Pantego Christian handles Lubbock Christian in semis, advances to state championship
After Pantego Christian lost in the state semifinals last season, head coach Carolee Dillard knew her and her girls were going to be back.
They returned, dominated and now sit a win away from a state championship trophy.
Behind a combined 40 kills from sisters Maddie and Abbie McDonald, the Panthers defeated Lubbock Christian, 25-18, 25-10, 25-16, in a TAPPS 4A state semifinal game on Thursday at West High School.
Pantego (14-7) returns to West on Friday night to play for the championship at 7 p.m. against New Braunfels John Paul II, which won the earlier semifinal on Thursday over San Antonio Holy Cross.
“I think my team controlled them offensively and defensively we kept our composure and that’s really all I ask from my girls,” Dillard said. “We’re a super emotional team, but that’s what gets us wins.
“We play with passion.”
Lubbock Christian recorded back-to-back errors to pull Pantego into a 9-9 tie during the opening set. A long rally saw senior Maddie McDonald pick up a one-handed dig before Ashlyn Turner finished it off with a kill off the block to give the Panthers a 14-11 lead.
Carlie Harder got a pair of aces and Abbie McDonald got a kill in the back row for a 21-15 edge. A couple more errors from the Eagles helped push Pantego to the win and 1-0 advantage.
Pantego led 4-0 in the second set and 10-3 before Lubbock Christian had to call a timeout. The Eagles scored the next three points to get within 10-6, but then the Panthers went on a run that saw Maddie McDonald behind the service line 7 or 8 straight times.
The Panthers would finish on a 15-4 run after Lubbock Christian made it 10-6.
Pantego got to experience the real state tournament experience this season with the final four at one site. Last season against Lake Country in the semis, the two teams played at a neutral site in DFW due to COVID protocols. The championship games were still held at West last season.
“It’s so different than last year...it’s nothing like last year and it reminds me when I played in college and it should be this way,” Dillard said. “I thought we’d get back to state last year after we lost in the semis to Lake Country. I had a young team with no seniors. I’ve believed in this team since Day 1.”
Pantego got out to another big lead at 12-3 in the third set and it wasn’t close again until late in the set, but the Panthers were able to close it out for the sweep.
“We just prepared so much the second we won our regional game and we played Lubbock Christian in the first round last year so we kind of knew the girls to begin with,” said Maddie McDonald, who had 19 kills and 17 digs. “We practiced really hard and had a good mindset, and we were confident unlike last year when we lost to Lake Country. We didn’t come out as strong as we did tonight.”
Abbie McDonald had a triple-double with 21 kills, 12 assists and 12 digs.
Harder, one of three seniors, had a team-high 22 digs. Turner added 10 kills and four digs, and Emma Webb chipped in another triple-double with 17 kills, 13 digs and 12 assists.
“Looking back on last year and the final four, I don’t think we played to our full capacity and full skill level, but this year we’re going out, getting into the state championship and coming out swinging,” Harder said. “We’ve been living by the motto ‘Leave it all on the court’ and we give everything and don’t have any regrets.
“It would mean a lot to win a state championship.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 10:16 PM.
