Sports Update
Volleyball: Coppell returns to regional tourney with sweep of Hebron
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
LEWISVILLE — Coppell and Hebron’s volleyball teams played three times during the regular season with each team taking five sets.
They squared off Tuesday with one of four spots in the UIL Region I Tournament on the line and the Cowgirls got all three of them.
The District 5-5A and defending State Champs used their experience and offensive firepower to rally from behind in all three games; punching their ticket to regionals for a second consecutive season by holding off the Lady Hawks (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) in front of a raucous crowd at Lewisville High School.
“It was so emotional and so intense that you play tight at times,” said Julie Green, Coppell head coach. “We gave up some runs, which is not typical for us. But I think some of our older girls stepped up and made some plays when the situation called for it. To come from behind in all three games, I was pretty impressed the kids pulled those out.”
It was the fourth consecutive postseason meeting between the squads with the winner of the previous two encounters continuing on to win state.
“We wanted to go into tonight thinking we’ve never played them before and I think this was the best we have played against them,” said Chiaka Ogbogu, Coppell senior middle blocker. “Our mentality was thinking we didn’t know them because that’s the way you’ll come out on the wrong side. We got behind and realized what it meant to get back to regionals. We saw the crowd and wanted to put on a show for them. We have the best fans and it was great to see their support.”
Behind the attack of Ogbogu (15 kills), senior Erica Bohannon (12 kills) and senior Cassidy Pickrell (10 kills), the Cowgirls stormed back from a 16-10 deficit in Game 1, from down 17-13 in Game 2 and then rallied from 10-5 back in Game 3 before Pickrell set off the celebration with a termination to close out the third set.
“We wanted to try and shut down their outside hitters and also Loren (Williams),” Pickrell said. “And of course their middles as well. They’re all big factors. We had to shut them down up front with a big block and it looks like we did that tonight.
“We wanted to get to state again and being [in the regional quarterfinals] for the third time in four years for me, we knew there are more games to play in and it’s a great thrill for us to get there.”
Senior Micaela Spann paced the Hebron attack, picking up kills on 5-of-8 points to open the final set as the Lady Hawks grabbed an early 7-1 margin. But as was the case in the first two frames, Hebron just couldn’t maintain its advantage.
“We couldn’t hang on,” said Karin Keeney, Hebron head coach. “Too many errors on our side. I counted 11 net violations. I’ve never seen anything like it all season long. But that’s nerves. We have some young players and were a little timid all the way around. It’s tough because we feel we beat ourselves. But they’re a good team. No doubt.”
The Lady Hawks showed their fight from the start, using a 7-1 spurt in the opening set to lead, 14-8, and prompting to second timeout of the set from Green.
In the second set, a block-kill from Kendall Patterson and an ace from Jordan Yauch saw the Lady Hawks claim a 17-13 margin.
Patterson finished with five kills, while Spann had a team-high 16.
“Micaela wanted it tonight,” Keeney said. “She’s a senior going off to play at Oklahoma. She has a lot of volleyball in front of her, but the fact that she went out there and left it all on the floor, I’m proud of her for that.”
Coppell, meanwhile, repeatedly made moves with Erica Bohannon at the service line. The Cowgirls won 15-of-20 points when behind the senior’s service, including during their surges late in the first and third sets.
“That’s a great rotation for us,” Green said. “Chiaka is on the front row and Kylie (Pickrell) is a really good blocker so we run our offense of the front. Cassidy is there too, so you have three seniors and a really strong sophomore in key positions. And Erica is just smart. She gets in there and spot serves and gets the opponent out of system and it’s just a good front line.”
Kylie led the Cowgirls with 39 assists with Alex Silver recording a team-high 10 digs.
Ogbogu, meanwhile, came alive late in sets, in particular in the final game where she had three kills in a five-point stretch that forced a pair of timeouts from Hebron.
The Lady Hawks continued to fight, though, winning three consecutive points to get within two at 24-22 before Pickrell’s final spike.
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance to compete tonight and that’s the most frustrating thing about it,” Keeney said. “But they didn’t give up at the end, so I’m very proud of them for that. We just didn’t have the outside hitters to match up with them. For my little midgets, we did alright. We called ourselves the ‘Average Joe’s’ all year and that’s what we are. We gave it a good run and did what we could.”
Coppell advances to face the winner between Arlington and El Paso Franklin at 8 p.m. Friday at the Glen Rose ISD Tiger Stadium.
“I think we responded well to Hebron well,” Green said. “It took a little time settling in and it was a great atmosphere. There was a lots of kids, a lot of noise and a lot riding on it. Everyone wants to go to Glen Rose and here we go.”
