ARLINGTON – Joshua landed the first punch in the playoff opener against Birdville, but the Hawks wouldn’t be denied as they won the next three sets to capture another bi-district championship over the Owls on Monday at Arlington ISD Athletic Center 19-25, 25-27, 25-12, 25-23.
Birdville (28-13) will face Aledo in the Class 5A Region 1 area round – most likely on Thursday.
Aledo (33-8), District 5-5A champ, eliminated FW North Side on Monday.
Misha Jones scored a Birdville point from the libero spot to give the Hawks three straight points and an 8-6 lead in the first set. Sophomore Addison Iman played a key part in the win and scored two points to keep Birdville in front 12-8.
Kills by Ashlynn Porter and Gabbie Maldonado kept Joshua in it and tied the set at 16.
Joshua finished out the set strong with a kill from Natalia Belisle and a pair of points from star middle blocker Morgan Collier. Collier had three blocks in the first set and her third pushed Joshua in front 21-18. Cloey Dress then served up an ace and the lead grew to 23-18.
Joshua closed out the opening set scoring seven of the last eight.
Maldonado and Collier scored a point and registered a block to secure a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks kept the Owls at bay in the second set and came out strong. Teryjah Steward finished off a long rally as Birdville led Joshua 11-6 in the second.
Iman posted a kill through the Joshua block to push the lead to 17-10.
Birdville finished off the set with an ace from Steward.
Steward and Birdville pulled away quickly in the third set and found themselves doubled up on the Owls 18-9 after a big time kill. Birdville made a nice play that turned into a Joshua error and the lead was 21-11 before the Hawks ended the set to take a 2-1 lead.
Joshua trailed for most of the fourth as Birdville was looking to close.
But the Owls fought back.
Evi Walker served up an ace and a point by Payton Koller helped Joshua go on a run and pull within 17-16 in the fourth set. An ace gave the Owls an 18-17 lead. The Owls extended their run to 8-1 and led 19-17 trying to extend the match to five.
But Birdville had other plans.
The Hawks stopped the run with a kill from Koerner and they made it four straight to take a 21-19 lead. Joshua was able to pull within 24-23 before Birdville finished them off for the win.
Birdville finished in third place in 7-5A.
Joshua ended the year with a 27-19 record and runner-up finish in 8-5A. The Owls 13 district wins are a program record and their 27 wins overall and #2 seed were their best since 2012.
