Teams catch breath a bit before onslaught of district
The breakneck pace of August has passed. So has the fight to survive and live to play another match.
The 2016 volleyball schedule enters normalcy. Now Grapevine coach Whitney Woody turns her team’s attention toward the most important phase of the season – district play.
Most teams across the state start playing for keeps Friday as they pursue district titles and playoff berths.
Coaches used the last two weeks before the district openers to start getting their teams into that mindset. They also dialed back some practice time in order for players to bounce back.
“We’re careful about the number of swings that we have during this time, and we’re building some recovery time into our practices,” Woody said. “Between the three tournaments and club ball, you’re running into cases where the girls are overused. We just have to have some regulation in both arenas.”
Following Tuesday’s match at Keller, the Lady Mustangs (18-9 as Aug. 30) open District 8-5A play at Fort Worth Eastern Hills. Colleyville Heritage (18-8 as of Aug. 30) had a bye on Tuesday and also starts district play Friday, playing host to Fort Worth Carter-Riverside.
Carroll (24-5 as of Aug. 30) enjoyed a bye this past Friday before its grudge match on Tuesday against Plano West. The Lady Dragons begin 5-6A entertaining Hurst L.D. Bell.
All three of these teams are expected to make the playoffs and make deep postseason runs. Grapevine and Colleyville Heritage should vie for the district championship. Carroll is the heavy favorite to win the district championship.
There are several transitions from the tournament season to the remainder of the schedule.
For one, the standard Tuesday-Friday schedule has started. Matches are now decided by winning three out of five games instead of two out of three. Work habits will be adjusted. That might not seem like a big deal. But coaches don’t want to minimize the importance, either.
What is important is finding a pace for the next two months. Woody shifts the thinking from one set of goals to another.
“It’s about having a focus and re-analyzing where we’re at and what we want to get done,” Woody said. “When the time is right, we know when we’ve got to get some work in and speed some things up and get better.”
Carroll coach Ryan Mitchell said that he wanted to give his team a break late last week because of how much his team had played. He could have filled that date with a match but decided against it.
Although the Lady Dragons field a veteran team, it would have not have changed Mitchell’s mind had he fielded a younger team. Consider most of the players in his program are playing at a high level year-round in club and understand the pressure to compete and win.
“I subscribe to the philosophy that the importance of district play is going to be there,” Mitchell said. “They’re already competitors. I don’t think you have to hype up the game. The kids know they’re playing district and know what’s at stake.”
Briefly
There was some outside hope Carroll senior outside hitter Haley Hallgren (abdominal strain) could return her normal position this week … Grapevine sophomore right side Nicole Buhr (ankle) is a fast healer. She returned to the lineup Aug. 30 against Decatur … the best news for Colleyville Heritage is that this team is not dealing with any nagging injuries. The squad lost sophomore middle blocker Ashley McKillop (torn ACL) before the season started.
This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Teams catch breath a bit before onslaught of district."