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Slow and steady wins the race: Opening weekend shows Lady Wolves what to work on
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Most volleyball coaches enjoy early season events like the Duncanville Tournament of Champions, which took place over the weekend, as it gives them a number of games to evaluate their rosters and rotations.
Consider Plano West, which was in Duncanville, an exception to the rule.
"We aren't as polished as I'd like us to be at this stage or as we have been at this point in previous years," said Brittany Bridge, West head coach. "So I really wish we had the opportunity to practice more right now instead of playing as much as you have to in these tournaments."
After taking Lovejoy, the top-ranked team in Class 4A, to five sets Thursday night, West defeated San Angelo and Kingwood to open pool play Friday.
"We had that marathon match against Lovejoy, so I was proud of the girls for doing what they needed to get through pool," Bridge said.
West moved into the second pool under Duncanville's new format and swept Clear Lake before suffering its first loss to A&M Consolidated (25-22, 26-28, 25-23) in both team's fourth match of the day.
"The girls were just gassed by the time we got to that match," Bridge said.
West had already advanced to the championship bracket by that point and faced Colleyville Heritage Saturday morning in the round of 16. With a pair of high-jumping outside hitters and a big block as well as solid serves and passes, the Lady Panthers knocked the Lady Wolves out of the main bracket (25-17, 27-29, 25-18). Heritage advanced to the semifinals before losing to tournament champion Southlake Carroll.
"Obviously we were disappointed by the loss," Bridge said, "but then you take a step back and realize we just lost to a pretty good team."
West advanced to the consolation finals with wins over Kingwood (25-17, 25-23) and Plano East (25-14, 20-25, 25-18). Leading the way in those victories were a variety of players, including junior outside hitter Morgan MacGilvary and senior setter Brooke Coleman.
"Both those girls have been playing well," Bridge said. "Morgan has stepped up her maturity this season and has been putting balls away and putting up a big block. And Brooke is passing, setting, hitting, really doing it all right now, and doing it all well."
The defensive foursome of seniors Shane Peters, Brianne O'Halloran, sophomore Camryn Vecera and freshman Ania Mlynarczyk was strong during the weekend as well.
"Those girls have not been letting balls hit the ground," Bridge said.
West's pair of wins Saturday garnered the girls a rematch with Consolidated in the consolation finals.
In that match, West continued its pattern of light substitutions.
"It can be dangerous to just sub girls in there for a trial by fire," Bridge said. "Obviously there are times when it will work, but you also are never sure how the other girls will react and play when you make changes like that and you don't want to damage one of your younger girl's confidence because of it."
Fatigue may have contributed to West's loss (25-22, 25-20), but so did Consolidated.
"They have a really fast offense," Bridge said. "They do jump sets and have quick hitters; really, if you look at it, they were faster than us and at the pace we are working to get to in practice."
West won't get any time to practice, but will have plenty of hours on the court Friday and Saturday as part of the Texas Open. The Lady Wolves, which swept Arlington Martin Tuesday night, are in a pool with Flower Mound, Rowlett and Bishop Lynch, opening against the Lady Eagles at 9 a.m. Friday from the Lowery Freshman Center in Allen.
"I want to see us play more consistently; not so many ups and downs," Bridge said. "We want to pass better, pass smarter and gradually make our offense faster."
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