Burnet volleyball beats Marble Falls in five-set thriller
CAPTION: Burnet freshman middle blocker Taylor Smith records a kill during the win against Marble Falls Sept. 9. Photo by Kaydence Burditt/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School volleyball team defeated Marble Falls 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-5 Sept. 9 in the District 24-4A opener for both teams.
The match was everything the Burnet County rivalry is all about.
“We competed,” Lady Mustangs head coach Zoey Beard-Hanrahan said. “I was extremely proud of my girls for continuing to fight like they did against a team like Burnet.”
Both teams matched each other point for point in the first set at 13-13. But the Lady Dawgs (16-5, 1-0) used a kill by senior Wrigley Mulhollan and a Marble Falls hit that went long to create cushion. And though Marble Falls junior middle blocker Amaris Mitchell-Ochoa used a quick set from junior setter Hannah Welch to end a rally and bring the Lady Mustangs (9-8, 0-1) to within a point, Burnet went on a 7-0 run highlighted by directional tips and blocks by freshman middle blocker Taylor Smith, a block by senior hitter Grace Cullison, a kill by junior hitter Peyton McCabe, and an ace by sophomore setter Brooklynn Dawes.
By the end, Marble Falls trailed 15-22. Still, the Lady Mustangs decided to work their way through it beginning with a block by senior Kate McCary and a tip by Breanna Wilde. Marble Falls got to 21-23 on a McCary kill but no closer as Burnet closed out the set with a kill.
The Lady Dawgs took the momentum from the end of the first set into the second set where they went up 4-0 on back-to-back aces by Dawes and a Cullison kill. And though Marble Falls would get on the scoreboard thanks to a service error, Cullison ended a rally with a kill, an ace by senior libero Payton Smith and spike that went long by Marble Falls allowed Burnet to build an 8-2 lead.
Wilde had a cross court kill and the two teams exchanged errors with Burnet leading 9-5. Marble Falls sophomore Brighton Bernard had a kill, McCary had an ace, and junior Katie Terrell hit a down-the-line kill to trim the deficit to 8-9. Burnet senior Journey Denton ended a rally with a cross-court kill, but Terrell and Mitchell-Ochoa had a block to keep Marble Falls within a point. Burnet kept the lead until it earned its 20th point.
From there, Marble Falls tied the game at 20-20 on an error and Terrell hit a cross court kill. Wilde hit a spike that went through the Burnet block and a Burnet directional tip went out of bounds to give the Lady Mustangs a 23-21 advantage. McCary ended the set with kill and a down the line kill in back-to-back plays for the 25-21 win.
Both teams matched each other point for point in the third set until Dawes ended a rally with a kill to give Burnet a 7-6 lead. And though Marble Falls cut the deficit to two points a couple of times, the Lady Dawgs kept the momentum and built the lead by as much as six points. Taylor Smith and Denton each had kills, while Cullison won the set on an ace.
Burnet began the fourth set by racing to a 7-1 lead thanks to freshman hitter Landry Schubert angling a kill off a block and blocking a Lady Mustang, a Denton ace and a block by junior Cali Eason and Denton for a 10-5 lead. But Mitchell-Ochoa had an ace and Burnet hit a ball out to trim the deficit to 8-10.
Still the Lady Dawgs kept a multi-point lead culminating in a Schubert dink for a 15-11 advantage.
McCary took over, angling spikes off blocks for two points with Marble Falls scoring on a badly timed jump and a block to tie the set at 15-15. From there Burnet’s biggest lead was at two. But the Lady Mustangs took the lead on a net violation and a spike that was hit out at 22-20. Errors tied the contest at 22-22 and 23-23. But Terrell angled a spike off a block and Wilde hit the set winner through the block to force a fifth set.
The Lady Dawgs returned to the court for final set and quickly raced to a 10-3 en route to the victory.
Shipley has noted her Lady Dawgs want so badly to please her and the coaching staff that at times, they try so hard to not make mistakes that they inadvertently do.
She said her players “were doing things we haven’t done in a couple of weeks” and believes part of that is because of the start of district play.
“And my young ones, you could see it all over their faces,” she said. “‘Don’t make mistakes’ – I know what’s going on in their heads. ‘Don’t screw up, don’t screw up,’ even though we talk about it, we preach it.”
Still, when the Lady Dawgs needed a point and a momentum swing, they got them from multiyear lettermen Denton, Payton Smith, Cullison, Mulhollan and McCabe. Shipley said coaches put careful thought into the rotations to get the start they want in each set and not have a drop-off when others come in.
“Brooklyn’s serves were pretty good,” she said, adding that Denton and Payton Smith are purposely together so the Lady Dawgs have the strong servers after a point is won with the aim of adding to the point total.
“That put them the first three servers – that helped,” she said. “I feel like Peyton Allen stepped up tonight. She’s been sharing time with the other senior Sarah, and I’m always glad (that) when one plays not as great, the other one steps up and she did that tonight. Grace struggled a little bit on the outside, but I still think she was still in the mentality of ‘give me the ball.'”
With the win, Burnet has extended its winning streak to nine matches dating back to 2019.
“I don’t think we played the cleanest game,” Beard-Hanrahan said. “If we played Burnet the way we played San Marcos (3-1), it would have been a different outcome.”
Burnet will travel to play at Salado (19-12, 1-0) Saturday, Sept. 13, with the subvarsities playing at noon and the varsity at 1 p.m. The date for the Burnet homecoming game against Little River Academy Friday, Sept. 12.
Marble Falls welcomes Georgetown Gateway Prep (15-5) at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12. Gateway had the district bye.
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior middle blocker Amaris Mitchell-Ochoa (17) and junior outside hitter Katie Terrell block a Burnet kill. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
