Celina’s varsity volleyball team rallied from a two-set-to-one deficit to beat Lovejoy 3-2 on Friday, Oct. 9, in Lucas.
The District 9-5A road victory improved the Bobcats to 25-10 overall and ended Lovejoy’s three-match winning streak. The Leopards fell to 19-18, according to MaxPreps’ match recap.
Celina dropped the opening set 25-22 before answering with a 25-18 win in the second. Lovejoy regained the lead with a 25-17 third-set victory, but the Bobcats forced a deciding set by winning the fourth 25-20.
Celina then edged Lovejoy 18-16 in the fifth to secure the match. The result gave the Bobcats 12 wins in their last 13 matches, according to MaxPreps.
Lovejoy’s Camryn Penn finished with 35 assists, 12 digs, seven kills, five aces and two solo blocks. Kerrigan Pallohusky added 15 digs and four aces.
Both teams had entered Friday’s matchup following district sweeps on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Celina beat Greenville 3-0, while Lovejoy defeated Anna by the same score. McKinney North also swept Melissa that night, according to GM Sports Media.
Celina is competing in Class 5A following the UIL’s latest realignment. The official district alignment places the Bobcats alongside Anna, Denison, Greenville, Lovejoy, McKinney North, Melissa, Nevada Community and Sherman in District 9.
The Bobcats are scheduled to host Anna at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, for their Pink Out match, according to the team schedule. After a Friday bye, Celina hosts Denison for Senior Night on Oct. 20 and Melissa on Oct. 23.
