Dodd City -- English teachers may cringe, but this time of the year you "dance with the one that brung you," as the old saying goes.

The Van Alstyne Lady Panthers are blessed with a bevy of good athletes, but there is no doubt the impact senior Emily Gentle has had on this program.

With Van Alstyne facing North Lamar Friday evening in a play-in game and the season on the line, Van Alstyne put the match in the hands of their rangy middle blocker. 

Gentle responded with the biggest match of her career. 

With a boisterious Van Alstyne crowd rocking the Dodd City gym and Gentle hammering the North Lamar defense for a pair of quick kills, Van Alstyne jumped out to a 5-1 lead in game one and never looked back.  Van Alstyle reeled off wins of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-19 to sweep North Lamar.  The play-in win gives Van Alstyne the third playoff berth out of District 10-3A.

Gentle had six kills and a block in game one and followed that with seven kills and a pair of blocks in the second game.

North Lamar fought back in game three, but Van Alstyne was only one game away from their first playoff appearance in six years and they simply had too much momentum.  A six-point win in the third set gave Van Alstyne the sweep.