By GEORGE MAHL

Sports Editor

LUTCHER – The Lutcher Lady Bulldogs easily defeated the Independence Lady Tigers Tuesday afternoon, 25-3, 25-11, 25-4 in District 7-III action. Tracy Martin led the Lady Bulldogs attack with 11 assists, five aces and one dig in the victory.

“We needed a district win,” said Lutcher Head Coach Ricky LeBlanc. “We had lost four in a row and not playing real well. But, I feel OK about where we are at right now,” he said.

Lutcher scored their first 11 points while Tracy Martin was serving. Martin recorded five aces while serving in game one. After a kill from Brandi Keller to give the Lady Bulldogs a 5-0 lead, Martin hit five aces to give them an 8-0 lead during the first game. After an Independence return error, the Lady Bulldogs scored with her fifth ace of the first game, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 10-0 lead.

The Lady Tigers finally broke the 10-point run when Lutcher committed a return error, making the score 10-1. But, that would be the last point by Independence for a while.

Leading 12-1, Brandi Keller hit two consecutive aces to give the Lady Bulldogs a 14-1 lead. Following a kill by Amanda Waguespack, Keller nailed three more aces in a row to give the Lady Bulldogs an 18-1 lead.

Independence was a little more competitive in the second game, losing 25-11. The closest Independence would come in the second game was when Lutcher made a serving error to tie the game 3-3. The Lady Bulldogs then went on a 6-0 run to grab a 9-3 lead.

The jump serve from Lutcher server Bridget Belak gave the Lady Tigers difficulty. She scored three aces while serving four times. Her third ace gave Lutcher a 15-4 lead. Three more aces from Keller and the Lady Bulldogs had a 21-6 lead. About the only offense from Independence came in the second game when Maria Cardona nailed a kill to make the score 23-9.

An ace from Tristian LeBlanc gave the Lady Bulldogs the 25-11 victory in the second game.

The third and final game saw the Lady Bulldogs open up an 11-3 lead thanks to excellent serving. An 11-3 Lutcher lead rapidly became a 20-4 lead. Two aces from server Ricki LeBlanc at the end of the third game gave the Lady Bulldogs a win. A 20-4 lead quickly became a 24-4 lead. The Lady Bulldogs won the match on a return error from Independence.

“This was a big win for us because we have a tough road ahead of us,” said LeBlanc.