RICHARDSON -- Usually the Lovejoy volleyball team stops for ice cream after a playoff victory, but Saltgrass Steak House was on the agenda Saturday.

The upgrade makes sense considering the Lady Leopards had just advanced to state for a fifth consecutive season. Lovejoy (46-4) did so with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-13 sweep of Frisco (37-8) in the Region II Finals.

"Steak for state," the Lady Leopards chanted before exiting the locker room.

This is the fifth state trip for Lovejoy in its sixth season, but first to the Class 4A State Tournament for the four-time defending Class 3A State Champions.

"To be going back to state ... this is such a great feeling," said Ebony Nwanebu, Lovejoy senior.

The post-match feeling was decidedly different for the Lady Raccoons.

"We came in with a game plan," said Janie Litchford, Frisco head coach. "We had to make some adjustments along the way, but I was really proud of the way the girls played. We wanted them to leave it all on the court today and they absolutely did that."

Nwanebu, who had 22 kills, 12 digs and six blocks, started the match with a termination.

Lovejoy displayed a varied offense in the opening set with seniors Lucy Tweedie, Mallorie Puckett and freshman Sarah Langs putting down kills. That trio combined for 27 kills with Langs adding four blocks. Frisco, however, stayed within striking distance at 16-13 following terminations by Allie Evans and Abby Ludeman. Evans and Lizzie Stephens led the Lady Raccoons with seven kills.

From there, it was all Lovejoy.

The Lady Leopards closed the opening set with a 9-2 run that included four kills from Puckett, who also had 16 digs, in the 20s. The final one finished the 25-15 win.

"Mallorie played very well," said Ryan Mitchell, Lovejoy head coach. "That is exactly the kind of match we need from her."

Game 2 was the sloppiest of the match.

"Yeah, I don't think we had that laser focus early in the match," Mitchell said. "We had spent so much time preparing for (Frisco) Centennial (which Lovejoy swept in Friday's regional semis) and then we had to come off that high and it was almost like, 'oh yeah, we still have to play the final.'"

Serving errors plagued both teams early in Game 2, but a different aspect of the service game allowed Lovejoy to break a 2-2 tie and roll for the majority of the set.

"I thought our serve-receive was pretty dang good," Mitchell said. "We were passing really well out of the serve-receive too, which is where your offense starts."

Credit Shannon Connell for that as the senior racked up 45 assists and eight digs. Her passes led to terminations from Puckett, Nwanebu, junior Katelyn McKenzie, Tweedie and Langs en route to a 24-16 lead.

But Lovejoy wouldn't cruise to another dominant set.

Instead Frisco made its only move into the 20s with four consecutive points.

"We were able to chip away one point at a time," Litchford said.

Frisco's defense was a big part of any sustained run by the Lady Raccoons. At the forefront of that effort was Meredith Werden, who had 11 digs, along with Evans and Morgan Haire, who each had 10 digs.

"Frisco's defense kept them in it," Mitchell said. "There were a lot of balls we thought we had put away, only to see them come back up."

Lovejoy won the next point to take Game 2, 25-20, but Frisco opened Game 3 with a block from Kaitlyn Kearney for its first lead of the match.

"Frisco got the momentum at the end of Game 2," Mitchell said, "and rolled it into the start of Game 3."

But only the start as Lovejoy responded with an 8-1 run.

That spurt, as well as much of the set, was dictated by the swings of Nwanebu, who amassed 13 kills in the final set.

"The first two sets weren't really my best," Nwanebu said, "so I knew I needed to step it up in the third."

With Nwanebu pacing the Lovejoy offense, seniors Bailey Martin and Brooke Ray ensured the Lady Leopards' defense kept pace. Ray, who also had two aces, led the team with 18 digs while Martin, who Mitchell called, "an amazing spark plug for us at right back," posted 15 digs.

After a brief respite, Lovejoy fired up another run, closing with a 14-4 surge. The final two points in the 25-13 victory came on an ace by senior Madi Pfaff and kill from senior Kacy Guajardo.

Frisco's Sydney Fischer had 14 assists in the loss.

"Nobody really expected this; everyone overlooked us," Litchford said. "But I knew; I knew when we took the court for two-a-days that we had the talent and if we set our mind to it, we could make a run."

Lovejoy's run continues at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Class 4A State Semifinals from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland against Cedar Park (40-7). The finals are set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the same venue.

The Lady Leopards are seeking a fifth state title.

"Any time you win a lot people can get apathetic to it all," Mitchell said. "But to me, and I think to these girls, it's still amazing. Right now, I have an overwhelming sense of pride; I'm proud as a coach, I'm proud of these girls and I'm proud of the program."

Current Rating: 0 of 0 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

 Plano Apartments
 Plano Attorneys
 Plano Auto Dealers
 Plano Auto Parts
 Plano Auto Repair
 Plano Beauty Salons
 Plano Car Rental
 Plano Dentists
 Plano Doctors
 Plano Flowers
 Plano Hotels
 Plano Insurance
 Plano Loans
 Plano Mortgages
 Plano Movers
 Plano Pizza
 Plano Realtors
 Plano Restaurants
 Plano Storage
 Plano Tax Preparation
 Plano Travel
 Featured
 More...