Friday, Sep. 26, 2008

Lady Jaguars Open District Vs. Fierce Competitor

FMHS Volleyball

By John English

Contributing Writer

Flower Mound volleyball coach Marci Brinkman said she hoped that an off-week two Fridays ago would help her team to refocus, but the results are inconclusive.

The Lady Jags fought to a 3-2 victory against Mesquite last Friday night, but lost to McKinney Boyd 3-0 on Tuesday.

Ready or not, district is upon Flower Mound, as they take on Hebron at 7 p.m. tonight on the road.

"Hebron’s always a tough match for us," Brinkman said. "Last year we split with them in district. We won the first one and they won the second one. Everyone wants to win the first district match, and I think it is going to be intense."

Brinkman said the effort against Mesquite last Friday was what she had been looking for.

"We played very strong as a team," Brinkman said. "Our offense did a lot better. All of the players had positive hitting percentages.

"Our defense was reading the ball really well, and our serve-receive passing was on most of the night, besides the two games that we lost."

Flower Mound took a 2-0 lead against Mesquite, but allowed them to come back and tie it 2-2 before taking the third game.

Brinkman said winning in that fashion was good for her team’s confidence.

"This was critical, because we pulled out a tough win," Brinkman said. "This is the first five-game match that we’ve won. I think this shows that they are improving and mentally, they are becoming tougher ... we saw a lot of fight in them the whole match through — they never gave up."

Brinkman said that in spite of the team’s sub .500 record, she does believe the non-district schedule has served its purpose.

"I look at it as just a learning experience," Brinkman said. "It can do nothing but help us in district. When you see your team’s weaknesses, you know what to work on, and as long as you keep improving, I think it’s good. We haven’t hit our peak yet for sure."

Flower Mound lost the match to McKinney Boyd by three points, four points and two points respectively.

Brinkman said she and her coaching staff divide the season into three different parts, non-district, district and playoffs, and said that as of tonight, the team is 0-0.

"At district time, you start with a clean slate," Brinkman said. "All that matters is if you make the playoffs. As long as you use the things that happened to you in pre-season to make you better in district, that’s what’s important."