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Volleyball: Marcus takes fourth in Pearland, Flower Mound reaches championship bracket
BY JUSTIN THOMAS, Jthomas@acnpapers.com
On Thursday, many of the top Class 5A volleyball programs from North Texas made the more-than-five-hour trek south towards Houston for the 2010 Pearland Volleyball Classic.
And as they have in each of their previous tournaments, both Marcus and Hebron came back to the Metroplex feeling good about their performances.
Hebron finished the tourney as runner-up, while Marcus finished fourth. Both teams were eliminated by eventual champion Corpus Christi King.
“We were exhausted when it was over,” said Karin Keeney, Hebron coach. “But it was a good time and to finished second in that field was quite a feat. We had some very good moments but more importantly we really grew as a team on and off the court.”
Marcus (21-4), meanwhile, is out to the fastest start in program history. The Lady Marauders took third in Duncanville, second in Allen and fourth in Pearland. Their finishes at both Duncanville and Pearland were their top finishes since competing in those events.
“We have 20 wins before district and that is something that hasn’t happened in my nine years here,” said Christie Liles, Marcus coach. “We lost two matches on the last day which was rough and something we haven’t done this season. But we’re pleased with fourth and I was proud of how we played. We’ve never reached the elite eight at Pearland before, much less make the final four.”
Flower Mound was also competing in Pearland but was defeated in the first round of the gold championship bracket by Hebron, 25-19, 25-14.
Hebron’s Brittany Sample was named the tourney’s top setter, while Rachel Buckley and Tiffany Baker, as well as Marcus’ Regan McGuire, Lauren Douglass and Liz Fortado were named all-tournament.
“Brittany was obviously setting up our hitters well,” Keeney said. “But really everyone played well at one point or another.”
Keeney added the Hawks are still getting used to working all-district performer Olivia Okoro, who is returning from an injury, into the lineup.
For Marcus, McGuire was named all-tournament for the second consecutive tournament.
“That’s really impressive for a sophomore,” Liles said. “And we’re honored to be one of the few teams with three players named to the team.”
Hebron reached the finals by earning wins against Flower Mound, as well as McKinney Boyd, 25-8, 25-17; Grapevine, 25-14, 25-12 and JJ Pearce, 25-19, 25-18.
But in the finals, the Hawks lost against King, 25-13, 18-25, 25-23. Hebron had previously defeated King in pool play, 25-19, 25-7; and also earned sweeps against Alvin, 25-7, 25-15 and Austin Bowie, 25-11, 25-16.
“I thought we handled the teams we should have and kept them down,” Keeney said. “We were a little disappointed losing against King but at the end of the day we played well. Our serve receive was consistent which I thought was very important. We had great support down there and the kids presented themselves and represented the city very well. We made a lot of friends.”
Marcus also made it through pool play with ease, winning every match by sweep. In fact, the Lady Marauders did not go three games in any match in Pearland. Marcus earned wins against Ft. Bend Travis, 25-18, 25-17; Stony Point, 25-14, 25-14; Magnolia, 25-15, 25-13; Clear Creek, 25-21, 25-16; Dawson, 25-23, 25-22 and Reagan, 25-20, 25-15, before falling in the semifinals against King, 25-17, 25-21; and in the third-place match against Pearce, 25-20, 25-20.
“We had three players receive all-tournament,” Liles said. “But our setters really did a good job. If they weren’t performing, our hitters wouldn’t have had all of those chances. We’re playing at a high level and against competition that is really going to prepare us for district. And we’ve been playing a bunch of matches. We played eight matches in two days in Allen and nine matches in three days in Pearland.”
Flower Mound’s matches included wins against Hutto, 28-26, 26-24; Memorial, 25-19, 25-22 and San Antonio Churchill, 25-21, 16-25, 25-14 with losses to Westlake, 25-17, 25-11; Sachse, 25-20, 25-15 and Amarillo, 25-19, 25-21.
Awards
MVP: Dempsey Thornton, CC KING
Hitter:Katie O’Brien, JJ Pearce
Setter: Brittany Sample, Hebron
Libero: Erika Rojas, CC King
All-tournament
Erin Lowerance, CC King
Rachel Buckley, Hebron
Tiffany Baker, Hebron
Stephanie Holland, JJ Pearce
Shelbie Sullivan, JJ Pearce
Liz Fortado, Marcus
Regan McGuire, Marcus
Lauren Douglass, Marcus
Ebony Nwanebu, Lovejoy
Natalie Puckett, Lovejoy
Sierra Patrick, Lake Travis
Amy Neal, Lake Travis
Mackenzie Mayo, Lake Travis
Kayla Keller, SA Reagan
Regan Himmelberg, Grapevine
Tanna Aljoe, Grapevine
Daniela Arenas, Cy Woods
Danille Sullivan, Dawson
Meghan Irwin, Arlington Martin
Courtney Felinski, Magnolia
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