Sports Update
Tiebreakers: Lady Panthers win second consecutive five-set district match
Kelsey Kruzich / Staff Photo
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
Plano East continued its adrenaline-packed start to district Tuesday with a five-set win against McKinney (25-18, 25-22, 13-25, 17-25, 15-8) that saw it cede a commanding lead before rallying in the final set to win its second consecutive district match.
The Lady Panthers opened district with an inverse performance against Allen in which they trailed by two sets before winning three consecutive.
They are currently tied with Plano West at 2-0 atop the 10-5A standings, while McKinney remains winless.
“We went to five games with Allen, so we know as a team that we can come back and rally back,” said Steven Jones, Plano East head coach. “But I was a little disappointed that we put ourselves in that situation. We were up 2-0 on McKinney. They fought hard and changed the momentum in the gym in their favor. We didn’t get those games, but thankfully we pulled it around in the fifth game to get the momentum back on our side and pull out the win.”
The first and second sets in Tuesday’s match followed a similar pattern.
McKinney and East traded points well into each set before the Lady Panthers established a lead, either gradually or just in time for the deciding point. The opening set was tied as late as 11-11 before the Lady Panthers went on an extended run to gain control and the second set remained knotted as late as 20-20 before they found any measure of separation.
East senior outside hitter Kayla Burling had a team-high 13 kills and was trailed by sophomore outside hitter Karyn Chrisman, who had nine kills and a block assist, and juniors McKenzie Shea and Brianna Blagowsky, who had five kills apiece.
But the Lionettes continued to improve in the third set, where they changed the texture of the match with their most dominant run of the night.
They led coast to coast and never led by fewer than six points after taking a 10-4 lead. McKinney stepped up its blocking game during the third set thanks to contributions from Claire Embry, Erin Hoppe and Logan King, who led the team with six block assists.
Hoppe had a team-high 16 kills and added four block assists to the mix, while Embry, a freshman outside hitter, followed with 11 kills in a well-rounded performance that also included three block assists and four aces.
McKinney closed its 25-13 win in the third set on a kill from Desiree Parker.
The Lionettes carried that momentum into the fourth, where they rode an offensive output headed by Hoppe to win again and force a decisive fifth set.
East trailed for all but one point in the fourth and fell behind early in the fifth.
The Lionettes were up 5-2 thanks to a thunderous kill from Hoppe, but the Lady Panthers regained their composure and reeled off four consecutive to pull ahead on an ace from senior Gabby Litwin.
And just like that the momentum turned again as the Lady Panthers went on a 9-3 run to ice the match.
McKinney hitting errors and a string of kills from Blagowsky pushed the Lady Panthers ahead by the six-point margin they would maintain the rest of the way.
With the win, the Lady Panthers head into Friday’s 6 p.m. home match against Plano Senior in a tie for first place in district. The Lionettes, who are tied for last with Allen, will hit the road to face West at the same time.
The Lady Panthers opened district with an inverse performance against Allen in which they trailed by two sets before winning three consecutive.
They are currently tied with Plano West at 2-0 atop the 10-5A standings, while McKinney remains winless.
“We went to five games with Allen, so we know as a team that we can come back and rally back,” said Steven Jones, Plano East head coach. “But I was a little disappointed that we put ourselves in that situation. We were up 2-0 on McKinney. They fought hard and changed the momentum in the gym in their favor. We didn’t get those games, but thankfully we pulled it around in the fifth game to get the momentum back on our side and pull out the win.”
The first and second sets in Tuesday’s match followed a similar pattern.
McKinney and East traded points well into each set before the Lady Panthers established a lead, either gradually or just in time for the deciding point. The opening set was tied as late as 11-11 before the Lady Panthers went on an extended run to gain control and the second set remained knotted as late as 20-20 before they found any measure of separation.
East senior outside hitter Kayla Burling had a team-high 13 kills and was trailed by sophomore outside hitter Karyn Chrisman, who had nine kills and a block assist, and juniors McKenzie Shea and Brianna Blagowsky, who had five kills apiece.
But the Lionettes continued to improve in the third set, where they changed the texture of the match with their most dominant run of the night.
They led coast to coast and never led by fewer than six points after taking a 10-4 lead. McKinney stepped up its blocking game during the third set thanks to contributions from Claire Embry, Erin Hoppe and Logan King, who led the team with six block assists.
Hoppe had a team-high 16 kills and added four block assists to the mix, while Embry, a freshman outside hitter, followed with 11 kills in a well-rounded performance that also included three block assists and four aces.
McKinney closed its 25-13 win in the third set on a kill from Desiree Parker.
The Lionettes carried that momentum into the fourth, where they rode an offensive output headed by Hoppe to win again and force a decisive fifth set.
East trailed for all but one point in the fourth and fell behind early in the fifth.
The Lionettes were up 5-2 thanks to a thunderous kill from Hoppe, but the Lady Panthers regained their composure and reeled off four consecutive to pull ahead on an ace from senior Gabby Litwin.
And just like that the momentum turned again as the Lady Panthers went on a 9-3 run to ice the match.
McKinney hitting errors and a string of kills from Blagowsky pushed the Lady Panthers ahead by the six-point margin they would maintain the rest of the way.
With the win, the Lady Panthers head into Friday’s 6 p.m. home match against Plano Senior in a tie for first place in district. The Lionettes, who are tied for last with Allen, will hit the road to face West at the same time.
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