Lady Broncos advance to District 3-1A finals

FLOYD — Floyd advanced to Saturday’s finals of the District 3-1A volleyball tournament Thursday night with a 27-25, 25-19, 25-18 win over Elida.

The second-seeded Lady Bronchos (14-2) avenged one of thelr losses, a setback which cost them the top seed in the district. They face top-seeded Fort Sumner in Saturday’s finals.

Floyd won a seesaw first game, erasing a five-point deficit to take a 26-25 lead on a block by sophomore Nadine Love, then getting a tip-kill on set point from junior Tori Tucker.

The Lady Broncos led virtually all the way in Game 2, then rallied to take a 16-13 lead in the third game. Three hitting errors by Elida (13-8) and a kill by senior Bree Lancaster pushed the margin to 20-13 for Floyd.

“They moved well as a unit and very focused on playing,” Floyd coach Shelley Gilmore said of her squad. “Last year was the first year that they played in state, and this year they are more prepared.”

Darrell Chenault said the Lady Tigers (13-8), who advanced with a win on Wednesday over Dora, were eliminated by a quality oppponent.

“I thought they played really well and kept the ball in play,” Chenault said of the Lady Broncos. “We’re both athletic teams. We had our run on points in the first and third games.

“I give (the Lady Broncos) all the credit in the world. They stuck to it and held together."