SEGUIN â€" Six sets in and the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs are yet to drop one after opening the 2014 season with two sweeps on Friday at Susan Duke Court at Tostengard Activity Center.
 
Friday marked the start of the two-day, eight-team Bulldog Classic, with TLU sweeping two instate-rivals, LeTourneau and Concordia Texas.
 
In both matches, it was the defense that impressed on opening day. The Bulldogs held LeTourneau to .008 hitting, before following that up by limiting Concordia to .018 hitting. They forced 24 attack errors in both matches.
 
Both matches also mirrored one another when it came to the scores of sets. Each featured a tight opening set, a blowout second set and a third set that was closer, but still controlled mostly by TLU.
 
Against LeTourneau, the Bulldogs cam back from a 21-19 deficit to take the first set 25-23. The set featured 12 ties and six lead changes. Both teams were making attacking errors, with the two squads combining for 21 in the set. The Bulldogs' final push to take the first frame was aided by three LeTourneau attack errors in the final five points.
 
The second set was a different story for the Bulldogs, as they hammered their way to a 25-12 win behind .263 hitting. Sophomore Brette Threadgill (Sinton, Texas) led the charge in the second set, notching five kills and hitting .333. She finished the match with a team-high 11 kills on .233 hitting.
 
The third set was closer, but TLU still led for much of it with just two lead changes throughout. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-3 lead before LeTourneau battled back to lead 13-12. The Yellow Jackets would expand their lead to 16-13, before TLU went on a 9-1 run to take control.
 
Katie Darst (Euless, Texas) recorded 19 assists as a senior captain. She was matched by freshman Kelcie Ingram (Cibolo, Texas) and her 19 assists.
 
Megan Lee (Universal City, Texas), the reigning SCAC Backrow Player of the Year, opened her season on a high note, recording 25 digs. She finished the day with 38 after coming up with 13 more against Concordia.
 
The Bulldogs' second match proved to be a bit of a coming-out party for a new face for TLU fans. Kristin Fording (San Antonio, Texas), a sophomore transfer from Incarnate Word, introduced herself to the home crowd with a 10-kill performance on ultra-efficient .455 hitting. The sophomore also came up with four digs and a half-block.
 
The match went much the same way the first one did, with the two sides trading blows in the first set. There were 11 ties and five lead changes in the opening frame. The score was knotted at 21-21 before TLU took care of things with a 4-1 closing run.
 
Just like the first match, TLU came out in set no. 2 with a renewed fire, blowing Concordia out 25-11 and holding the Tornados to -.250 hitting, while limiting them to just four kills. Threadgill came up with four kills herself in the set. The sophomore finished with a second-straight 10-kill effort.
 
After falling behind 2-0 to open the third set, the Bulldogs scored six straight points to take a lead they would never relinquish. Fording played a huge role in closing out Concordia, coming up with five kills and hitting .714 in the final set.
 
The Bulldogs will play two more matches on Saturday to wrap up the Bulldog Classic. They will take on Wisconsin-Oshkosh at noon before concluding with a test against Lewis & Clark (Ore.) at 4 p.m. Both matches will be played at Tostengard Activity Center and live stats will be available via tlubulldogs.com.