Sports > Schools
Volleyball: Slam-n-dunk: Versatile Flower Mound offense keys win over Marcus
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
FLOWER MOUND -- After coming up short in their second District 5-5A match of the season against reigning State Champ Coppell, Flower Mound's volleyball team has bounced back in a big way.
Last Friday, the Lady Jaguars scored a win over Hebron and stayed hot Tuesday securing a sweep on the road over rival Marcus (25-18, 25-19, 25-19).
Flower Mound was led by a 19-kill, 13-dig performance from Jordan Anderson, while Briana Allmon and Lauren Cox chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Lady Jaguars' front line proved to be too much for Marcus to handle.
Flower Mound scored in a variety of ways, from typical kills on the attack to aces and a myriad of dunks and drops.
"We've been working a lot on our shots and adjusting to different defenses and I think our hitters are doing a much better job of mixing it up," said Marci Brinkman, Flower Mound head coach. "Hitting hard, tipping, roll shots, they're just playing a lot smarter. That's a good thing to see."
While the Lady Jaguars appeared to win comfortably on the scoreboard, they had to battle to pull out wins in the second and third sets.
"Tonight, Flower Mound was just faster and better than us," said Jennifer Cron, Marcus head coach. "Their block shut us down a lot of times, especially in Game 1. They have really good blockers and we didn't find our way around them enough to get the job done."
After trading points early, Flower Mound closed strong in Game 1 as a 7-6 advantage ballooned to 25-18.
The Lady Jaguars appeared to be on the same path in Game 2, leading early, 17-7.
But that's when Marcus responded getting to within five at 24-19 before a kill from Cox sealed the set.
"Lauren did a great job tonight," Brinkman said. "She's been working hard on fixing her block and pressing over and driving because she is such a big force for us on the front row. She's been opening herself up to get more sets in a match and you saw that tonight. She's been really aggressive."
Madie Ashmore and Mackenzie Pearson played pivotal roles in the run on the attack for Marcus, while Regan McGuire paced the team with 13 kills on the night.
"This was [Ashmore's] first game back from a sprained ankle against McKinney," Cron said. "It was her first time in three or four weeks so it was good to have her. She showed that she is physically ready and was pretty sharp offensively. Defensively, we still have to work on timing and recognizing some other things."
Marcus continued to make strides in the third set and actually led, 9-6, early in the game prompting a timeout from Brinkman.
But Cox and the rest of the Flower Mound front had too much firepower and the Lady Jaguars rallied to take 19 of the final 29 points.
"We changed up our defense and started serving them different places than in the first game once we saw that was something that had been working," Cron said. "Unfortunately, after that run they got on a run to get the lead back. They handled the end-of-game pressure better than we did."
Brinkman was pleased with how her squad handled Marcus' adjustments.
"I think Marcus really started to fight back in the second and third game and figured out some of our weaknesses," she said. "I pulled the girls off the court because one of our big goals is to stay calm and collective and take it one point at a time. I think after that, we fought back hard and really adjusted to their short serves and some of the other things they were trying to do. It was good to see."
Marcus continued in district Friday with a loss to Hebron (25-6, 25-17, 25-7) and will next travel to Denton Ryan at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"We want to keep improving and hope to get to our best by the end of the season," Cron said. "Tonight clearly was not our best. But these are the offensive-minded and defensive teams we are going to see in the playoffs and have to ready for."
Flower Mound hosted that same Ryan club Friday and came away with an emphatic victory (25-10, 25-12, 25-10). The Lady Jaguars are on the road Tuesday against Coppell.
"Every night is a battle and you never know who is going to win," Brinkman said. "You wait and see the scores from the other matches and it's always surprising. Anytime you win, you're happy, because you know you are getting the best match from everybody. Everyone is fighting for the top spots to try and get in the playoffs and make their path easier."
Last Friday, the Lady Jaguars scored a win over Hebron and stayed hot Tuesday securing a sweep on the road over rival Marcus (25-18, 25-19, 25-19).
Flower Mound was led by a 19-kill, 13-dig performance from Jordan Anderson, while Briana Allmon and Lauren Cox chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Lady Jaguars' front line proved to be too much for Marcus to handle.
Flower Mound scored in a variety of ways, from typical kills on the attack to aces and a myriad of dunks and drops.
"We've been working a lot on our shots and adjusting to different defenses and I think our hitters are doing a much better job of mixing it up," said Marci Brinkman, Flower Mound head coach. "Hitting hard, tipping, roll shots, they're just playing a lot smarter. That's a good thing to see."
While the Lady Jaguars appeared to win comfortably on the scoreboard, they had to battle to pull out wins in the second and third sets.
"Tonight, Flower Mound was just faster and better than us," said Jennifer Cron, Marcus head coach. "Their block shut us down a lot of times, especially in Game 1. They have really good blockers and we didn't find our way around them enough to get the job done."
After trading points early, Flower Mound closed strong in Game 1 as a 7-6 advantage ballooned to 25-18.
The Lady Jaguars appeared to be on the same path in Game 2, leading early, 17-7.
But that's when Marcus responded getting to within five at 24-19 before a kill from Cox sealed the set.
"Lauren did a great job tonight," Brinkman said. "She's been working hard on fixing her block and pressing over and driving because she is such a big force for us on the front row. She's been opening herself up to get more sets in a match and you saw that tonight. She's been really aggressive."
Madie Ashmore and Mackenzie Pearson played pivotal roles in the run on the attack for Marcus, while Regan McGuire paced the team with 13 kills on the night.
"This was [Ashmore's] first game back from a sprained ankle against McKinney," Cron said. "It was her first time in three or four weeks so it was good to have her. She showed that she is physically ready and was pretty sharp offensively. Defensively, we still have to work on timing and recognizing some other things."
Marcus continued to make strides in the third set and actually led, 9-6, early in the game prompting a timeout from Brinkman.
But Cox and the rest of the Flower Mound front had too much firepower and the Lady Jaguars rallied to take 19 of the final 29 points.
"We changed up our defense and started serving them different places than in the first game once we saw that was something that had been working," Cron said. "Unfortunately, after that run they got on a run to get the lead back. They handled the end-of-game pressure better than we did."
Brinkman was pleased with how her squad handled Marcus' adjustments.
"I think Marcus really started to fight back in the second and third game and figured out some of our weaknesses," she said. "I pulled the girls off the court because one of our big goals is to stay calm and collective and take it one point at a time. I think after that, we fought back hard and really adjusted to their short serves and some of the other things they were trying to do. It was good to see."
Marcus continued in district Friday with a loss to Hebron (25-6, 25-17, 25-7) and will next travel to Denton Ryan at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"We want to keep improving and hope to get to our best by the end of the season," Cron said. "Tonight clearly was not our best. But these are the offensive-minded and defensive teams we are going to see in the playoffs and have to ready for."
Flower Mound hosted that same Ryan club Friday and came away with an emphatic victory (25-10, 25-12, 25-10). The Lady Jaguars are on the road Tuesday against Coppell.
"Every night is a battle and you never know who is going to win," Brinkman said. "You wait and see the scores from the other matches and it's always surprising. Anytime you win, you're happy, because you know you are getting the best match from everybody. Everyone is fighting for the top spots to try and get in the playoffs and make their path easier."
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