Prosper fans, decked out in white for the whiteout, filled the arena at McKinney Boyd High School to watch the Lady Eagles take on Frisco Reedy in the UIL Regional Quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Prosper scored first with a kill by junior CiCi Hecht but fell behind after Reedy hit a streak. However, the Lady Eagles battled back one point at a time to take the first set 25-20.
The second set would be up and down for Prosper but Reedy would ultimately take the second 25-19.
Prosper dug deep for set number three and scored early. Seniors Haley Killinger and Taryn Weber teamed up with Hecht to put the Lady Eagles ahead 6-2. Additionally, junior Madi Whitmire’s solid defense combined with solid sets by Kayla Martin gave Prosper the 25-17 final for the third set.
Before the must-win fourth set, Prosper head coach Erin Kauffman gathered the girls to regroup. “I told them to calm down and play fundamental volleyball,” she said. “We needed to serve better and Morgan Monroe did a great job stepping in during set three. Haley [Killinger] and Kayla [Martin] came through with some big kills and digs when we needed them also.”
As Weber stepped back to serve, it was obvious both Reedy and Prosper were focused on the win. Prosper led the set at 11-10 until Reedy bounced back to lead 12-10. From there, Prosper and Reedy would tie for the next 3 points but the Lady Eagles would not go down. Another tie at 20 then it was all Prosper for the 25-22 win, advancing to the UIL Regional Semifinals.
The Lady Eagles had a number of outstanding performances in the match. Martin had 20 digs, Whitmire put up 3 aces, 53 assists and 11 digs and Killinger recorded 4 blocks, 18 kills and 13 digs. Hecht and Weber had 27 kills and 8 digs combined.
The Lady Eagles will play Red Oak on November 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Berkner High School in Richardson.
Kauffman is looking forward to getting back to the regional tournament. “Berkner has been a good place for us to play, with it being so open like our gym. We have two days to get down to business and prepare for Red Oak,” she said.
Renee Marler | Prosper Magazine
Renee@CedarbrookMedia.com
Game pics >>>>>>>>> CLICK HERE
Game pics >>>>>>>>> CLICK HERE
