While chants echo from the student section, junior outside hitter ​​Ryan Kate Hoerman makes a high energy spike at the ball, leading the Coppell volleyball team to victory in the fourth set. 

In a close match, the Cowgirls defeated Little Elm, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, on Friday at CHS Arena to improve to 11-8 this season. 

According to Coppell coach Robyn Ross, Coppell’s defense proved to be the winning factor in the game, with junior defense specialist Molly Williams tallying 21 digs, sophomore outside hitter Brooke Felix having 20 digs and junior outside hitter Ryan Kate Hoerman and senior setter ​​Carolina Ufret who each contributed 19 digs. 

“We made sure to practice a lot of ball control and defense for tonight,” Ross said. 

Felix led the Cowgirls’ offensive attack as well.

“We watched a lot of their film, saw which spots on the court were open and we just tried to use that,” Felix said. 

Despite Coppell’s initial momentum, Little Elm responded in the second set. With senior middle hitter Siriana Song and junior outside hitter Courtney Riley, the Lobos managed to block Coppell’s offense. Senior outside hitter Karsyn Parmer’s effective spike was able to level the match and lead Little Elm to win the second set. 

“In the second set, they really started picking up where we were hitting so we tried to change it up after that,” Felix said. 

Coppell regained control in the third set with Felix and Ufret orchestrating spikes and digs. Williams finished the third set with an ace.

“We played really well all around, we had a lot of energy which increased in the third set,” Urfet said. “I think having a big student section always helps with the energy, but energy and effort was definitely at a max today.” 

In the fourth set, Hoerman’s well-timed spikes forced errors from Little Elm. 

“We practiced a lot of relentless hustle and had a lot of plays where I thought the ball hit the ground but we were able to get that back up and fight for it,” senior defense specialist Reva Shankar said. “We had consistent serves all game and that’s something we worked on a lot.” 

Coppell plays at Lewisville at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. 

“We are going to prepare for the specific team we will play,” Shankar said. “We are going to practice getting longer serving runs and to be able to stay more consistent and just keep the energy up all around, and we’re going to do great this season.”

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