The Buchholz Bobcats came into Thursday’s home matchup against the West Port Wolfpack winning three of their last four games.
Riding this wave of momentum, the Bobcats defeated the Wolf Pack (Ocala) on Thursday in dominant fashion in three sets, 25-10, 25-13, 25-6.
The Bobcats improved to 3-1 at home on the season and 7-4 overall, and they were able to shut down West Port (11-5), who came in with a 5-1 record in away matchups.
Buchholz freshman Taylor Sembower and sophomore Aaliyah Ray each led the Bobcats in kills with 10 apiece, while sophomore Aubrey Waters added seven kills.
Ray also led the team in attack percentage, converting nearly 77 percent of her kills.
Buchholz head coach Andre Medina was complimentary of Sembower’s performances through the first 11 games of the season.
“Honestly, as a freshman, I can’t say enough about her,” he said. “She affects the game in every statistical category, but she pretty much leads the team in every statistical category.”
On the defensive side, sophomore Lily Vaillancourt led the Bobcats in digs with nine in the contest. Sembower followed her with eight in the match, proving to be effective both offensively and defensively. Freshman Kiana Wilburn finished with four digs.
The Bobcats tallied four blocks in the match, with Waters, senior Addie Sixbey, senior Victoria Trucco and sophomore Demmi Strappy each recording one block.
With the victory, the Bobcats have won four of their last five matches.
Despite West Port entering the contest 11-5, the Bobcats did not focus on the Wolfpack’s record heading into the contest.
“We kind of looked at their record and didn’t look too deep into it, we just know that if we play at our highest level we can pretty much take on anybody in the state,” Medina said.
Medina wants the effort from his team to remain constant every match.
“That was a conversation that happened before the match, just understanding that we control our level, we control our effort, and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is on the other side of the net, but those are things that are 100 percent in our control,” Medina said.
Buchholz’s next match is on Monday at home against The Rock (8-5). The Lions won the previous match, 3-1, on Sept. 4.
