The Plano East volleyball team celebrates with the gold ball trophy after defeating Lake Highlands in five sets in a Class 6A Division I area-round playoff game at Sachse High School on Tuesday. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
SACHSE — When the Plano East volleyball team trailed Lake Highlands by eight points in the fourth set, senior Simone Heard said there was still plenty of belief among the team.
And when the Lady Panthers fell behind by two points on three separate occasions in the fifth set, Heard noticed that no one on her team was flustered or frustrated with what was transpiring. The Georgia Tech pledge said that if Plano East stuck to the game plan and remained disciplined, the Lady Panthers would win.
All that belief and discipline paid off, with Heard providing the finishing touches on a thrilling 3-2 win over Lake Highlands (24-26, 25-13, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12) in a Class 6A Division I area-round playoff match at Sachse High School on Tuesday night. The future Yellow Jacket jumped in the air near center court and hit the ball off a Lady Wildcats defender for a kill as the Lady Panthers booked a return trip to the third round for the third year in a row.
“It was such a relief — just happy that we can make it to the next round,” Heard said. “I feel like our team works so hard for this. We’re battling every single day in practice.”
Plano East had a chance to gain early momentum.
The Lady Panthers took a 24-22 lead in the first set after a missed serve by the Lady Wildcats. However, Plano East was unable to finish off Lake Highlands. Senior Elle Holley posted a kill on the ensuing point as the Lady Wildcats finished the opening frame on a 5-0 run, with a hitting error by the Lady Panthers leaving Plano East feeling stunned.
“We didn’t play Plano East volleyball,” said head coach Sarah Perez. “We were lethargic, we were sloppy, we were slow, didn’t have any energy. It showed. We just had to get it together.”
One of the challenges for Plano East was the height of Lake Highlands’ hitters. But one way the Lady Panthers neutralized the Lady Wildcats’ offense was by playing rock-solid defense.
Late in the second set, with Plano East leading 22-10, Heard ran toward the Lady Panthers’ bench, slid onto the court for a dig, and then backhanded the ball back into play. Moments later, senior setter Megan Nguyen tipped the ball between four Lake Highlands defenders for a kill.
Junior libero Dakota Huynh had an effort play of her own in the third set. She reached out with one hand near the back line to dig out a ball, and Plano East took a 5-4 lead on that same point after Lake Highlands hit the ball out of bounds.
“They had a really good team and a really good offense,” Huynh said. “I just wanted to go for everything and make it easier on my hitters and everyone else on the court.”
“Dakota was everywhere,” Perez added. “She leaves her heart on the table. She goes all over the court. She goes after every single ball. She inspires everyone else to go after every ball. She is a huge asset for us.”
In the fourth set, Plano East chipped away at an 11-3 Lake Highlands lead. The Lady Panthers twice tied the score — the first time at 22-22 after a Marisabelle Sias kill. The Lady Wildcats, though, got back-to-back kills from Holley to force a deciding fifth set.
Lake Highlands rode that momentum and took a 5-3 lead as Plano East struggled to set up a block against the Lady Wildcats.
“We are the shortest team in our whole district,” Perez said. “That’s what we’ve seen all season. We’re not intimidated by height. We just game-plan with it, and we try to use their height to our advantage. We have the talent.”
But Plano East kept battling. The Lady Panthers took the lead for good on a play in which Sias posted a dig while falling to the court. Heard provided the finishing touches a few minutes later.
“This game took it out of them, but we had to leave everything out on the court because we didn’t want it to be our last match of the season,” Perez said. “Truly, they played their hearts out, and I’m really proud of them.”
Plano East will play El Paso Eastlake in the regional semifinals in Lubbock on Friday at a site still to be determined. Eastlake rallied from a 2-0 deficit to stun Keller, also on Tuesday.
“We can’t get scared,” Heard said. “We can’t back down. They made it here; we made it here. Obviously, they’re a very good team. We just have to keep fighting. This year, we’re a lot stronger, grittier. It’s going to help us a lot.”