Mexico had already snapped a streak on Tuesday when it took the first set from Bowling Green. 

The No. 5 seed Lady Bulldogs had their first district set victory since 2022 in the Class 3 District 6 tournament in Fulton. They didn’t stop there as they swept No. 4 seed Bowling Green 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 for their first district win since 2020, earning a semifinal meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday with No. 1 seed St. Francis Borgia (22-13-1). 

Mexico vs Bowling Green Photo Gallery

“I’m proud to be a part of it,” sophomore Julia Goerne said. “I’m glad that we worked together to win it, and we beat them 3-0. We didn’t go to five sets.”

Mexico (7-18) went to five sets with Bowling Green (7-14-3) earlier this season and lost on its home court. The Lady Bulldogs lost the first set that day and took a 2-1 lead before losing the match.

Goerne said the first meeting was on Sept. 24 about halfway through the schedule. The Lady Bulldogs weren’t as “mentally strong” as they are now. 

“We’ve worked hard to get past that mental block,” Goerne said. “That third set was a little iffy, and we got a bit into a rough patch. Throughout the season, we’ve been working hard to get past that. Our coaches have helped us get mentally strong on and off the court.”

Head coach Tami Sells said she is proud of her team coming together when it mattered. Tuesday’s win was Mexico’s third straight.

“Over the last few weeks, we’ve really bonded well as a team and started to trust one another to cover our own positions and know who is covering when. Of course, we’re never going to be perfect on that, but we’ve come a long way. This team has a lot of heart.”

Unofficial stats for Mexico included Camy Blackburn with five kills and three aces, Gwen Walker with four kills, and Goerne with four kills and two blocks. Goerne shouted out some other girls like Walker, Averee Hampton and Anna Isgrig.

Goerne said Walker and Isgrig are some underclassmen who have grown into better players over the season. The junior libero Hampton “gives her all a lot of the time” and “throws herself on the ground.” Walker and Parker Howell saved several balls from dropping, even when they were far behind Mexico’s formation.

“Instead of giving up on balls that are so far out, we gave it our all and everything we honestly could,” Goerne said. “We dug it up, got it over and got the point.”

Sells said all of the girls stood out for covering the court well. This happened not long after Mexico resolved to “covering the court while she heals,” referring to sophomore Caroline Fisher, who couldn’t play after undergoing successful ACL repair surgery earlier in the day.

Along with that, Sells said Mexico didn’t have as many hitting errors as the last meeting with Bowling Green.

“We’ve been zeroing in our hitting and not having as many errors,” Sells said. “The rest of the game was pretty consistent with how we normally play.”

Goerne mainly sets the ball, racking up assists for Mexico, got some good hits on the ball.

“You got to have confidence,” Goerne said. “You can’t get down. If the whole team relies on the setter, you can’t not be confident as a setter. Push yourself hard to make your team proud. That’s what really matters.”

Mexico hasn’t played St. Francis Borgia, who has 22 wins in each of the past two seasons. There’s a lack of familiarity with the opponent and with the district semifinals for this team with six upperclassmen, but that’s what makes the next match exciting for Mexico.

“It’s kind of an unknown,” Sells said. “I’m excited to see what Thursday holds.”