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Volleyball: Familiar foes: Hebron, Coppell set to meet for fourth time and fourth consecutive playoff tilt
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
During regular season competition, Hebron's volleyball team was one of just two programs to defeat defending state champion Coppell.
But the Cowgirls repaid the favor two weeks later - a victory that paved the way to the District 5-5A Title - and also topped the Lady Hawks during non-district competition at the Pearland Tournament.
Tuesday in Lewisville, the teams squared off for a fourth occasion (results not available as of press time), only this time with the highest of stakes as the winner punched its ticket to the UIL Class 5A Region I Tournament.
Boisterous crowds are nothing new to Hebron and Coppell, which will not only be facing off for the fourth time this year, but for the fourth consecutive postseason, with the winner of the previous two playoff meetings continuing on to win state.
"It's going to be a battle," said Julie Green, Coppell head coach. "Hebron is a team we are familiar with and they're always prepared and are well-schooled. We can't wait to play."
Hebron advanced to the regional quarterfinals for a fifth consecutive year by virtue of defeating Euless Trinity in the bi-district round last Tuesday (25-13, 25-14, 22-25, 25-17) and Cedar Hill Friday (23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-15).
In the win against the Lady Longhorns, the Lady Hawks overcome a sloppy first set.
"We were a little jittery at first," Keeney said. "We made too many mistakes, either on our serves or just hitting out of bounds or into the net."
The Lady Hawks were also adjusting early on to the athleticism of Cedar Hill, including outside hitter Briana Holman, who has committed to LSU.
"She's legit," Keeney said. "We had a tough time handling her, but we were able to get some great blocks and we had some impressive digs, because a lot of her kills are coming straight down at the floor. She can really get up and swing."
Loren Williams led Hebron with 12 kills, while Micaela Spann had 10 and Kendall Patterson had seven.
"After the first set, we cleaned it up and got busy," Keeney said. "We took leads early in the games and had comfortable margins to work with. We were serving aggressively and out-ball-controlled them."
Jordan Yauch recorded six aces, while Banner Rodgers and Marissa Salazar had four apiece. Patterson and Rodgers had 14 and 10 digs, respectively, while the Lady Hawks had six blocks as a team.
While Hebron got out to a slow start against Cedar Hill, the reverse was the case against Trinity when the Lady Hawks rattled off the game's first eight points and never looked back.
"We came out fired up," Keeney said. "It was the opposite of the match against Cedar Hill. We fizzled just a little bit in the third set, but we came back strong in the fourth."
Coppell, meanwhile, won its first two playoff matches by convincing sweeps.
The Cowgirls pasted Grapevine in the bi-district round (25-7, 25-6, 25-9) before cruising past Midlothian Friday in the area round (25-13, 25-9, 25-10).
"We were passing the ball very well," Green said. "When we receive and pass well, we can side out at a good percentage and during those playoff matches we were siding out at 80 percent. We didn't allow our opponents to get on any runs and that's been one of our biggest goals during the season."
The Cowgirls also benefited from facing a pair of defensive-oriented squads.
"That was really good for us," Green said. "We look to put the ball away after three touches and both Grapevine and Midlothian did a good job of digging and prolonging the points. We had to work for ours and it helps to go against scrappy teams because they can give us difficulties."
A balanced Hebron team also has the ability to keep points alive, as well as offensive options to challenge Coppell's defense.
"Hebron is similar to Grapevine in a way," Green said. "We watch a lot of film to prepare specifically for our opponents. We've seen Hebron so many times we have a good idea of what we want to do and are confident in our rotations and some of the other smaller adjustments."
Regardless of the victor, both Hebron and Coppell should be prepared moving forward after coming out of a district that featured three of the eight regional quarterfinalists (Flower Mound lost Monday in the third round against Colleyville Heritage).
"I'm not surprised at all," Green said. "I thought coming in we were in the toughest district in the region. When you look at the last couple of weeks with some of the things we were dealing with and to still finish first in the district is incredible. It's made us all tougher and more prepared.
"We feel good because we have a nice balance of young kids that bring something new and fresh, but also experienced leaders who can keep us on an even keel. It's a good mix and they can all step in and play."
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