Class 3A Holliday topples Class 5A Abilene Wylie for Bev Ball Classic volleyball title
Size doesn’t matter. Ultimately, it’s all about heart and fight.
Experience in big battles helps, too, and the Class 3A Holliday volleyball team has it all.
The Lady Eagles beat Class 5A Wylie 26-24, 18-25, 25-13 in the championship game of the Bev Ball Classic on Saturday at Abilene High’s Eagle Gym.
“It feels good,” said Holliday coach Wendy Parker, a 1985 Snyder grad. “We were second here last year, so it feels good to finally win it.”
Bushland beat Holliday in the tournament championship last year, and the eventual state champions beat Holliday in the Region I-3A finals later in the season for the second consecutive year.
The Lady Eagles had to weather a storm, too, after Wylie pounded the ball in Game 2.
“Wylie was super tough,” Parker said. “They had guns firing at us everywhere. It was nice to see that. It shows us where our strengths are, where are weaknesses are, what we need to keep working on.”
Wylie coach Shay Cox was impressed with Holliday. The Lady Eagles beat Wylie twice during the weekend, sweeping the Lady Bulldogs in pool play Friday. Holliday also beat Wylie 2-1 in the second round of bracket play at the tournament last year.
“That’s a really good ballclub, no matter what their A is,” Cox said. “Their defense is something to see.”
Still, Cox was happy to see her Lady Bulldogs reach the title match. She said it’s the first time Wylie has played for the Bev Ball championship in her nine years as the team’s head coach. Wylie beat Clyde for third place last season.
“I’m thrilled,” Cox said. “If we were going to lose, it might as well be to a great team. They did a good job out there. I’m super pleased with our defense. I’ve got some kids playing some different positions they’re not used to it. They’re really getting in there and owning. It’s been fun to see.”
Wylie beat Fort Worth Brewer 25-15, 26-24, Wall 25-21, 25-18 and Boerne Champion 25-18, 24-26, 27-25 to set up the rematch with Holliday.
The Lady Bulldogs seemed poised to beat the Lady Eagles, too, after winning Game 2 in resounding fashion. But once Holliday got on a roll in Game 3, the Lady Eagles couldn’t be stopped.
“We had some momentum,” Cox said. “I think sometimes our inexperience creeps in on us. We feel pressure and don’t make things happen like we should.”
The Lady Eagles play in a brutal region. Bushland has won state the past two years, and Parker needs her team battle-tested for another run at the region title.
Holliday went 7-0 at the tournament, including 3-0 in bracket play. The Lady Eagles didn’t drop a game until the title match. They beat three Class 5A schools in Wylie, Burleson and Abilene High, including Wylie twice. Holliday beat the Lady Bulldogs 25-21, 25-19 in pool play.
Holliday, which went 4-0 in pool play, beat Abilene High 25-18, 25-19 and Class 3A Clyde 25-16, 25-21 to reach the title match.
“We get to play some really tough competition, plus some big schools, which helps us in the long run,” Parker said. “We had a deep playoff run the last two years. So, with our tournament play and our preseason, we try to play as tough opponents as we can, and this tournament has always been good for that.”
Parker lost five starters from last year’s team.
“So, we’re still trying to figure out who’s going where,” Parker said.
Not that the new roles – or a tall, intimidating Wylie team – stopped the Lady Eagles.
“We do have a lot of girls who have been here three years during those two, deep playoff runs,” Parker said. “So, I’ve got a lot of seniors. They’ve got playoff experience, which helps.”
And the Lady Eagles aren’t afraid to take on the big schools.
“We’re a small school, and we’ve always played big schools,” Parker said. “I think they’re used to it. It’s nothing new for them, so I don’t think they’re going to be intimidated.
“We know we’re going to be the underdog. They know we’re going to be smaller. We always have been. We just try to use the weapons that we have, which is usually defense. We try to be as fast as we can be.”
Class 3A Clyde impresses
Clyde, another Class 3A team, didn't back down against the big schools, either.
After beating Class 5A Fort Worth Brewer and Lubbock Monterey en route to going unbeaten in pool play, the Lady Bulldogs opened bracket play with a 25-14, 25-9 win over Cooper – another Class 5A program.
Clyde beat District 6-3A rival Jim Ned 25-16, 25-21 before running into Holliday in the semifinals. Class 5A Boerne Champion beat the Lady Bulldogs 28-18, 25-14 in the third-place match.
“Obviously, you hate to lose,” Clyde coach Laura Carr said. “It’s hard, that loss at the end of the tournament. But I felt like we played well. I felt like we’re further ahead right now than I thought we’d be. We competed hard against some tough teams this weekend.”
Clyde returns five players, all starters, from a district champion team that was beaten by Henrietta, the runner-up from Holliday’s district, in the second round of the playoffs last year.
Carr, whose team took down Lubbock Coronado and Monterey at the Bev Ball last year, said her team needs to be pushed by good, big schools to prepare it for the playoffs.
“3A is tough, and we go to this tournament and the Granbury tournament next weekend and see a bunch of 5A and 6A schools because we need to,” Carr said. “We need to see that. We need to be pushed constantly.”
Clyde also plays Abilene High at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Eagle Gym.
AHS, Cooper go 0-2 on final day
Abilene High and Cooper both went 0-2 in bracket play.
AHS lost to Holliday in the opener and Wall 25-21, 25-18 in the first round of consolation play.
Class 4A Krum ended Cooper’s weekend with a 27-25, 22-25, 25-14 win in the consolation bracket opener.
