Plano East’s strong start to the 2023 season continues, winning five games at the Allen Texas Open Tournament.

Taking on some of the top teams in the area, Plano East won its first five games of the tournament to reach the championship bracket semifinals on Saturday, Aug. 19. In the final four, they were narrowly beaten by Allen in three sets 2-1 (25-17, 20-25, 20-25). After winning the first set, Allen’s attack stepped up the intensity and edged out the Lady Panthers in the end in two close sets.

That first loss sent Plano East to the third-place match, where they lost 2-1 (27-25, 23-25, 18-25) to McKinney Boyd to finish out the tournament weekend. As things stand, Plano East is 13-2 on the season and through two tournaments, has a gold medal and top-four finish.

Plano East’s Lauryn Lambert was also named to the all-tournament team for her performance over the weekend, as Plano East’s go-to attacking player for most of the game. She helped spark wins for the Lady Panthers in the two-day tournament over teams like Sunnyvale, Lake Highlands, Frisco Centennial, Frisco Independence and Plano.

Up next, Plano East travels to Austin for the Texas Volleypalooza tournament over the final weekend of August. Some of the best teams in the state will be there, as the Lady Panthers hope to continue to show their mettle early in the regular season.

Plano East’s final district games will be next week, as they travel to Highland Park on Tuesday, Aug. 29 and Byron Nelson on Friday, Sep. 1 in gearing up for district play.

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