Trophy Club Nelson falls short in regional volleyball
By: By David Thomas
ABILENE -- Trophy Club Nelson exited the Class 4A Region I volleyball tournament a day earlier than hoped, but the foundation for the upstart volleyball program has been established.
Dumas eliminated the Bobcats 25-22, 20-25, 28-26, 25-11 on Friday afternoon at McMurry University to advance to today's regional final against Canyon Randall.
Nelson, in its second varsity season and in the playoffs for the first time, ended the season with a 33-11 record.
The Bobcats stood toe-to-toe with the Demonettes (40-8) through the first three games, but Dumas -- which hadn't lost a set in the playoffs until Friday -- jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth game. Nelson got to within 7-4 but could get no closer.
"We tried to make some adjustments on what we were going to do with our hitters, and they obviously didn't work," Nelson coach Libby Pacheco said. "The things that worked for us all game, like our serve receive, just kind of collapsed there at the end. I think because of the youth, it's hard to look back and grab that momentum again because volleyball is such a momentum sport."
Still, Nelson, which barely missed the playoffs in its first varsity season, served notice this season that it is a player in the competitive North Texas volleyball scene.
"We definitely set some expectations about what hard work does and what walking in the door and expecting big things of yourselves does," Pacheco said.
"That's going to be a theme to carry out from here on out in the history of Byron Nelson High School."
David Thomas, 817-390-7697