Marble Falls volleyball sweeps Jarrell
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior middle blocker Payton Dunk (left) and junior hitter Katie Terrell block a Jarrell kill en route to winning the first set. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School volleyball team crushed Jarrell 25-15, 25-17, 25-16 Sept. 30 in the first District 24-4A matchup between the two programs.
The Lady Mustangs (12-10, 3-3) end the first round of district play winning the three matches they had to have to control their own destiny for the postseason. They find themselves in the same spot they were in a year ago. But consecutive losses to Jarrell in the final regular season match and the play-in match for the final postseason spot ended Marble Falls’ season.
New head coach Zoey Beard-Hanrahan believes these Lady Mustangs have learned the lessons that will serve them well with six matches left this season.
“They seem more confident in themselves,” she said. “They seem like they trust each other. They communicate with each other. They have a coach that will not let them be mediocre. And I think they appreciate that, because these girls want to be winners, they want to be winners, and this is some of their last chances to do it. Some of them don’t play another sport after this. I just I feel so lucky to have this group of girls.”
Against Jarrell Marble Falls set the tone immediately. After taking a 5-4 lead, the Lady Mustangs went on an 8-2 run behind the serving of junior middle blocker Amaris Mitchell-Ochoa. From there, the two team exchanged points the rest of the way.
Mitchell-Ochoa got the block to set up set point and junior hitter Katie Terrell ended it with a big kill.
A service error gave the Lady Mustangs a 1-0 lead to begin the second set that quickly went to 4-0. Marble Falls led 8-5, 11-7 and 15-11 before going on a 5-2 run. Errors set up the Lady Mustangs for set point with Terrell providing the exclamation point.
Again Marble Falls won the first point to begin the final set. Sophomore hitter Breanna Wilde set up a block for a point and senior athlete Kate McCary scored on an ace. Senior hitter Kate Dykes had a directional tip, while McCary had a kill to build a 6-1 advantage that went to 11-5. The two teams split the next few points with McCary recording another ace and a spike, Mitchell-Ochoa hitting a spike, and Jarrell errors.
Beard-Hanrahan substituted freely. Junior middle blocker Vivian Buerger and sophomore hitter Brighton Bernard combined for a block and Dykes added kills. Junior libero Adrianna Dekay helped anchor the back row.
“I needed to get all my girls in,” the coach said. “Kate Dykes had a great night. Adrianna is my backup libero.”
Mitchell-Ochoa used a directional tip to give the Lady Mustangs match point and McCary ended the contest with a kill.
“I could not be a luckier coach with the girls that I got set up with in my first year – they’re all so talented,” Beard-Hanrahan said. “And they have the drive. And I think just with somebody who believes in them, who’ll back them up and will help them become more volleyball smart, they’re going to be that next unstoppable team here.”
Mitchell-Ochoa hasn’t rotated out, and the coach can see the junior becoming the complete player they envision.
“When she wants to go to that next step, it’s going to be a big factor that she can play all those positions, and she’s reliable everywhere,” Beard-Hanrahan said. “And she’s a perfectionist. In the back row, she wants to stick it, and she’s one of the hardest stickers I’ve ever seen. As a middle, she just (spikes) that ball. But it’s because she’s sticking it, and that’s what you have to do.”
The Lady Mustangs committed six unforced errors with the majority coming in the second set, Beard-Hanrahan said. There are some she can live with — spikes that are hit into the net — versus those that drive her crazy.
“I try to be more lenient when it’s hitting errors because at least I want them swinging,” she said, “but services in the net and stuff like that, I don’t like that, so those are the big ones. We scored all our own points and we made (Jarrell) actually fight for the ones they had.”
Marble Falls turns its attention to Burnet Friday, Oct. 31, with the subvarsities playing at 4:30 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Dawgs (20-6, 4-1) won the first match between the two programs in five sets.
To celebrate the beginning of the second round of district play, the first 50 fans receive free T-shirts. In addition, it’s the program’s annual Pink Out contest where the Lady Mustangs will wear their pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Beard-Hanrahan pointed out that her Lady Mustangs love playing in a loud Max Copeland Gym with lots of fans.
“It means so much to us, and it changes the atmosphere in the gym,” she said. “That’s why I’m hoping the team that I’ve seen for the last three matches – I want them to show up because I think that it’ll be another fight again. And it’ll be really a fun volleyball match to watch.”
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior athlete Kate McCary ends the match against Jarrell with a kill. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
