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E-mail This StoryMesquite and Frisco Liberty each had one blemish on its record during pool play at the Mesquite ISD Tournament on Friday. That came courtesy of one another, as the teams split a pair of games.
Still, that was more than enough for each to earn a spot in the championship bracket on Saturday and it was little surprise the two met once again to determine the tournament championship.
But while the Redhawks made some adjustments to the Skeeters’ big hitters, Mesquite appeared just a little out of sync throughout.
As a result, Frisco Liberty earned an impressive 25-20, 25-16 victory to claim the MISD tournament championship at North Mesquite High School.
The Skeeters had taken down Rockwall-Heath and Denton Ryan to reach the final, while the Redhawks defeated Corsicana and Lancaster.
On Friday, Frisco Liberty had won the opening game, 17-15, only to have Mesquite storm back to claim game two, 15-12.
But after the Redhawks again took the opener on Saturday, there would be no such rally from the Skeeters this time.
Mesquite got early kills from Ngozi Onwumere and Courtney Manning, but a slew of errors left them in a 6-2 hole early in game two. The Skeeters were able to close the gap behind strong play at the net by Manning and Joni Roland to get to within 8-7, but a kill by Paris Perret and an ace by Loren Byerly reestablished some breathing room for Frisco Liberty and a kill by Katelyn Keeton made it 13-8.
As the game progressed, the Redhawks got stronger and stronger at the net. El Kale had three of her game-high four blocks as the lead swelled to 18-10. The Skeeters hung around behind points from Ariel Sanders and Manning, but never could find an answer for Byerly, who hammered down one of her match-high 11 kills to get the lead back to 23-15.
Manning, who had nine kills and three blocks to lead Mesquite, got one point back, but that would be it, as a pair of kills from Perret finished off the match.
While Frisco Liberty spread around the points in the second game, it was Byerly who did the most damage in the opening game. The junior had six kills and a pair of aces to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 19-12 lead.
Manning and Sanders, who combined for eight kills and three blocks in game one, tried to rally the Skeeters, who got back to within 22-18, but a pair of errors led to Redhawk points and a tip at the net courtesy of Kale gave them a 25-20 win and the momentum it would need to go on to win the tournament championship.
Mesquite knocks off Denton Ryan
Mesquite earned its spot in the tournament championship with a hard-fought 26-24, 25-17 victory in the semifinals.
The Skeeters were led by Courtney Manning’s eight kills and four blocks, but got contributions from all over. Ngozi Onwumere and Ariel Sanders each had four kills and two blocks, Elizabeth Brimer added three kills and two blocks, Daniella Rodarte had two key serving runs and Joni Roland did her job setting up the offense.
Mesquite actually trailed 9-7 in the first game before Rodarte served four straight points, highlighted by back-to-back blocks from Manning and Roland.
Denton Ryan battled back to take a 13-12 lead, but more strong play at the net, which included blocks by Manning and Brimer and a pair of kills from Manning made it 16-14.
The Skeeters got a little sloppy for the next few points, as errors put them in a 20-18 hole, but they turned things around in time, as kills from Sanders and Roland again evened the score at 23-23.
Manning gave Mesquite game point after capping a long rally with a kill, and then did so again a point later. The Skeeters then took advantage of a Denton Ryan error to pull out the 26-24 victory.
The second game was not near as tense as far as Mesquite was concerned, as Brimer and Sanders each had kills and then teamed on a block to take a 5-2 lead. Rodarte had an ace, Onwumere blocked a ball at the net and Manning scored three points at the net to push the advantage to 13-8.
Denton Ryan stayed within striking distance at 18-13 before Onwumere took over. During a five-point stretch, she had one block and then three consecutive kills to give the Skeeters a commanding 23-14 lead. Manning would do the rest, smashing down a pair of kills to close out the match.
