The Wylie volleyball team celebrates a point won by the Lady Pirates during last Friday’s home match against Naaman Forest. Wylie overcame an inspired Wylie East team to earn a 3-0 win over the Lady Raiders on Tuesday. Photo by Elijah Kloepping / C&S Media
By David Wolman
The Wylie volleyball team had rarely been tested throughout District 9-6A play.
The Lady Pirates came into Tuesday’s Crosstown Showdown against Wylie East having not lost a set in their first 11 district matches and their closest margin of victory was five points with many of the wins by double digits.
But nothing came easy for Wylie on Tuesday. Wylie East, which had won six of its last seven district matches after struggling to a 1-3 start, pushed Wylie to the extent that no other team in the district had up through this point of the season.
Wylie East used a combination of stingy defense and timely hits to push Wylie to its limit. However, when the going got tough, Wylie head coach Sherry Olivares said that the Lady Pirates didn’t flinch. All of the experience that the Lady Pirates have on their roster showed up at the most opportune times in a 3-0 road win (26-24, 25-23, 25-11) over the Lady Raiders at the Williams Center.
“The Crosstown Showdown always brings out the best in people,” Olivares said. “It was a good atmosphere. I think that our experience helped us through those times. We just believe and get it done.”
Although Wylie didn’t lose a set, the Lady Pirates were on the verge of losing the first two sets.
The Lady Raiders worked through those some unforced errors early in the first set and rallied with a 22-17 run to take a 23-22 lead after a service ace by freshman Tess Adamic.
The Lady Pirates weren’t fazed.
Wylie responded with kills from juniors Aubrey DeGrate and Julia Hudgins before junior Jolene Bao notched a service ace to complete a late comeback and give the Lady Pirates a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five match.
Wylie East regrouped in the timeout between the first and second sets and continued to remain a determined team.
The Lady Raiders stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and later had the Lady Pirates on the ropes after a violation that was called on Wylie gave Wylie East a 23-19 lead.
“Wylie East has improved,” Olivares said. “They struggled at the beginning just because of new people on the team and a new coach. They have kind of put it together and worked through some things.”
Olivares called a timeout a few points earlier. But even during that break in the action, she didn’t have to say much to her team. She could sense that her players were calm and composed.
That belief and maturity allowed the Lady Pirates to mount another comeback. Wylie East also aided Wylie’s cause by committing a few errors, including an attack violation on set point, for a Wylie a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five bout.
“They communicate and they know how to do things and how to get it done,” Olivares said. “They work things out themselves, and I can see that. They’re saying what I would say, and they respond to each other, so there is not a whole lot that I need to say to them.”
It was all Wylie in the third set.
Hudgins set the tone by notching four kills over the first 11 points.
DeGrate, junior Keelyn Green and senior Peyton Stade followed with a few hard-hitting kills of their own as the Lady Pirates proceeded to complete the sweep of their crosstown rival.
Tuesday’s win moves Wylie (12-0 district) one step closer to a second straight district championship — although this time it appears that the Lady Pirates will have it all to themselves after splitting the title with Wylie East last season.
“That’s awesome,” Olivares said. “We’ve been waiting for this. Our motto this year is ‘It’s our time.’ It’s our time to win district. It’s our time to do what we did last year again with the playoff run. We’re ready for it and we feel that we’ve worked for it.”
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