Sports > Schools
Oh Boyd: Lady Broncos deny Lady Cats trip to state tournament
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Saturday morning was the fifth meeting of the season between the McKinney Boyd and Plano Senior volleyball teams.
And the District 10-5A rivals appeared to save their best for last.
Fighting for the Region II Title and a trip to the Class 5A State Tournament, it was the Lady Broncos that prevailed (28-30, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21) at Sam Houston State. The win was Boyd's fourth of the season over Plano and clinched the team's second straight state appearance.
The Lady Wildcats were seeking their first advancement to state.
"The girls are thrilled," said Kelly Quinn, Boyd head coach. "I'm so happy for my team, especially my seniors. This is a special senior class with many of them on varsity since their freshman or sophomore year. It's another great sendoff for their senior year."
The mood was more subdued on the other end of the court.
"Of course it's disappointing to lose, but the girls really did lay it all on the line," said Teri Minnis, Plano head coach. "Before we went out on the court I told the girls I would be proud of them, regardless of the outcome, as long as we fought and that is exactly what they did."
There was no better indicator of that than in the first set, where Plano fought off multiple set points.
"That was a great set," Minnis said. "We were down early, but continued to battle, continued to battle and all of the sudden it was 30-28."
That was just Boyd's second set loss of the playoffs.
"We were up 24-23," Quinn said. "It was a battle; a kill here, a kill there. It was a hard-fought emotional battle. I'm just glad we were able to turn it around and refocus."
The Lady Broncos had to look to a different outlet than usual to do so.
While Megan Mollett amassed 15 kills, she wasn't terminating balls with her usual frequency thanks in part to 20 digs from Plano senior Lauren Stahlman and 15 by senior Audrey Landry (a Northern Colorado signee).
Kaley Seaber led the Boyd defense with 25 digs.
"Lauren really had Megan's number," Minnis said. "She was hitting her defensive positioning and Boyd had to go to other kids, which they did a good job with."
In addition to Mollet, Krista Bukovec (16), Kelly Koop (13) and Parker Shepherd (13) reached double-digit kills for the Lady Broncos. That offensive variety helped Boyd take Game 2, 25-20. The Lady Broncos would do the same in a third set, 26-24, that was remarkably similar to the first frame.
"Whenever you are in a tight match, the turning point is always Game 3," Minnis said. "And I truly believe if we would've won that game, we would've won the match."
Boyd used the momentum from Game 3 and raced out to an 11-3 lead in Game 4.
Plano wasn't ready to end its quest for the state tournament as junior Kiley Long and senior Maddie Morell (Nevada) jumpstarted the team. The former posted 16 kills on the day while the latter piled up blocks and aces in addition to her offensive contributions.
"Maddie did a great job," Minnis said. "And we were able to get the scoring going when we needed it."
Despite the early deficit in Game 4, Plano once again pushed into the 20s.
"[Plano is a] great team with great players who gave us everything they had," Quinn said. "They have a fantastic coach and a great staff over there."
Plano couldn't come all the way back Saturday though as Boyd settled down, finishing Game 4 and the match, 25-21.
"We had a few errors we know we need to eliminate, but we played hard and our playoff experience came out in this match," Quinn said. "That experience was key. The girls relied on their experience and it really showed."
Boyd moves on to the Class 5A State Tournament, which commences Friday at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, while Plano's season is at an end. It was a notable one for the Lady Wildcats as their trip to the regional finals matched the 2005 squad for the deepest playoff run in program history.
"If you would've asked me in August if this is where I thought we were going to be in November ... of course I would've hoped for it and had that aspiration, but I wouldn't dare say it out loud," Minnis said. "So the fact that we got this far is a testament to these girls and how hard they worked."
And the District 10-5A rivals appeared to save their best for last.
Fighting for the Region II Title and a trip to the Class 5A State Tournament, it was the Lady Broncos that prevailed (28-30, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21) at Sam Houston State. The win was Boyd's fourth of the season over Plano and clinched the team's second straight state appearance.
The Lady Wildcats were seeking their first advancement to state.
"The girls are thrilled," said Kelly Quinn, Boyd head coach. "I'm so happy for my team, especially my seniors. This is a special senior class with many of them on varsity since their freshman or sophomore year. It's another great sendoff for their senior year."
The mood was more subdued on the other end of the court.
"Of course it's disappointing to lose, but the girls really did lay it all on the line," said Teri Minnis, Plano head coach. "Before we went out on the court I told the girls I would be proud of them, regardless of the outcome, as long as we fought and that is exactly what they did."
There was no better indicator of that than in the first set, where Plano fought off multiple set points.
"That was a great set," Minnis said. "We were down early, but continued to battle, continued to battle and all of the sudden it was 30-28."
That was just Boyd's second set loss of the playoffs.
"We were up 24-23," Quinn said. "It was a battle; a kill here, a kill there. It was a hard-fought emotional battle. I'm just glad we were able to turn it around and refocus."
The Lady Broncos had to look to a different outlet than usual to do so.
While Megan Mollett amassed 15 kills, she wasn't terminating balls with her usual frequency thanks in part to 20 digs from Plano senior Lauren Stahlman and 15 by senior Audrey Landry (a Northern Colorado signee).
Kaley Seaber led the Boyd defense with 25 digs.
"Lauren really had Megan's number," Minnis said. "She was hitting her defensive positioning and Boyd had to go to other kids, which they did a good job with."
In addition to Mollet, Krista Bukovec (16), Kelly Koop (13) and Parker Shepherd (13) reached double-digit kills for the Lady Broncos. That offensive variety helped Boyd take Game 2, 25-20. The Lady Broncos would do the same in a third set, 26-24, that was remarkably similar to the first frame.
"Whenever you are in a tight match, the turning point is always Game 3," Minnis said. "And I truly believe if we would've won that game, we would've won the match."
Boyd used the momentum from Game 3 and raced out to an 11-3 lead in Game 4.
Plano wasn't ready to end its quest for the state tournament as junior Kiley Long and senior Maddie Morell (Nevada) jumpstarted the team. The former posted 16 kills on the day while the latter piled up blocks and aces in addition to her offensive contributions.
"Maddie did a great job," Minnis said. "And we were able to get the scoring going when we needed it."
Despite the early deficit in Game 4, Plano once again pushed into the 20s.
"[Plano is a] great team with great players who gave us everything they had," Quinn said. "They have a fantastic coach and a great staff over there."
Plano couldn't come all the way back Saturday though as Boyd settled down, finishing Game 4 and the match, 25-21.
"We had a few errors we know we need to eliminate, but we played hard and our playoff experience came out in this match," Quinn said. "That experience was key. The girls relied on their experience and it really showed."
Boyd moves on to the Class 5A State Tournament, which commences Friday at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, while Plano's season is at an end. It was a notable one for the Lady Wildcats as their trip to the regional finals matched the 2005 squad for the deepest playoff run in program history.
"If you would've asked me in August if this is where I thought we were going to be in November ... of course I would've hoped for it and had that aspiration, but I wouldn't dare say it out loud," Minnis said. "So the fact that we got this far is a testament to these girls and how hard they worked."
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