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E-mail This StoryIt was hard to tell that nothing more than pride was at stake Tuesday night as Marcus and Coppell went at it in a two-and-half hour volleyball match that saw the Lady Marauders upending District 6-5A champion Cowgirls, 25-16, 25-16, 32-34, 21-25, 15-10, at Marcus.
Coppell (36-3, 13-1), which entered the game having already clinched the district title and ranked fourth in the state in Class 5A by the Texas Girls Coaches Association poll, saw its dreams of a perfect run through district play end Tuesday.
Marcus (32-10, 12-2), which is ranked 20th in the TGCA poll, came into the match with something to prove after losing to Hebron on Friday and losing any chances of setting a clash for a share of the district with Coppell.
“What resiliency they showed me tonight,” said Marcus coach Cristie Liles. “You can’t ask for much more from high school students than to be sound down on Friday and rebound and play like that. They all were so intense. They fought their absolute hearts out tonight.”
Both teams are heading to the playoffs, which begin on Monday or Tuesday, and last night’s match provided a playoff-type atmosphere with raucous fans filling both sets of stands. Coppell’s highly motivated fans proved to be a bonus for the Lady Marauders, according to senior middle blocker Emily Maher.
“When they were shouting our names, we fed off that. We wanted to shut them up,” said Maher, who finished with 17 kills. “This was such an intense match, I loved it. I think we needed this going into the playoffs, or might not do very well. The girls were really pushing to win.”
Coppell coach Sherri Hankins had nothing but praise for the Lady Marauders. Following the match she made it a point to shake hands with each Marcus player.
“It was a great effort on both sides,” Hankins said. “Marcus just really had it all together tonight. They played not only their stellar defense, that they always play, but they had a lot of great shot selections. They really worked the ball around our block. Our defense didn’t show up tonight.”
Behind the hitting of Lyndi Johnson, who registered a team-high 27 kills, the Lady Marauders took the first two games by scores of 25-16.
Coppell fought back in the third game taking a 21-17 lead on kills by Kayla Kirk and numerous Marcus errors. It seemed as though the Lady Marauders might rally and take the match in three games but an errant serve with Marcus leading 24-23 gave Coppell new hope.
The squads traded game and match points until Marcus led 32-31 on consecutive kills by Johnson. But after a bad set left things tied at 32, Coppell reeled off the next two points on a setters kill by Elaine Minden and an error to take the game, 34-32.
In Game 4, Marcus couldn’t find an answer to the hitting of Kirk and teammate Laurie McNamara. Kirk had five kills and two blocks in the 25-21 victory, while McNamara registered four kills and two blocks.
In the deciding fifth game, Marcus got out to a 9-2 lead as Johnson delivered three kills and Michelle Hundt added two kills. Trailing 14-5, Coppell scored five consecutive points with Jordan Raines serving, but the Cowgirls couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole they had created.
Jenna Miller, who had a team-high 39 assists, finished off the match with a setters’ kill.
“That whole match was amazing,” Liles said. “I wish it was like that every match, because that is what it is about. Hopefully we can get that crowd to follow us in the playoffs. What an atmosphere.”
