Lady Panthers top Grapevine in preseason rivalry game

Hollie Huston gets the intra-district rivalry angle. She’s been involved in it at both the player and coaching levels.

But her appearance as Colleyville Heritage’s head volleyball coach against GCISD rival Grapevine on Aug. 17 added a new twist. This was the first time she’s been a part of the bigger school. Colleyville Heritage won the dramatic five-game match at Grapevine.

“It was a lot of fun,” Huston said. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to think going into it. But it was a really good match and a chance for the players to adapt to each other. When you play your rival, you play at a high level.”

However, the consistency needed from this team is still is a work in progress. The Lady Panthers (9-8) went 4-4 in the Allen tournament. While there have been rotations where the offense has struggled, the squad’s blocking made strides.

Huston estimates that from the previous week to this weekend, the number of points lost on the block dropped significantly.

“We probably went from 23 lost points in a match to about three,” Huston said. “The good thing about that is that if we hammer something during the week about a certain thing, the girls are carrying it over and using their skills. But we have a lot more work to do.”

In the meantime, Huston will stay with the 6-2 alignment as the 5-1 wasn’t producing the offense needed.

Ticknor’s injury flares up again

Colleyville Heritage will be without junior outside hitter Tatum Ticknor for at least two weeks due to her re-spraining her left ankle over the weekend at the Allen tournament. Ticknor suffered the injury in the spring and missed most of the summer. Huston said Ticknor landed on another player’s foot after a battle at the net.

“It’s tough for Tatum,” Huston said. “But we’re just going to have to look at making some adjustments when you’re talking about a six-rotation player. I’m probably going to look at [junior] Mina McCure for the back row.”

Huston is hoping two weeks means a return during the week of Sept. 7. In the meantime, Colleyville Heritage played host to Frisco Centennial – Huston’s first match at home – on Tuesday and then the Plano Tournament Friday and Saturday.

Grapevine update

Up and down is how Kori Cooper would describe her team’s performance through the second week of the season. The Lady Mustangs (10-9 overall) finished 5-5 and 4-4 in the Justin Northwest tournament. A poor Friday was followed by a solid effort on Saturday.

“I would call it resilient,” she said. “Our senior leadership stepped up in the third day. I was proud of them for that because they accepted the challenge. There really wasn’t anything individually that stood out. But I thought we played great together.”

There has been no change in Cooper’s approach with her setter situation. She is still working with junior Hannah Merrick (5-4), sophomore Paiton Broussard (5-6) and freshman Anna Johnson (5-10). Cooper said all three struggled but called it a bad weekend.

Still, Cooper is happy because more practice time is finally available this week. Of course, school started this week as well.

“We’re worn out,” Cooper said. “We’ve played a ton of matches. And you always want to play. But there’s a lot to work on.”

Grapevine plays Cedar Hill on Tuesday before moving on to the Plano tournament Friday and Saturday.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Lady Panthers top Grapevine in preseason rivalry game."