Plano East’s volleyball team improved to 2-1 in District 7-6A following a 3-0 win over Richardson on Tuesday. Photo by Andy Redmond / C&S Media
By Devin Hasson
RICHARDSON — The Plano East volleyball team has been a perennial playoff contender, and the expectation level is high.
But in a tough 7-6A, the Panthers understand they need to bring their best every game.
Plano East was reminded of that last Friday against Coppell. After pulling out a close win in the opening set, the Cowboys rebounded to take the next three games and claim the victory.
For the Panthers, they did not want that feeling to linger. They went out Tuesday and took care of business with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 sweep of Richardson at Richardson High School.
Plano East improved to 20-8 overall and 2-1 in district play, putting it in the upper tier of the 7-6A standings in the early going.
“We had some good moments. Obviously, we still have to clean some things up, but it is nice to go from a hard loss to come back and rally and get a district win,” Plano East head coach Sarah Perez said.
Much of the night followed a similar script, as the Panthers trailed just once in the match.
A pair of early blocks from Kyla Slaughter and a kill and a block from Jaiden Boutte’ set the tone, staking them to a 6-1 lead in the opening game.
Slaughter kept things going through the middle stages with two more kills, and an ace from Emily Iwanow gave them a 17-9 lead.
Plano East continued to be strong at the net, with freshman Ava Nzegwu and Leyna Anderson combining for three kills and a block to open a double-digit advantage. Sophomore Luz Luna, who controlled the match with her setting and hitting, closed out the 25-15 win with a pair of kills.
The Panthers got off to a strong start in the second game, as well, getting points from Anna Lukas, Boutte’ and Nzegwu to jump to a 4-1 lead.
Richardson turned to star senior MacKenzie Ratcliff, and one of her 12 kills gave the Eagles their first lead of the night at 5-4.
That would be the last, however, of the night.
Luna had a kill, Lukas caught Richardson off guard with a quick set, and Slaughter added a kill and a block to give Plano East a 12-7 lead.
Jenasis Howell then had a four-point service run, and kills from Luna, Lukas and Nzegwu stretched the lead to 20-11.
Plano East was in a position to trade points from there, and that is what it did, getting two kills from Nzegwu and another from Luna to finish off the 25-16 win.
On the road, the Panthers did not want to give Richardson any reason to believe a comeback was in the works, and they quickly jumped to a 9-3 lead in Game 3.
The Eagles tried to rally behind Ratcliff, Aubrey Tennell and Marlo Bunch, but Luna answered with a pair of kills to maintain a 12-6 lead.
Plano East kept Richardson at arm’s length the rest of the way, eventually closing out a 25-19 set win and the sweep.
The Panthers are a little over a month into the season and have put together an impressive 20-8 record.
But Perez believes consistency will be the key going forward.
“When we want to be, we are (where I want them to be),” she said. “We have had some really strong moments. When we played Wylie, we really showed up, we were strong, we were aggressive, but we’ve also played down to a level sometimes that I don’t love. But when every single member of our team shows up physically and mentally, that is where I want us to be. When we are a team that is not there mentally, we are a team that moves slow and struggles in certain areas.”
It is still very early in the 7-6A season, but it is already looking like it will be a battle to the end.
After Tuesday’s round of matches, Plano is the only team that boasts a 3-0 record, giving it a one-game lead over a group of four squads at 2-1.
“There is some really good competition in our district,” Perez said. “Plano Senior, West, Coppell, Lake Highlands, Pearce, Richardson, so there are no games off; we have to go out and compete every single game and be mentally-present every single game.”
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