Friday, April 19, 2024
The Granbury Lady Pirates won eight straight games in a span of three days to start the Granbury Volleyball Tournament and ended with a second-place finish in the championship bracket.
The Lady Pirates faced Prestonwood Christian in the championship game Saturday, losing 2-0 (23-25, 20-25). Before that, however, Granbury had knocked off several solid teams in thrilling wins.
After sweeping Thursday’s pool play against Paschal, Chisholm Trail and Richland, Granbury beat Permian (25-13, 25-15) and Burleson Centennial (25-7, 25-6) in a seeding pool to earn a top seed in bracket play. The Lady Pirates knocked off Azle in the first round Friday night.
Saturday saw Granbury open with a 2-0 (25-17, 25-21) win over Abilene Wylie in the quarterfinal round. The semifinal match against Birdville was a thrilling 2-1 (14-25, 25-22, 27-25) win that put the Lady Pirates through to the championship match.
Head coach Desiree Shah-an said she was proud of her team’s willingness to fight through tough stretches.
“Our girls never stopped fighting this weekend in our tournament,” she said. “I was so proud of how they kept fighting even when they were down or when they would lose a set.
“I have never been as proud as I was during the Birdville game. That is a great team, with a great coach and an amazing program and our girls would not accept a loss against them. I have never seen them fight as hard as they did in that game.”
Shahan said the Lady Pirates leaned on lessons they learned during their trip to Hawaii to play in the Ann Kang Invitational.
“Hawaii helped us a lot prepare for our tournament this past weekend,” she said. “We had some ups and downs in Hawaii and that helps us know what we need to work on or change for the next round of play.
“The team meeting that the girls had really seemed to help the team chemistry. They have been a completely different team since that that game in Hawaii. “
Seniors Payton Bell and Macie Blohowiak were named to the All-Tournament Team.
“Macie was a go-to hitter for us this weekend by rocking it from the front row. She just could not be stopped,” Shahan said. “She is also a great, competitive teammate who is super supportive.
“Payton is a solid 6 rotation player who has really grown this past year as a teammate and a leader. She rallied the team multiple times this weekend. She is someone who we need in our serve receive and who we need to feed the ball to.”
Shahan also credited junior Kaitlyn McCabe with “lights-out” defense for the Lady Pirates.
Granbury played Euless Trinity on the road Tuesday, and will play in the Plano Tournament this weekend. Shahan said the Lady Pirates’ performance at their home tournament will give them a big momentum boost moving forward.
“Being able to add eight wins to our win column really helps to push our girls through the rest of the preseason,” she said, “and into the first round of district with confidence that if they play together as a team they can compete with anyone that we come up against.”
grant@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 254
