No. 10 Heritage stops Granbury's volleyball playoff trip 3-0

ARLINGTON — Granbury High School's Lady Pirates lost their leading shot blocker, Kassidy Kirkpatrick, to an ankle injury, and state-ranked Colleyville Heritage took full advantage by assaulting the middle of the court for a 3-0 bi-district volleyball playoff win by the Lady Panthers Tuesday in Arlington.

Heading into the match, the Lady Pirates (19-26) knew they would have their hands full against the District 6-5A champions as Heritage came in with a 38-10 record that included a 14-0 league slate. The Lady Panthers are ranked 10^th in the state in Class 4A by the Texas Girls Coaches Association.

Granbury lost the first set 25-11 but looked like it was beginning to gain traction against the Lady Panthers' offense that was excellent at keeping the Lady Pirates off-balance.

Midway through the second set, Granbury was starting to surge, and Kirkpatrick appeared to get tangled up at the net with a Lady Panther, and the junior went down clutching her left ankle.

The loss of Kirkpatrick was a huge blow and knocked the Lady Pirates off track. The injury also stopped Kirkpatrick's assault on the GHS individual single-season blocked shot record that ended with 124 stops, ranking second all-time for the Lady Pirates behind Mandy Withey’s 133 (2017).

Granbury couldn't build any momentum and dropped the second set 25-16 before the Lady Panthers sealed the victory with a 25-10 third-set win.

THE STAT LINE

Colleyville's attack at the net was solid and resulted in just nine blocks for Granbury, as Ellie Alexander, Kirkpatrick, Christen Nichols, and Sara Welch got two stops each.

Alexander led Granbury's offense with eight kills, and Rachel Poirier had five. Missy Varni led the team with 18 digs, and Welch's 18 assists were also a team-high total.

A GOOD YEAR

Granbury's 19-26 season record is a good outcome for a team with only five seniors on the roster, and the fourth-place playoff berth included a tiebreaker, a district "playoff" that the Lady Pirates won on the road.

A "MOM'S" THOUGHTS

Senior Ellie Alexander's role as a leader has also included being a bit of a mother hen to the younger Lady Pirates, and she reflected on that.

"This was 100% the best team that I could have had the opportunity to play with for my senior year, and I am so excited to watch them all grow up and move into life doing amazing things. I'm so happy I got to be the "mom" of the group and be there for everyone when they needed anything, each and every one of them is family to me," Alexander said. "To coach (Desiree) Shahan and coach (Alex) Oppenborn, you all have sacrificed so much for the team and me, and nothing I could do or say would ever fulfill the 'thank you' I wish to give you two. I wouldn't take back any waking moment of the last four years I have been on varsity."

Time does fly quickly, as Alexander explained.

“It seems just like yesterday when Payton Bell got hurt at one of our tournaments, and I had to play for her, and that was my time to prove that I could play, To this time when four years later I was walking off the court of my last high school game, time does fly by,” Alexander said. “I am incredibly proud of how this team has fought with all odds against us, from taking a set from Aledo and Rider to battling it out to go to playoffs and winning."

THE RECORD HOLDER

Missy Varni didn't just break Granbury's single-season record for digs – she blew it into the next universe. Varni's 1,010 digs for the 2021 season shattered the mark of 834 set by Breanna Crain in 2014, and she shared her thoughts about the year.

"I have never met a more hardworking and supportive group of girls and coaches, and even though the season ended earlier than we would have liked, we fought with all of our hearts throughout the entire season. We gave it all we had, so to me, I couldn't have asked for anything else," Varni said.

Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231