The student section roared as Coppell senior outside hitter Daki Kahungu’s block brought the Cowgirls within one point in the third set.
“I felt great,” Kahundu said. “I saw where she was going with that ball so I just moved my block.”
But a mix of fear and frustration became palpable in the crowd as a hit by the Lady Wolves closed out the set. The Cowgirls fought hard, but ultimately Plano West took the set 25-23 and won the match 3-0 (25-8, 25-17, 25-23).
During the third set, Coppell sophomore defensive specialist Molly Williams, senior libero Kathryn MacDonald and senior opposite hitter Mira Klem dug Plano West’s hit, forcing a rally between the teams. Though the point went to Plano West, Coppell’s cohesive teamwork was a step up from previous matches and the ball in play was a testament to the team’s defense-focused practices.
“Since we are a smaller team and have smaller blockers, defense is something we can’t do without,” Klem said. “That’s something we do every day, every practice, and something we’ve really improved on this season. Our defense definitely picked up in the third set because we started picking up on Plano West’s tendencies and figuring out where they would go before they hit. We knew that some of them wanted to go setter every time, so we knew where to line up the block and where to be on the court.”
Throughout the match, Coppell struggled to respond to Plano West’s senior middle blocker Kate Mansfield, who successfully hit through Coppell’s blockers multiple times.
“She was on varsity last year and we knew coming in that she was going to be someone we had to watch out for,” Klem said. “But she played a great game. Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do.”
But the girls fought back. Kahungu was consistent with blocking throughout the match and sophomore middle blocker Katie Keith found her rhythm during the third set.
“The girls were really applying what we were telling them,” Coppell coach Robyn Ross said. “Katie Keith did a great job coming into the middle and getting some big blocks and really changing the momentum and excitement on our side of the court.”
Though a loss, the team took this match as a learning experience.
“For this game, we leave with a mostly positive outlook because the girls got better each time,” Ross said. “What we will take forward is that we have to be better at blocking and quicker in the middle.”
Prior to the match, the Cowgirls presented a $4,000 check to One Tribe Foundation to support its mental health initiatives and suicide prevention for veterans.
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