Flower Mound Marcus eliminates Grapevine 3-2

By Louie Horvath

Special to the Star-Telegram

THE COLONY -- In what could be one of the closest matches of the girls volleyball state tournament, Flower Mound Marcus (28-18) ended Grapevine's improbable playoff run to advance to the regional semifinal, beating the Mustangs 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 15-13

Grapevine (32-12) -- which defeated tournament favorite Southlake Carroll in the previous round -- dropped two of the first three games before roaring back to win the fourth game and set up the deciding fifth game.

Marcus coach Cristie Liles said the Marauders have been resilient all season so Grapevine's dominating win didn't matter.

"This is the 25th game we've had, and we play like that all the time," Liles said. [In the last round] we had a terrible fourth game, and so it wasn't unfamiliar to us. We definitely don't get rattled about that stuff. We get a little mad."

In the fifth and deciding set, the Marauders jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead.

With that game tied 8-8, the two teams played their best point of the game, with both teams seeing dramatic digs and attack attempts thwarted.

Liles called a timeout, and from there the Marauders won seven of the next 11 points.

Reagan McGuire led Marcus offensively with 24 kills.

She was followed by Lauren Douglass and Liz Fortado with 12 apiece. McGuire also had three blocks that led directly to Marauders points.

Mattie Rainwater and Lindsay Sales contributed 17 and 16 digs apiece.

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