Plano East volleyball team players approach freshman Kyla Slaughter (6) after she records a block during the third set against Plano on Tuesday. Photo by Andy Redmond / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Plano East head volleyball coach Sarah Perez wasn’t happy with how her team played during the latter stages of the third set against Plano, but the resolve that the Lady Panthers showed to dig themselves out of a late deficit and earn a 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 victory over crosstown rival Plano on Tuesday left her in a much better mood — especially with the playoffs set to begin next week.
That resolve was put to the test after junior Gabriella Skopljak recorded a kill to give the Lady Wildcats a 25-24 lead on their home court.
However, the Lady Panthers regrouped just in time.
Senior outside hitter Simone Heard fired home a kill to extend the third set. Then, Plano East’s defense came up big on the ensuing point. Junior Leyna Anderson and freshman Kyla Slaughter teamed up on a block to put the Lady Panthers in front 26-25. Moments later, Plano hit the ball out of bounds as Plano East completed the comeback over its crosstown rival.
“It was good mental practice for us to get down and have to work our way back up,” Perez said. “But we shouldn’t be down like that.”
Plano East faced nowhere near as much resistance in the first set.
The Lady Panthers came out the aggressor, using a combination of effective blocking and aggressive hitting to overwhelm the Lady Wildcats and gain an early advantage on the scoreboard.
Heard set the tone by posting four kills over the first 12 points. Plano East also got great secondary scoring from freshman Luz Luna. Luna notched three kills in the opening set — her third kill giving the Lady Panthers a commanding 17-9 lead. Sophomore middle blocker Jaiden Boutte later added one kill and two blocks over three consecutive points, allowing Plano East to gain further separation.
“That’s what I want to see every time that we come out here and play volleyball,” Perez said.
Plano tightened up its defensive coverage in the second set. The Lady Wildcats dug out several balls that the Lady Panthers had recorded as kills in the first set.
And defense led to offense for Plano.
Although the Lady Panthers led for the entirety of the second set, Plano didn’t make things easy. The Lady Wildcats reduced what had been a 7-1 lead for Plano East to 15-14 after a kill by junior Madeline Garcia.
But when adversity struck for Plano East, the team’s top two offensive threats, Heard and senior Marisabelle Sias, swung the momentum back in the Lady Panthers’ favor. Heard bookended a kill and a service ace around a Sias kill for an 18-14 Plano East lead — all part of a 10-6 run to end the set for the Lady Panthers, who took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five match.
Plano (26-10 overall, 10-5 district) continued to make Plano East (27-10, 11-4) work for its points in the third set, but the Lady Panthers did just enough to polish off the sweep of their District 6-6A rival.
“Plano played hard,” Perez said. “They gave us good competition. They showed us what we need to improve on so that we can get better. But we’ve got to stay locked in and rolling from the first set to the last set.”
Plano East will conclude the regular season Friday against McKinney. McKinney will serve as the site of Plano East’s Class 6A Division I bi-district playoff match against Hebron, set for 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31.
Plano East and Hebron both made the third round of the playoffs last year, but the Lady Panthers seek a deeper run after falling short in the third round in each of the past two years.
“We want more,” Perez said. “We’re hungry for it. It’s not going to be easy. Division I is hard. Region I is hard. But it’s going to be fun.”