The Gazette-Enterprise

COLUMBUS — No one on the Marion High School coaching staff knows exactly how long it’s been since the Lady Bulldogs (25-10, 8-5) last won a playoff match.

The estimation was that more than 22 years had passed since Marion had advanced into the second round, but all of that changed Tuesday night in Columbus. That’s when first-year head coach Bernice Voigt and a determined group of girls picked up the biggest win that Marion’s volleyball program has seen since Ronald Reagan was in office, defeating the Palacios Sharkettes 3-1 (25-19, 25-5, 17-25, 25-22) in the bi-district round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

“I told them earlier in the week that we could either make history or break history,” Voigt said following the win. “When we won, they were all incredibly excited.

“Now we’ve accomplished some of our goals. Our first one was getting into the playoffs and winning this game was our next one.”

Voigt said that her team came out “on fire” in the first game of the night, subduing Christy Grice — Palacios’ leading hitter — with a three-person block that included Deidra Reasor.

Reasor rewarded the coach with a team-high four blocks in the match, as the Lady Bulldogs took the first and second games against the Sharkettes with relative ease.

“We were down a little and came back to win (in game one) and in the second game, we just dominated,” Voigt said. “We went on a roll and we served really tough for around 10 points and then in the third game, we let up.”

Palacios claimed a 25-17 win in the third set to keep the match alive, also making the fourth game a back-and-forth affair. But Voigt said her Bulldogs made all the necessary adjustments, claiming the match with a timely run.

“We went neck and neck and pulled ahead and finished it off,” Voigt said. “It was their error that finished the game.”

Senior Ashley Jacobsen provided another stellar all-around effort for the Lady Bulldogs, posting 17 digs, 10 assists, nine kills and two aces in the win. Hailey Speer paced Marion’s attack with 10 kills, with Diana Heinrich and Ashley Torres each added six kills as well.

Lauren Franke dished out 18 big assists to lead her squad, while Shay Caddell had a team-best 20 digs from her position at libero. Reasor also added two aces to go with her four blocks.

Marion’s next task will be to face off against the No. 3-ranked team in the state — the Columbus Cardinals (37-2). Voigt knows that achieving success against such a solid club will be difficult, but said that her team has shown the ability to surprise some folks before.

“Columbus is really good,” Voigt said. “I know that Navarro took a game away from them in the San Marcos Tournament, and everything I know about them is that they’re really, really strong.

“But we’re working hard, we’re getting out there and the girls are playing with a lot of heart.”

The Lady Bulldogs’ area playoff match with Columbus is set to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday night at Gonzales High School.

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