They squared off Tuesday with one of four spots in the UIL Region I Tournament on the line and the Cowgirls got all three of them.
The District 5-5A and defending State Champs used their experience and offensive firepower to rally from behind in all three games; punching their ticket to regionals for a second consecutive season by holding off the Lady Hawks (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) in front of a raucous crowd at Lewisville High School.
“It was so emotional and so intense that you play tight at times,” said Julie Green, Coppell head coach. “We gave up some runs, which is not typical for us. But I think some of our older girls stepped up and made some plays when the situation called for it. To come from behind in all three games, I was pretty impressed the kids pulled those out.”
It was the fourth consecutive postseason meeting between the squads with the winner of the previous two encounters continuing on to win state.
“We wanted to go into tonight thinking we’ve never played them before and I think this was the best we have played against them,” said Chiaka Ogbogu, Coppell senior middle blocker. “Our mentality was thinking we didn’t know them because that’s the way you’ll come out on the wrong side. We got behind and realized what it meant to get back to regionals. We saw the crowd and wanted to put on a show for them. We have the best fans and it was great to see their support.”
Behind the attack of Ogbogu (15 kills), senior Erica Bohannon (12 kills) and senior Cassidy Pickrell (10 kills), the Cowgirls stormed back from a 16-10 deficit in Game 1, from down 17-13 in Game 2 and then rallied from 10-5 back in Game 3 before Pickrell set off the celebration with a termination to close out the third set.
“We wanted to try and shut down their outside hitters and also Loren (Williams),” Pickrell said. “And of course their middles as well. They’re all big factors. We had to shut them down up front with a big block and it looks like we did that tonight.
“We wanted to get to state again and being [in the regional quarterfinals] for the third time in four years for me, we knew there are more games to play in and it’s a great thrill for us to get there.”
Senior Micaela Spann paced the Hebron attack, picking up kills on 5-of-8 points to open the final set as the Lady Hawks grabbed an early 7-1 margin. But as was the case in the first two frames, Hebron just couldn’t maintain its advantage.
“We couldn’t hang on,” said Karin Keeney, Hebron head coach. “Too many errors on our side. I counted 11 net violations. I’ve never seen anything like it all season long. But that’s nerves. We have some young players and were a little timid all the way around. It’s tough because we feel we beat ourselves. But they’re a good team. No doubt.”
The Lady Hawks showed their fight from the start, using a 7-1 spurt in the opening set to lead, 14-8, and prompting to second timeout of the set from Green.
In the second set, a block-kill from Kendall Patterson and an ace from Jordan Yauch saw the Lady Hawks claim a 17-13 margin.
Patterson finished with five kills, while Spann had a team-high 16.
“Micaela wanted it tonight,” Keeney said. “She’s a senior going off to play at Oklahoma. She has a lot of volleyball in front of her, but the fact that she went out there and left it all on the floor, I’m proud of her for that.”
Coppell, meanwhile, repeatedly made moves with Erica Bohannon at the service line. The Cowgirls won 15-of-20 points when behind the senior’s service, including during their surges late in the first and third sets.
“That’s a great rotation for us,” Green said. “Chiaka is on the front row and Kylie (Pickrell) is a really good blocker so we run our offense of the front. Cassidy is there too, so you have three seniors and a really strong sophomore in key positions. And Erica is just smart. She gets in there and spot serves and gets the opponent out of system and it’s just a good front line.”
Kylie led the Cowgirls with 39 assists with Alex Silver recording a team-high 10 digs.
Ogbogu, meanwhile, came alive late in sets, in particular in the final game where she had three kills in a five-point stretch that forced a pair of timeouts from Hebron.
The Lady Hawks continued to fight, though, winning three consecutive points to get within two at 24-22 before Pickrell’s final spike.
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance to compete tonight and that’s the most frustrating thing about it,” Keeney said. “But they didn’t give up at the end, so I’m very proud of them for that. We just didn’t have the outside hitters to match up with them. For my little midgets, we did alright. We called ourselves the ‘Average Joe’s’ all year and that’s what we are. We gave it a good run and did what we could.”
Coppell advances to face the winner between Arlington and El Paso Franklin at 8 p.m. Friday at the Glen Rose ISD Tiger Stadium.
“I think we responded well to Hebron well,” Green said. “It took a little time settling in and it was a great atmosphere. There was a lots of kids, a lot of noise and a lot riding on it. Everyone wants to go to Glen Rose and here we go.”
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