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Second verse same as the first: PCA decimates Kelly to open playoffs
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
It takes 25 points to win a singular set during a volleyball match.
Beaumont Kelly managed just 29 points combined over three sets Thursday afternoon as Prestonwood Christian Academy swept the Lady Bulldogs (25-11, 25-10, 25-8) in the area round of the TAPPS 5A playoffs.
"This was a big win," said Brooke Gajdica, Prestonwood senior libero. "But I don't think it felt that different from any other match because we have kept the same mentality all year and that is every game, every point matters."
The first one featured a few rough patches in the opening set, perhaps because Prestonwood had similarly steamrolled Kelly to start the playoffs last season.
"You try to train your kids to overcome that," O'Neal said. "But it's a hard mentality to get past, especially since we weren't using all the tools we had."
"We might have been a little too confident," added Katie Staiger, Prestonwood senior.
That manifested itself in a string of points that featured free balls back and forth along with several Prestonwood plays that were slow to develop. But even with those difficulties, the Lady Bulldogs had no answer for the Lady Lions' hitters as Staiger, juniors Ashley Morgan, Kalyn McLean, Catherine Cranston, sophomores Christina Phillips and Breana Herron all registered kills. Add in consistent defense from Gajdica, blocking by Morgan and an ace from junior Courtney Novak and there were the makings of a 25-11 opener.
The multitude of hitters makes sense considering Prestonwood used all 11 of its players Thursday.
"That was huge for us," O'Neal said. "I think that helps us keep everyone together and let's the girls see that everyone has a role on this team."
Despite the lopsided opener, the Lady Lions looked to play better going forward.
"Maybe we didn't realize this was a good chance to practice for our matches coming up," Gajdica said. "But we stepped it up and played a lot better in Games 2 and 3."
In the meantime, Kelly grabbed its first leads of the day at 1-0 and 2-1 in Game 2.
It was Prestonwood from there though as the home team broke off a 15-1 run predicated on blocks by Morgan and freshman Alexa Lehman, an ace by junior Natalie Fischer and multiple back-row attacks by Staiger. Kelly responded with its first multi-point sequence of the set during a 5-3 run, but that only delayed the inevitable as the Lady Lions closed the set, 25-10, on an ace by Cranston and block from Lehman.
"I think we were a little more in sync over those last two games," O'Neal said.
Staiger concurred.
"We were definitely running our offense faster in Games 2 and 3," she said.
Game 3 was more of the same with the Lady Bulldogs gaining a brief advantage, 1-0, before succumbing to a lengthy run by the Lady Lions. This one was 11-1 with the highlights coming off terminations by McLean and Morgan. It wasn't kills but rather serving that dictated the final set as Kelly experienced a plethora of serve-receive issues. Prestonwood dropped in aces from Fischer, who hit two straight, Novak and Morgan for respective leads of 14-4, 18-5 and 20-6.
"We've been trying to serve tough," Staiger said. "Because I think you can see that's one of the biggest differences to us playing better lately."
The match ended on another service winner, this one coming from junior Haley Wolken as the one who usually sets the table for the offense cleared off all the plates with an ace for a 25-8 win.
The victory was Prestonwood's ninth straight, a streak that really picked up steam the previous week when the Lady Lions swept consensus state No. 1 Bishop Lynch and then did the same to Ursuline to share the 1-5A title and claim a No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
"Everyone was talking about Bishop Lynch, Bishop Lynch, Bishop Lynch," Staiger said. "It's nice to hear them talking about Prestonwood now."
"I think last week really put us on this roll," Gajdica added. "So I don't think we really need to change anything right now. If we stay focused and keep the mentality of never letting a ball hit the floor, then we'll be fine."
With the win, Prestonwood advances to the regionals.
If district mate Trinity Christian Academy wins its area match Friday, the teams are tentatively scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Tuesday from John Paul II. The Lady Lions are seeking a win there to advance to the TAPPS 5A State Tournament (Nov. 2-3 at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio), a journey they haven't made since winning state for a third straight season in 2005.
"It feels good to know that is in our reach," Staiger said. "Because I want to leave as a state champion."
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