North Lake Blazes into District Championship

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

MESQUITE, Texas – Dallas College North Lake's volleyball team beat Dallas College Richland, 25-15, 25-19, 25-18, in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South District semifinals Friday night at Dallas College Eastfield.

The win sends North Lake (19-16) on to Saturday's 1 p.m. championship against host Dallas College Eastfield (29-1). That match will air on TSBN. It will be the second straight year the two teams will meet to decide the district title.

It was North Lake's first win in three matches with Richland this season. The ninth-ranked Thunderducks won both regular season matches in four sets.

North Lake hit .253. The Blazers, who recorded their 12^th sweep of the season, had a .290 attack percentage in the opening set. They put down 12 balls in the first and third sets, hitting .250 in the final set. Richland (17-15) had 10 kills in the third set.

North Lake got out to a 13-8 lead in Set 1 on Hailey Pennison's serve after three Richland attack errors before Kara Washington's kill gave the Thunderducks a sideout. The Blazers increased their lead to 19-12 on a kill by Riley Weiher. Brooklyne Dewberry slammed down the next ball, and the Blazers coasted the rest of the set.

Dewberry finished with seven kills, while hitting .308.

The Blazers ran out to an 11-6 lead in the second set on the heels of a Katie Lloyd ace before Richland's Kensington Jordon put the next ball away, coming out of a Thunderducks' timeout. Hadley Klock's block pushed the Blazers ahead, 17-9. Dewberry's kill and Klock's tap made it 20-11. Jordon banged down a cross-court kill, and Makenna Montgomery's ace pulled Richland within 21-16. Another ace by Lloyd moved North Lake within set point before Jordon pounded a ball off North Lake's block in the midst of a three-point surge. But the Blazers won the last four points to take a two-set lead.

Klock had 27 assists, three blocks, eight digs and an ace. Jordon had nine kills and a block.

Jordon's kill and a North Lake error tied the third set at 15 before Dewberry won a net battle, Pennison followed with a kill, Shi'Miria Phillips hung in the air for a touch kill and Weiher's ace moved the Blazers in front, 19-15. Richland cut it to 20-18 before Phillips' kill and Pennison's ace forced a timeout at 22-18. Natalia Gonzalez banged home the last ball to send North Lake to the championship.

Phillips had nine kills without committing an error, hit .375, and added two blocks. Weiher had seven kills and three of North Lake's nine aces. Gonzalez had five kills, a block and an ace, and hit .364. Lloyd had 21 digs, and Kendyl Burgess and Pennison each had 11. Pennison also had two aces, while hitting .286 on four kills in seven attacks.

Jersey Glass had eight kills for the Thunderducks, who finished with five aces. Isabella Foutz had 12 assists and an ace. Myra Memon had nine digs and two aces. Washington had nine digs and an ace.

North Lake's 19 wins are the most under head coach Cathy Carter.