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Poteet volleyball team keeps pace in playoff race with sweep of Terrell
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
Although Poteet is in the thick of a playoff race heading into the final week of the regular season, they are displaying a new look.
Well, it is not completely new, but it is one that they have not shown for a while.
After being hit by a rash of injuries during the course of the season, Poteet is finally getting close to full strength and that showed on Tuesday with a dominating 25-12, 25-5, 25-12 victory over Terrell.
"I thought we played well against Highland Park the other (Friday) night and that carried over into tonight," Poteet head coach Lisa Lisewsky said. "We are finally getting healthy, this is the first time we have been able to go out with our original projected starters since the start of the season."
While starters Kelsey Stewart and Raehgan Shaw have been able to avoid the injury bug, others have not been as fortunate as Madison Yannetti, Paige Morris and Keairah Hanks have all missed time. Brittany Arce is still out of action, with Kristen Jones stepping in to fill her role.
That has resulted in a number of younger players being asked to take on larger roles as Poteet fought through 10-4A play.
"I had to play a lot of sophomores and that is a steep learning curve for them but I thought they did a good job of coming in and holding down the fort for us," Lisewsky said.
The Pirates are facing some different competition in the newly-aligned 10-4A, but it has proven to be every bit as tough as the slate they have faced the last two seasons.
Highland Park knocked off Carrollton Creekview on Tuesday to clinch sole possession of first place. The Scots are 12-0, followed by Creekview at 10-2 and Forney, a winner over North Forney on Tuesday, at 9-3.
All three of those teams have clinched playoff berths, leaving the fourth spot to be determined between Poteet and Carrollton Newman Smith.
"I thought it would be about like this, we traded out Red Oak and Waxahachie for Highland Park and Creekview, which are two strong teams," Lisewsky said. "I thought it would be a competitive district and it has been. You have to stay focused and be ready to play every night because there are no off matches."
While the Pirates have a potential showdown with Newman Smith in the regular season finale on Tuesday, the must first contend with Carrollton Creekview on Friday.
Poteet lost to both teams during the first round of district play, but was playing short-handed. They are hoping their new look will be enough to change those earlier fortunes and send them back to the playoffs this time next week.
"I feel good about where we are," Lisewsky said. "We need to keep that chemistry going and then just clean up some of those minor things that can cost you matches in the end."
While there is plenty of drama surrounding the final playoff spot, the rest of the field is all but set.
Highland Park will be the top seed with Carrollton Creekview and Forney likely to be the second and third seeds, respectively. The Jackrabbits would need to sweep Terrell and Highland Park and hope the Mustangs stumble against Poteet and West Mesquite to leapfrog Creekview, which swept the regular season series.
STANDINGS
x-Highland Park 12-0 33-5
x-Carrollton Creekview 10-2 24-13
x-Forney 9-3 21-12
Poteet 6-6 12-23
Carrollton Newman Smith 6-6 8-19
North Forney 3-9 5-22
West Mesquite 2-10 8-21
Terrell 0-12 0-20
x-clinched playoff berth
Tuesday's Results
Poteet def. Terrell 25-12, 25-5, 25-12
Carrollton Newman Smith def. West Mesquite 25-27, 25-20, 25-15, 25-14
Highland Park def. Carrollton Creekview 25-23, 25-23, 25-19
Forney def. North Forney 25-15, 25-8, 23-25, 25-21
Friday's Results
Highland Park def. Poteet 26-24, 25-9, 25-15
North Forney def. West Mesquite 25-22, 25-23, 25-17
Carrollton Creekview def. Forney 25-8, 25-11, 25-10
Carrollton Newman Smith def. Terrell
Friday's Games
Carrollton Creekview at Poteet
West Mesquite at Highland Park
Terrell at Forney
North Forney at Carrollton Newman Smith
Tuesday's Games
Poteet at Carrollton Newman Smith
Carrollton Creekview at West Mesquite
Highland Park at Forney
Terrell at North Forney
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