Marble Falls volleyball finishes second at Bay tourney
CAPTION: The Marble Falls High School volleyball team finishes second at Tournament on the Bay. The team is Hannah Welch (front row, left), Lily Stein, Kate McCary, Kenadi Dalton, Madison Cuplin; Brighton Bernard (back row, left) Hope Todd, Mia Trejo, Lesley Reynoso, Tessie Bowen, Katie Terrell, Payton Dunk and Kate Dykes. Courtesy photo
The Marble Falls High School volleyball team earned the silver medal of the gold bracket at the Tournament on the Bay Aug. 22 and 24 in Bay City.
Senior setter Mia Trejo, junior defensive specialist Kate McCary, and freshman outside hitter Brighton Bernard were named to the all-tournament team.
Marble Falls (12-5) lost to Port Lavaca Calhoun 18-25 and 20-25 in the championship after beating Smithville 25-21, 20-25 and 15-9 and Columbia 15-25, 25-22 and 15-13 in bracket play.
Head coach Christopher Pace pointed out many of the varsity players have only played with each other during this month. So an accomplishment like this speaks to so much more.
“Those girls haven’t played together,” he said. “We hung with (Calhoun). They were very good. Columbia is a (Class) 3A school. They were strong and talented. It was at 8 a.m. We went up in the second set.”
Smithville posed a different type of challenge, he said.
“They’re athletic and fast,” he said. “We won the first set and lost the lead in the second. We were tougher, grittier and mentally tougher.”
Pace noted the Lady Mustangs arrived at the hotel Aug. 22, with just enough time to check in, unload and head to the gym to begin pool play.
They beat Chico 25-21 and 25-16, Bay City 21-25, 25-19 and 15-12, and Malakoff 25-15, 19-25 and 15-12.
Pace noted that “Chico had a lot of good hitters,” but his players “were prepared.”
Bay City featured “a very strong hitter who hung in the air” and caught the eyes of his players.
“We have to be in position,” he told them. “(My players) were digging the ball well and shut her down.”
Once she saw how committed the Lady Mustangs were to not allowing anything to hit the floor, the hitter changed her attack. She used dinks and directional tips.
“She hit the first couple of ones real hard,” Pace said. “She stopped swinging hard. Our girls were quick enough to make the commitment to the right play.”
By keeping the ball going, the Lady Mustangs’ confidence grew and Bay City found it was changing its strategy, the coach said.
“Getting the ball up and doing the things they could do with the ball, there were things (Bay City) was not comfortable with,” he said. “It caused their attack to change what they needed to do. Typically a hitter gets frustrated. When you’re the (defensive) team that sees that, you know you’re in their head. You’ve just made the game easier.”
The Lady Mustangs used the day off Aug. 23 to go to an arcade, watch “Twister” and other team-bonding experiences before heading back to the gym for gold bracket play.
Pace said senior middle blocker Hope Todd, junior setter Tessie Bowen, sophomore setter Hannah Welch, and sophomore outside hitter Katie Terrell played well.
“They came in and did their jobs and did what they needed to do to keep our winning ways,” he said. “We’re playing smart, high-effort volleyball.”
Marble Falls travels to play at Austin Eastside Memorial. The freshmen play at 5 p.m. followed by the junior varsity and the varsity.
Pace recalled meeting with the players July 8, his first official day as the Marble Falls head coach and asked them what they wanted to do.
“They want to win,” he said.
The fact they advanced to the top bracket and outlasted two opponents in three sets to play for a tournament title reinforces what the Lady Mustangs told him.
“They’re playing smart, high-effort volleyball,” Pace said. “The third set is who wants it more? Who’s going to hit the floor? Once you get tired, your mind has to take over. We stuck together.”
Watch videos on Highland Lakes sports by going to Fierro’s YouTube channel and searching for The Broad Podcaster. Please like, subscribe and share.
CAPTION: Freshman Brighton Bernard (left), senior Mia Trejo and junior Kate McCary are on the all-tournament team of the Courtesy photo