Jim Ned beat Krum 27-25, 26-16 in the bracket opener, then lost to Clyde, only to take out Brewer in the consolation semifinals. The last three consolation matches in the championship bracket – the Krum/Wall semifinal and the consolation championship – weren’t played.
Bev Ball Classic
FRIDAY MATCHES
Pool Play
(best-of-three matches)
At Cooper
COURT 1
Cooper def. Iowa Park 25-11, 25-17
Iowa Park def. San Angelo Lake View 25-22, 25-19
Krum def. Cooper 21-25, 25-21, 25-21
Cooper def. Lake View 25-11, 25-18
Krum def. Iowa Park 25-16, 25-18
Krum def. Lake View 25-20, 29-30, 25-13
Fort Worth Brewer def. Lubbock Monterey 21-25, 25-17, 25-20
Clyde def. Hawle 25-21, 25-11
Monterey def. Hawley 25-7, 25-7
Clyde def. Brewer 15-25, 25-20, 25-14
Clyde def. Monterey 15-25, 25-20, 25-14
COURT 2
Wylie def. Burleson 25-21, 19-25, 25-13
Holliday def. Brock 29-27, 29-27
Burleson def. Frisco Leadership Prep 25-19, 25-21
Wylie def. Brock 26-24, 25-12
Holliday def. Burleson 29-27, 25-19
Wylie def. Leadership Prep 25-6, 25-7
Burleson def. Brock 21-25, 25-20, 27-25
Holliday def. Leadership Prep 25-8, 25-8
Holliday def. Wylie 25-21, 25-19
Brock def. Leadership Prep 25-14, 25-18
Holliday def. Burleson 29-27, 25-19
At Abilene High
COURT 1
Abilene High def. Wichita Falls High 25-20, 25-22
Wall def. Wichita Falls High 25-16. 25-13
Abilene High def. Paradise 25-20, 19-25, 25-19
Wall def. Abilene High 25-15, 22-25, 25-15
Wall def. Paradise 25-17, 25-12
Paradise def. Wichita Falls High 28-30, 25-20, 25-21
El Paso Americas def. Sweetwater 25-1, 25-13
Jim Ned def. Lubbock Coronado 14-25, 25-17, 27-25
Boerne Champion def. Americas 25-22, 18-25, 25-21
Jim Ned def. Sweetwater 25-16, 25-12
Coronado def. Sweetwater 25-8, 25-17
Champion def. Jim Ned 25-14, 25-19
COURT 2
Americas def. Coronado 25-23, 24-26, 25-10
Champion def. Sweetwater 25-12, 25-9
Americas def. Jim Ned 25-15, 26-24
Champion def. Coronado 25-14, 25-20
SATURDAY MATCHES
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
At Abilene High
Match 1 – Holliday def. Abilene High 25-18, 25-19
Match 2 – Jim Ned def. Krum 27-25, 25-16
Match 3 – Clyde def. Cooper 25-14, 25-9
Match 4 – Wylie def. Brewer 25-15, 26-24
Match 5 – Wall def. Americas 25-21, 25-15
Match 6 – Champion def. Burleson 25-24, 25-14
Winners Bracket
Match 7 – Clyde def. Jim Ned 25-16, 25-21
Match 8 – Wylie def. Wall 25-21, 25-18
Semifinals
Match 13 – Holliday def. Clyde 25-14, 25-18
Match 14 – Wylie def. Champion 25-18, 24-26, 27-25
Third place
Match 17 – Champion def. Clyde 25-18, 25-14
Championship
Match 19 – Holliday def. Wylie 26-24, 18-25, 25-13
Consolation Bracket
Match 9 – Wall def. Abilene High 15-25, 25-19, 25-16
Match 10 – Jim Ned def. Burleson 25-14, 29-27
Match 11 – Krum def. Cooper 27-25, 22-25, 25-14
Match 12 – Brewer def. Americas 16-25, 25-21, 25-22
Semifinals
Match 15 – Wall vs. Krum (not played)
Match 16 – Jim Ned def. Brewer 25-22, 16-25, 25-20
Consolation Championship
Match 18 – Jim Ned vs. Wall/Krum winner (not played)
SILVER BRACKET
At Cooper
Match 1 – Paradise def. Leadership Prep 25-14, 25-17
Match 2 – Coronado def. Hawley 25-17, 25-17
Match 3 – Wichita Falls High def. Lake View 25-18, 25-18
Match 4 – Brock def. Sweetwater 25-11, 25-10
Winner’s Bracket
Match 5 – Paradise def. Iowa Park 25-10, 25-12
Match 6 – Brock def. Monterey 25-20, 21-25, 25-17
Semifinals
Match 9 – Coronado def. Paradise 23-25, 25-22, 25-16
Match 10 – Brock def. Wichita Falls High 25-19, 25-8
Third place
Match 13 – Paradise def. Wichita Falls High 24-26, 25-14, 25-17
Championship
Match 15 – Brock def. Coronado 25-20, 17-25, 25-16
Consolation Bracket
Match 7 – Hawley def. Leadership Prep 22-25, 25-13, 25-19
Match 8 – Lake View def. Sweetwater 25-15, 25-12
Semifinals
Match 11 – Monterey def. Hawley 25-4, 25-22
Match 12 – Lake View def. Iowa Park 22-25, 25-22, 26-24
Consolation Championship
Match 14 – Monterey def. Lake View 25-11, 25-11
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Holliday overcomes Abilene Wylie for Bev Ball Classic volleyball title
