Plano East volleyball team players and coaches pose for pictures with the gold ball trophy after defeating South Grand Prairie in three sets in a Class 6A Division I bi-district playoff match on Thursday, Oct. 30 at Thomas Jefferson High School. Photo by Devin Hasson / C&S Media
By Devin Hasson
DALLAS — Plano East had little trouble defeating South Grand Prairie when the teams first met in August.
The Panthers won that tournament pool-play matchup 25-16, 25-18, but Thursday’s rematch carried much higher stakes.
With a spot in the second round of the Class 6A Division I volleyball playoffs on the line, South Grand Prairie pushed Plano East to the brink of dropping the second set.
The Panthers responded with a late rally, then carried that momentum into the third set to complete a 25-17, 25-23, 25-13 sweep at Thomas Jefferson High School.
Plano East improved to 30-11 and advanced to face the winner of Friday’s matchup between Hebron and McKinney Boyd.
“We had some moments where we came out and played really well and we had some moments where we played a little bit scared or played not to lose,” Plano East head coach Sarah Perez said. “But overall, we came out and competed and ultimately we came away with our first playoff win for 2026 and I’m proud of them.”
After winning the opening set comfortably, Plano East found itself in a much tighter battle in the second.
The teams traded points throughout the early stages, with seven ties before the score reached 9-9.
Kills by Luz Luna and Anna Lukas, followed by an ace from Luna, gave the Panthers a 12-9 advantage.
South Grand Prairie answered behind the hitting of Ryleigh Goss and Bailee Brown, putting together a 6-1 run to take a 15-13 lead.
The teams continued to battle before a kill by Jeidan Russell gave the Warriors a 23-21 advantage, leaving them two points away from evening the match.
But Plano East refused to let the set slip away.
A South Grand Prairie service error opened the door, and the Panthers capitalized.
Lukas and Ava Nwegwu delivered crucial kills to put Plano East in front before Lukas added another to complete the 25-23 comeback.
“That was a big momentum shift,” Perez said. “They started to believe in themselves, so they had to dig deep and they had to find that next gear in order to take that set and that really helped us going forward into the third set.”
The momentum carried into the third set.
Kills by Kieryan Hughes, Lukas and Nwegwu, along with an ace from Emily Iwanow, helped Plano East build an early 6-1 lead.
South Grand Prairie fought back to tie the score at 7-7 and remained within striking distance at 10-9 following a kill by Brown.
From there, however, the Panthers took control.
Jaiden Boutte’ delivered a key play at the net to extend the lead to 14-10.
Lukas then took over offensively, recording five kills during a 7-2 stretch that pushed Plano East’s advantage to 21-12.
The Panthers maintained control down the stretch, with Nwegwu delivering the match-clinching kill to secure the sweep.
Luna led Plano East with 10 kills while also directing the offense as a setter.
Nwegwu contributed nine kills and five blocks, while Lukas added nine kills.
Perez credited the victory to contributions throughout the lineup.
“It really was a team effort,” she said. “I haven’t seen the stats, but I feel like everybody played their role. We utilized our middles, we had a good block, we played defense really well, we served really well, I really feel like it was a team win.”
Plano East is no stranger to postseason success.
Last season, the Panthers reached the regional championship match before falling to eventual state champion Trophy Club Byron Nelson.
That experience has provided motivation for a program looking to make another deep playoff run.
“It’s great to have experience in those high-intensity games,” Perez said. “We actually have a really young team this year, we have a freshman that starts, we have a lot of sophomores, some juniors … obviously we have experience with our seniors, but every win we can get in the playoffs just helps the girls more and more. This is our fourth year to win a playoff game in a row and I think we’ve set the standard for where we are going and where we want the program to be and it gives the girls something to work for every year.”
The Panthers will face another difficult test in the second round.
Their next opponent will be either District 5-6A champion Hebron (35-7), a perennial contender, or McKinney Boyd, which entered the postseason with a 28-7 record.
Perez believes her team is finding its rhythm at the right time.
“I do (feel like we are peaking),” Perez said. “I feel like we are going to give everything we have every night. In the DFW area, there are some really good teams that knock each other out in round one and round two and there is competition everywhere you turn, so South Grand Prairie was great competition for us, we are going to see more of that in round two, so we’ve just got to come out and play our game.”
Stay informed and support local journalism — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
0 Comments