There was no shortage of purple and Bulldogs Friday afternoon in the Wylie High gym. The home team, wearing a darker shade, had more bite.

Coach Shay Cox’s Bulldogs tuned up for the start of district play against a good 6A team, Midland High. Wylie rolled to a 25-8 win in the first set but had to work hard to close the match with a 3-0 victory.

Midland chased Wylie throughout the second set but Cox’s Bulldogs didn’t give in, taking a 25-22 decision.

It was the opposite situation in the final set as Midland took control after a 7-7 tie, leading by as many as four points before Wylie battled back to tie it at 15 and pulled out a 25-21 win.

Midland came in with a 20-6 record, so Wylie was expecting a good match.

“They were pretty good,” senior Jenna Stricklin said. “I am really proud of us staying it through. I think that first set showed we can put the pedal to the metal.”

The senior said the change from Set 1 to Set 2 was mental on Wylie’s part.

“I think sometimes we think ‘This is so easy, we got this, a blowout first set.’ But I think when we stay in the game is when we kick some butt,” she said.

Cox said the tight two sets were not totally unexpected.

“We expected great competition. We were super excited, home court, and we came out gangbusters,” she said. “They matched up with us the last two sets. We started making a few mistakes and they started playing well. Some of the easy things we were sending over they were sending right back at us.”

Wylie enters District 4-5A play with a sparkling 26-4 record and a nine-match winning streak.

The Bulldogs are host to Abilene Cooper on Tuesday. Cooper is 10-17 and on a nine-match losing streak, losing 3-2 to Midland Lee in its final non-district match.

Cox was happy to see her crew get a workout, though that makes it tense for fans. Wylie played well in the opening set but, as the coach has said before, you never know what’s going to happen when you change sides of the net.

Midland settled down to play much better and made adjustments to counter Wylie’s attack.

Wylie led 5-1 early in Set 2 but the visiting Bulldogs tied it at 5. The teams played evenly to 8-8 before the home Bulldogs took an 11-9 lead as Haddie Mock pounded a winner and didn’t give it up. The lead grew to 20-14 on another Mock winner. Midland High called a timeout and rallied with Zaylie King serving, cutting Wylie’s lead to 20-19.

King then served into the net, and that was the break in momentum that Wylie needed.

A winner by Striklin ended the set.

“I think I played really well today,” she said, smiling.

Midland wasn’t ready for the long drive home.

The 6A Bulldogs took a quick 2-0 lead in Set 3 and stayed ahead until Wylie’s Kiki Bolden struck a winner to tie it a 7.

Undeterred, Midland went back ahead and built a 13-9 lead.

It was 15-12, Midland, when the Bulldogs made their move.

A Bolden spike made it 15-14, Logan Hill’s service winner tied it and Bolden put Wylie on top.

Again, Midland wasn’t going away, and the Bulldogs tied the match five more times as Halle Cumbie made plays for the visitors.

Cox said it was good to see her team battle point for point until the Bulldogs got over the hump.

“Coming from behind there at the end, that was fun,” she said.

Stricklin blocked Cumbie to make it 23-20 only to see Cumbie score over her.

Wylie got to match point with a scoring hit from D’Nae Dolton and won when Midland’s Sarah McCoy hit long.

Stricklin said she doesn’t mind being behind.

“I kind of like being the underdog and having to come back. I think that is really enjoyable. But once we have a lead, it is easier to keep it,” she said.

Stricklin said the tough match was worth it.

“I think this one really prepared us,” she said. “Once we get out of district, we’ll see bigger competition, so this game was a good testament to us.”

Wylie should be tested Oct. 6, when the Bulldogs travel to Wichita Falls to face Memorial. Those teams have fought for the district title the past two years.

Memorial is 23-6 going into its opener against Abilene High.