ARGYLE — Whether she was blocking a Pilot Point hit or just trying to drive the ball down their throats, Argyle middle blocker Bailey O’Brien proved that she was the best player on the court Tuesday night.

In the process, Argyle (20-8, 8-0) swept District 8-3A rival Pilot Point, 25-17, 25-11 25-21.

O’Brien, along with setter Jessica Bonfield, dominated the net and made it exceedingly difficult for the Lady Cats to get anything resembling a strong kill attempt.

“She [O’Brien] hit the ball really well and blocked really well,” said Argyle head coach Clark Oberle. “And she’s still learning, still getting accustomed to the game.”

O’Brien, a junior who is playing her first year of volleyball since the eighth grade, finished with nine kills and nine blocks.

Bonfield had 26 assists and libero Bradleigh Lowry had 16 digs for the Lady Eagles.

Pilot Point (12-15, 3-5) played well in spurts but couldn’t keep it up for an entire game, said head coach Marshall Wallace.

“We just weren’t real consistent,” he said.

In the first game, both teams started off playing well, exchanging leads until they played to an 11-11 tie, when a powerful kill by O’Brien got the crowd of about 200 into the match and sparked the Lady Eagle offense.

From there, O’Brien and Bonfield, who is also a junior, took the game over by scoring at will and playing great defense at the net.

Game 2 was all Argyle, despite good performances by Victoria Holmes and Leslye Richmond of Pilot Point. Holmes led the Lady Cats with five kills and Richmond led with nine digs.

In the third game, the Lady Eagles allowed Pilot Point to get back into the match. The Lady Cats managed to tie the game up at 19 with some timely scores and a little help from Argyle, which was having problems keeping the ball in bounds.

“We just had to keep going at their strength,” said Marshall. “They’re really strong at the net.”

Argyle was able to overcome its sloppy play in Game 3, though, when O’Brien blocked a Pilot Point kill attempt. She scored the winning point in both games one and three.

With the win, Argyle cemented itself into first place in the district, while Pilot Point will continue to fight it out for one of the last two playoff spots. Both teams have six district matches left to play.

MONTY MILLER can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mwmiller@dentonrc.com .