The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - The Lady Bulldogs may have lost their last two games, but the league's third-placed team is going into the district play­offs confident they can play well together, head coach Shannon Turner said.

"We're excited," Turner said after seeing that her team could keep its poise against a dominant opponent in Weston McEwen. "We didn't play timid. We played well. Even though we lost, the girls were pumped about how they played against such a strong program."

Dayton lost against the Tigerscots Thursday in three, 12-25, 13-25 and 16- 25. Madison Mings had 8 kills and 3 blocks, followed by Jenna Phillips with 4 kills and 11 digs. Courtney Mings impressed with 4 kills and 17 digs, while Sarah Phillips reached for 9 digs and Lexi Ramirez for 11. Chelsea Wooldridge had 16 assists.

The Tigerscots are a much more seasoned team, which Dayton hasn't beat in many years. They have nine seniors compared to one on the Bulldogs team this year, Turner said. Still, she was pleased with the way her girls passed the ball and kept their cool under pressure.

The Lady Dogs came close to beating WWVA on Tuesday, finally losing in five, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-23, 6-15.

"We made more unforced errors than they did in the fifth game," Turner said. "It could have gone either way."

In the Bulldogs' game against the Knights, Madi­son Mings had 12 kills, 7 blocks and 18 digs, serving 16 for 16. Her sister Court­ney Mings had 9 kills and 12 digs, serving 17 for 18. Sarah Phillips came up with 21 digs and was 11 for 11 on the line. Her younger sister Jenna posted 4 kills, 2 blocks and 12 digs, serving 10/12. Ramirez produced 14 digs and was 12 for 14 on the line. Wooldridge registered 23 as­sists, 10 digs and was 12 for 14 serving.

The Lady Dogs ended the season with a 5-5 league record, going into the dis­trict tournament in Asotin with the Panthers (Asotin), the Irish (DeSales) and the Jaguars (TCP). Each of the teams gets two chances to move on for first, second and third place. Only the top three teams go to districts in the Tri Cities the following Saturday.

Turner said the Dayton team has progressed well during the season. It has cut down on unforced errors and its chemistry is good. But this year's Bulldogs are still a young team facing opponents with more court time and, in some cases, more height. The passion with which they go into their matchups this weekend will make the difference, the head coach said.

"They have the potential (to do well)," she said. "But they have to go out there and work for it. They have to dig deep."

The tournament's first game against the Panthers starts at noon on Saturday.