Volleyball: Flower Mound falls to Coppell, Marcus advances

CARROLLTON -- After splitting the first two sets and being separated by just one point midway through the third game, it appeared Tuesday's bi-district round playoff contest between Coppell and Flower Mound was poised to go the distance for the second time this season.

The Cowgirls, however, had other plans.

Coppell erupted for a 17-5 spurt down the stretch of Game 3 and closed with an equally impressive run in the fourth to finish off a feisty Lady Jaguar squad and advance to the area round of the playoffs (22-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-19).

"We made a couple of adjustments on the block and moved some players around after losing the first game and I thought the kids responded well," said Julie Green, Coppell coach. "We just kind of settled in. We had been playing really well and I thought maybe they were just a little tight in the first game. Once we settled, we played well."

Flower Mound entered the match as the No. 3 seed from District 8-5A, while Coppell was the No. 2 seed from 7-5A and had previously dropped a five-set match to the Lady Jaguars in pre-district competition.

The Lady Jaguars played with the mentality of a team that had won the previous meeting, coming out like gangbusters to take the first set.

"In the first game, we were doing everything well," said Marci Brinkman, Flower Mound coach. "They came out with a lot of intensity and were just on fire. The girls were ready to win the match and it showed in the way we came out. I was really proud of them for that and I think we shocked them a little bit."

The Lady Jaguars held the momentum early in Game 2 as well, leading 13-9 before Coppell posted four consecutive points to knot the match, including a block-kill from Chiaka Ogbogu. The squads went back-and-forth the remainder of the set and Coppell finally gained its first advantage at 22-21 following a Flower Mound error. A kill from Flower Mound's Amberli Cluff drew the Lady Jaguars even but Coppell closed the set with three consecutive points and never looked back.

Coppell claimed the first three points of the third set and after Flower Mound pulled to within one at 8-7, the Cowgirls went on a 17-5 run that that included a stretch of four block-kills in a five-point span by the tandem of Kylie Pickrell and Erica Bohanon.

"That's our freshman," Green said of Pickrell. "It was somewhat unexpected but she went on huge run for us and that was big. We always say it can be a huge momentum shift when we get the block and that's what happened. We're big up front and it just takes guts to get in there block like that. We knew [Flower Mound] had dominant left sides and that's where they were going to try and attack from. We've been working and planning for that block and they executed."

"The blocking was a huge difference," added Coppell's Kierra Holst. "It really changes the mentality and gives the team a big ego boost and allows us to really push through to the next point."

After losing the momentum built in Game 1, Flower Mound found itself faced with elimination in Game 4, but didn't go away quietly despite falling behind early, 14-8. The Lady Jaguars pulled to within one at 15-14 on the strength of kills from Cluff and Jordan Anderson.

"I think Coppell picked up it and their block was doing a good job," Brinkman said. "I don't think we adjusted as fast as we should have and we made too many errors. But overall I was proud of them for fighting. The third game was definitely a momentum changer but I was proud of the way they turned it around in the fourth and were neck-and-neck with them."

But just when it appeared the Lady Jaguars were getting back in the set, Coppell came through with well-placed drop shots. Bohanon, Cassidy Pickrell and Kate Dicken each contributed drops for Coppell sandwiched around a kill from Anderson to go up, 18-15, before Holst later put the finishes touches on the win with her sixth kill of the fourth set.

"[Dicken] has been competing for a spot all year long," Green said. "She didn't necessarily get a starting spot, but she's been gamer all year and she came up with some really smart plays. When didn't ask her to do a ton, but when she got a chance she was smart and took advantage."

Coppell returns to the area round where they will face an opponent yet to be determined. Last season, the Cowgirls were eliminated in the first round by eventual state champion Hebron.

"We remembered last time we played [Flower Mound]," Holst said. "We were really determined to beat them and it was an exciting match. I thought we played really well tonight and this feels great. We'll head into the next round with a lot of confidence and are ready to play."

"We want to stay consistent," Green added. "We're not going to become a better blocking, hitting or serving team in two days. We just have to be consistent, maintain our intensity and get out to a little better start."

Flower Mound, meanwhile, came up short against Coppell but still had a successful season in reaching the playoffs.

"I am so extremely proud of this team," Brinkman said. "I think a lot of people underestimated this team coming into the season. We did well in Pearland and in a lot of our matches before district started. We kind of had a slow start to district. But we showed a lot of resiliency in coming back from 0-3 and fighting to finish third. This was an excellent team that was very fun to coach and that played with a lot of heart and fight. They helped to turn the tradition around here at Flower Mound."

Volleyball: Lady M's move on

While Flower Mound came up short Tuesday, Marcus punched its ticket to the area round with a win against Justin Northwest (25-21, 17-25, 25-17, 25-12) at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club.

It is Marcus' seventh consecutive trip to the area round and third time in the past three seasons the Lady Marauders have topped the Lady Texans in the bi-district round.

"[Northwest] has a scrappy team," said Cristie Liles, Marcus coach. "I'm sure they were pretty pumped to play us for a third year in a row. They started out playing very well. I just think they ran out a steam a little bit. And right when they started running out of steam, we really started to find our groove."

Liles said her squad appeared to be a bit nervous in the first and second games before settling in.

"We started blocking better and really passing a lot better in the third set," she said. "That was the biggest difference. Then we jumped out a 6-1 lead in the fourth set and pulled away."

Regan McGuire led Marcus with 20 kills and five blocks (four solo), while Lauren Douglass contributed nine kills.

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