Throughout last week, the Coppell volleyball team played in the Northwest ISD tournament, returning as champions in the bronze bracket.
“Playing in this tournament really helped us play more cohesively and learn each other’s weaknesses and prepare for the home game this week,” Coppell senior outside hitter Alena Truong said.
Today at 6:30 p.m. at CHS Arena, the Cowgirls face Royse City in their third preseason match.
According to Coppell volleyball coach Robyn Ross, the Cowgirls have never faced Royse City before and know very little about them aside from their record.
“I don’t care about who we play,” Ross said. “The only thing I care about is that they are going to be good. The only way that our girls are going to get better is if they are forced to be excellent all the time.”
In the first preseason match against Bishop Lynch on Aug. 8, Coppell suffered a 3-2 loss, then a week later, faced McKinney Boyd but were defeated again, 3-1.
“We are learning how to finish in this preseason,” Ross said. “The youth and inexperience on our team is sometimes shining through in our ability to close out a set or a match so that is what we have been working on.”
To prepare for Royce City and hone in on their skills during the preseason, Coppell looks to focus on conditioning, positionals and rotations in practice.
According to Ross, the Cowgirls do not have any players on its team that are six feet or taller and most of the teams they have played so far have multiple players that are over six feet. Due to the smaller size of the team this year, the Cowgirls’ opponents will be able to hit over their blocks, meaning it is up to the back row to step up with defense.
“We are small compared to everyone that we will play, so the ball control piece is going to be huge for us,” Ross said. “Being able to get teams out of system with our good serving and to keep ourselves in system with our great ball control, passing and defense, will make or break us this year.”
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