Bulldog defense chews Tulsa Union

Edmond Memorial varsity volleyball opened up their home slate of games with a clean, 3-0 sweep over Tulsa Union on Thursday afternoon. The team’s performance — especially their defensive level of intensity — was so dominant that it even surprised head coach Natalie Murray. “Union is a great offensive team. I came into today not knowing how we were going to do because they’re so much bigger than we are,” Murray stated. “I knew we were going to have to serve hard and play really good defense to have a shot against them. I just didn’t know the girls were going to turn it on that much. That was a pleasant surprise.” Defense was the back-breaker Thursday afternoon. Each of the three sets started close, but by the mid-section of the frames the Memorial defense was making shots tough for Union. And, on the other side of the net, the Bulldogs were hitting their strides offensively. “They all did amazing,” Murray said. “If I had to pick one I would say our defensive players Abby Kirby, Ana Lindell and Kate Arnold were just insane on defense. We won that game because of defense.” Union’s mid-game struggles were evident from the start. The first set was knotted 5-all before Sophia Ayubi put a kill on the floor. That ignited the defensive front, and before Union looked up Memorial had 16-9 advantage after an 11-4 run. The teams traded points following a Union timeout, before the Bulldogs ultimately claimed the first set 25-20. The second set was the same. Union and Memorial sat in 12-all and 13-all knots before a Regan Pendleton block jumpstarted a 6-0 run. Devon Scott forced set point when she went opposite-field with a tricky kill away from the Union defense, and the ‘Dogs would claim the second set a serve later by a mirrored score of 25-20. The third was identical. Memorial sat tied with the Redskins at 3 before Union’s hitters ran out of gas driving uphill. The methodical Memorial offense kept up, though, pushing it to 11-5 before senior Aubree Johnson crushed what little life Union had left. She found open court with a kill that sent Memorial’s home-opening crowd into a frenzy. It put Thursday’s match out of reach, and Murray noticed the energetic, afternoon-matinee crowd on Johnson’s dagger. “It feels amazing,” Murray said, speaking of clean-sweeping a talented and big Tulsa Union roster. “I love that we had so many students here to support us. To be able to beat a team as great as Union — it’s an amazing feeling and a good sign for the season.”

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Edmond Memorial High School Athletics

BULLDOG DEFENSE CHEWS TULSA UNION

AARON ALBERTSON

Edmond Sun | 8/15/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Albertson