Lady Dragons prepare for another state-class program

They may be two matches out of 14 in a district schedule. But there’s a different tenor involved when state volleyball titans Southlake Carroll and Lewisville Hebron get together.

The Lady Dragons (26-5, 1-0) continued the District 5-6A season on Tuesday with Lewisville. Then it’s the first of two big ones when Carroll travels to Lewisville Hebron to take on the Lady Hawks. Carroll is always viewed as a contender for the Class 6A state championship. Hebron is the defending 6A state champion. The return match is Oct. 11 in Southlake.

These teams already met three weeks ago in the Plano PSA Tournament. Hebron won in three games. Carroll coach Ryan Mitchell called it the kind of match he wanted and needed for his program if it is going to contend for the biggest goals.

Qualifying for the playoffs isn’t the issue for these teams. Securing the hardware is. But these two matches offer a bit of the flavor of high school volleyball being played at the highest level.

“I love it,” Mitchell said. “I’m a competitor and I have a team of competitors. We saw a really good version of this [Hebron] team back then and took a really good shot from them. So I think we know what’s coming.”

Hebron carries its share of Division I players. They Lady Hawks are led by setter Kylie McLaughlin, who is committed to Oregon State. Outside hitter Adonna Rollins is committed to Minnesota, which made the 2015 Final Four.

Plus, this is a pupil vs. mentor matchup. Mitchell coached under Hebron coach Karen Keeney at Hebron for four years starting in 2001. Keeney hired him out of college to be the freshman coach.

“I really have a lot of respect for Karen because she taught me how to build and run a program,” Mitchell said. “She’s one of the best coaches in our game.”

Carroll, though, is still dealing with the lingering abdominal injury to senior outside hitter Haley Hallgren. Hallgren has been limited to playing libero for about a month. A visit with the doctor earlier this week was going to determine if she could return to the net. If so, Mitchell said he would move her immediately.

“It’s a situation where the healing just takes its time,” Mitchell said. “We just have to hope this is the week.”

Meanwhile, senior right side Mellanie King is out at least for two weeks with a sprained ankle.

Colleyville Heritage (20-8, 1-0 8-5A): The Lady Panthers played host to Birdville on Tuesday and travel to Richland on Friday. Should this team sweep the week, it would surpass the 2015 victory total.

“We’re past the grind of the season and slowing some things down,” head coach Bri Barker-Groth said. “Our defense and passing is pretty strong. I think our middles are playing well. One thing we need to do well is playing a little smarter about where our shots are going.”

Sophomore Grace Koper has become a solid second setter behind Lauren Evans. That’s eased some concerns, because Koper was asked to learn the position during the spring. She is in the back row when Evans is in the front.

Grapevine (19-12, 1-0 8-5A): The Lady Mustangs played at Fort Worth Carter-Riverside on Tuesday before playing host to Birdville on Friday. Head coach Whitney Woody said her team is pretty healthy, bouncing back from several sprained ankles.

One player she is watching is Emily Drake, who is slowly returning from an undisclosed injury during the spring. Drake is not playing yet but is going through light practice workouts.

“We’re going to speed up our offense,” Woody said. “It just takes a lot of trust. You have to build through every match.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Lady Dragons prepare for another state-class program."