Sports and Outdoors

Sunday, November 7, 2010

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 319.56 Water Temperature:
58  degrees - top
64 degrees - bottom

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Mabank High School freshman Makenna Allen (center) returns a Lindale hit as senior Lady Panther teammates Sadie Roberts (9) and Torrie Garrett (10) look on during the second game of Mabank's 3-2 bidistrict volleyball playoff loss to the Lady Eagles at the TVCC gym Tuesday.

The Lady Panthers ended their season at 20-20, while the District 14-3A runner-up Lady Eagles advanced to face District 15-3A winner Paris in the area round Saturday.
After winning the first two games by identical 25-19 scores, Mabank had two chances to close out the Lady Eagles in game three, but couldn’t get it done, eventually falling 27-25.
The Lady Panthers essentially fell apart in game four, losing 25-15, and were unable to mount a rally in game five, won by Lindale 15-8.
“The girls played awesome tonight,” veteran Mabank coach Stacy Shelton said afterward. “The team that made the fewest errors won tonight, and that wasn’t us!”
A brisk north win didn’t reach inside a sweltering Cardinal Gym on the Trinity Valley Community College campus, as a good-sized crowd got loud, hot and sweaty during the lengthy (two hours) contest.
For the first two games, and most of game three, the Lady Panthers looked to be in control.
Lindale took an early lead, 13-7, before the Lady Panthers came fighting back, eventually tying the score at 17 before senior Torrie Garrett put Mabank ahead to stay with a tip over two Lady Eagle blockers.
Garrett was a force in the middle for the Lady Panthers in her final match, finishing with 20 kills, seven blocks, four digs and one save while serving four aces.
Lindale errors (hitting long/out and into the net) gave the Lady Panthers a 21-17 lead, but two straight official’s calls against the Lady Eagles put Mabank ahead 23-19.
The Lady Eagles hit out twice to end the first game.
Mabank took control early in game two behind Garrett and solid setting from sophomore Kourtney Holyfield, but neither team could put a run together, thanks to unforced errors.
Mabank took a 9-5 lead, only to see the Lady Eagles close the gap to two points at 12-10 before the Lady Panthers again opened a significant lead at 17-12.
Lindale was unable to get any closer than two points (20-18) before the Lady Panthers took five of the next six points.
The Lady Eagles opened an early 7-2 lead in game three, but the Lady Panthers fought back to tie the game at 7-7 on a tip by junior Molly Groom.
Lindale again opened a three-point lead at 12-9, but the Lady Panthers again closed the gap, tying the game at 15 when the Lady Eagles missed a return.
The teams then traded the lead, tying at 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 and 25, before the Lady Eagles won the contest on two straight misses by Mabank.
Mabank had shots to win the contest at 24-23 and at 25-24, but a hit out and a block out tied the score both times.
Game four was a disaster for the Lady Panthers, who seemingly couldn’t do anything right, falling behind 14-4 and 17-5 before rallying late to close the final gap to 10 points.
Game five wasn’t a lot better, as the Lady Panthers again fell behind early on unforced errors – hitting long, in particular, as they tried to pound the ball and just hit it too hard.
Lindale opened a 7-1 lead before the Lady Panthers closed the gap, but Mabank was unable to get closer than three points at 9-6, before the Lady Eagles opened up a 14-6 advantage.
“We are a very young team, and Lindale had a lot of experienced players on their team,” Shelton said. “I am very proud of the way the girls played. They left it all on the floor, and played with a lot of heart and character.”
Freshman Makenna Allen had six kills and three blocks, along with five digs, while Holyfield notched 32 assists.
Another freshman, Mikayla Adams had five kills, five digs and one save, while Groom finished with two kills, two blocks, four digs, one save and one assist, along with two aces.
Senior Jena Penney finished with five kills and four digs, while classmate Natalie Torres had five digs on defense.

EHS girls get bidistrict win
Monitor Staff Reports
KAUFMAN–After dropping the opening game, the Eustace Lady Bulldogs roared back to take the next three straight and defeat the Palmer Lady Bulldogs in a 2A bidistrict volleyball championship match Tuesday night.
Now 33-8 on the season, Eustace’s girls were scheduled to face the District 4-2A Whitney Lady Wildcats in an area round contest at Mansfield High School Thursday evening (see report in the Thursday, Nov. 11, issue).
“Real slow start, but it was a solid team effort from everyone,” veteran Eustace coach Chuck Powers said after his team notched his 701st career victory.
Eustace fell in the opener, 25-20, at Kaufman High School, but then evened the match with a dominating 25-8 win in the second game and iced the contest with 25-18 and 25-19 wins in games three and four.

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Eustace Lady Bulldog senior Shelley Temple (9) sets the ball for fellow seniors Vanessa Lopez (14), Allie Cass (2) and sophomore Bethany Strickland (6) during Eustace's 3-0 win over Cross Roads in a playoff warm-up match Oct. 30.

Eustace dominated the net, as senior Allison Cass had 22 kills and one block, along with two digs, while senior Harmony Allen and junior Catania Grant each notched 12 kills.
Allen added six blocks and one assist, while Grant had two blocks.
Senior Vanessa Lopez had five kills, adding one block, one dig and one assist, while senior setter Shelley Temple notched 28 assists, along with one block and one dig.
Sophomore Kacie Richards also had three kills in the match.