team answered the challenge, rattling off a 25-21 win in Set 2 before finishing Somerset off with a 25-19 win in Set 3.
Sophomore Taytum Moeller played a big role in getting the momentum back in Bandera’s favor after launching a back row attack from the left side late in the match to help propel the Lady Bulldogs to another win. Molina pointed to junior Jayla Blake as the team’s player of the game after a strong offensive showing.
Moeller’s strong play continued into Tuesday’s match in Hondo as the sophomore contributed a series of strong serves against the Owls. Senior Izabel Kennedy stepped up defensively on the front row while senior Ashlyn Mott led the way with a number of key digs as well.
On Thursday, Bandera will take on Cedar Ridge at 1 p.m., Johnson at 2 p.m. and Waller at 4 p.m. The tournament will continue over the next three days with opponents to be determined based on pool play results.
JV and Freshmen
The JV Lady Bulldogs started off the season with a 1-1 record, losing to Veterans Memorial in two sets, 24-26, 19-25 before defeating Somerset 25-21, 25-10. Bandera went on to fell to Hondo (19-25, 25-23, 9-15) to drop to 1-2 on the year.
The Freshmen team also started the season with a 1-1 record, defeating Veterans Memorial (25-6, 30-28) and losing to Somerset (18-25, 21-25). Bandera went on to fall to Hondo (16-25, 18-25) to move to 1-2 on the season.
The JV and Freshmen teams will be off this weekend while the varsity teams compete in the Westwood Showcase.
After taking down San Antonio Veterans Memorial and Somerset in three sets on Monday, Bandera cruised past Hondo in straight sets Tuesday afternoon, to move to 3-0 on the year.
“I’m proud of the way our girls are playing right now,” Head Coach Sananda Molina said. “They’ve made a commitment in practice and are improving in each game. But our focus is on continuing to work hard together with a growth mindset throughout the season.”
In the season opener against Class 6A Veterans Memorial, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back from an opening set loss (23-25) to take Set 2 in dominant fashion 25-14. Bandera finished off the third set with a 25-19 win.
“That was a great comeback victory for us,” Molina said. “The girls played with a lot of passion and desire. It was a total team effort.”
It was a similar story for Bandera in the team’s second match against Somerset after a 22-25 loss in the first set forced the Lady Bulldogs to fight back again. The team answered the challenge, rattling off a 25-21 win in Set 2 before finishing Somerset off with a 25-19 win in Set 3.
Sophomore Taytum Moeller played a big role in getting the momentum back in Bandera’s favor after launching a back row attack from the left side late in the match to help propel the Lady Bulldogs to another win. Molina pointed to junior Jayla Blake as the team’s player of the game after a strong offensive showing.
Moeller’s strong play continued into Tuesday’s match in Hondo as the sophomore contributed a series of strong serves against the Owls. Senior Izabel Kennedy stepped up defensively on the front row while senior Ashlyn Mott led the way with a number of key digs as well.
On Thursday, Bandera will take on Cedar Ridge at 1 p.m., Johnson at 2 p.m. and Waller at 4 p.m. The tournament will continue over the next three days with opponents to be determined based on pool play results.
JV and Freshmen
The JV Lady Bulldogs started off the season with a 1-1 record, losing to Veterans Memorial in two sets, 24-26, 19-25 before defeating Somerset 25-21, 25-10. Bandera went on to fell to Hondo (19-25, 25-23, 9-15) to drop to 1-2 on the year.
The Freshmen team also started the season with a 1-1 record, defeating Veterans Memorial (25-6, 30-28) and losing to Somerset (18-25, 21-25). Bandera went on to fall to Hondo (16-25, 18-25) to move to 1-2 on the season.
The JV and Freshmen teams will be off this weekend while the varsity teams compete in the Westwood Showcase.