Marble Falls volleyball shows fight against East View

CAPTION: Senior Kate McCary serves as an ace as junior Katie Terrell waits for the ball to go over the net. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School volleyball team lost to Georgetown East View 17-25, 21-25, 23-25 Aug. 26.

Throughout the season, new Marble Falls (7-7) head coach Zoey Beard-Hanrahan has emphasized seeing a team that fights throughout a match.

“The last two sets I got to see a glimpse of that,” she said. “I got to see a little glimpse. I have to find a way to get these girls to do that every single time.”

She commended senior Kate McCary and junior Katie Terrell, who rarely exited the court. The two play every position on the front and back rows.

“They brought it,” Beard-Hanrahan said. “They definitely took the lead.”

She also commended her players on serve-receive, which is what starts the offense. The back row is responsible for passing the served ball to the setter or to target. The setter then distributes the ball to a hitter, and she spikes it in an attempt to end the rally and win the point.

“I think we actually are extremely strong there,” the coach said, adding that she “pushed” that part of the Lady Mustangs’ scheme during practices that began Aug. 1. That’s because if serve-receive isn’t working correctly, a team can’t operate an offense.

“That was our main focus,” she said.

As she reflected back on the match, a couple of glaring areas were hard to ignore – the number of unforced Lady Mustang errors: 13 in the first set, 11 in the second set and 11 in the third. Teams must win 25 points by at least a two-point margin to claim a set. So the number of unforced errors, with the majority coming from setting and hitting, makes it harder to win.

“We gave them those games,” Beard-Hanrahan said.

Limiting the unforced errors is controllable, she said.

“My girls are experienced,” she said. “My whole roster is seniors and juniors. They’ve played many times. My expectations are high. When it comes to unforced errors, five should be the max we give ourselves.”

Beard-Hanrahan has a sense of urgency because of the calendar. The Lady Mustangs have two matches left before embarking on a challenging District 24-4A journey that starts when they make the short trek up north to face the Burnet Lady Dawgs in The Doghouse Sept. 9.

But first, Marble Falls travels to play at San Marcos High with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29.

The Lady Mustangs welcome Llano Tuesday, Sept. 2, with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 6 p.m. The Lady Jackets reached the third round of the Class 3A Division I playoffs a year ago., And though two players graduated — Madi Green and Amelia Robinson, who is now playing for Georgia Southern University — the upperclassmen on that team are multiyear lettermen.

Marble Falls is taking a bye Friday, Sept. 5, which also is the homecoming football game against Jarrell during the Mustangs’ home opener.

CAPTION: Junior Katie Terrell’s ability to play every spot on the court well is a reason why she’s rarely on the sideline. She showed that against Georgetown East View. Staff photos by Jennifer Fierro