Guyer's moving on
Due to some massive technical difficulties I eventually gave up on the blog during the match, but now that I'm back home (after getting lost in Weatherford) I can add some more of my expert analysis on the Lady Wildcats' win in their first-ever playoff match.
Guyer won 25-12, 25-23, 14-25, 25-21 over Stephenville. The Honeybees came in with all the playoff experience a team could have (10 of 13 years in the postseason, one state title four years ago) to Guyer's zilch.
Head coach Jennifer Bramlett got what she wanted from her team -- a killer instinct in adverse situations that wasn't shown really often this year aside from its last match against Ryan on Oct. 19 -- a 5-game win.
I got the feeling from the team that they felt slighted by Stephenville, and then I got it in words from sophomore setter/trick-shot extraordinare Kaylee Fifer.
Fifer told me Bramlett had shared some newspaper articles with the team this week that had Stephenville players going on record with some brashness and cockiness that they didn't take too kindly to, and that that was the fire behind the Game 1 blowout.
After the shock of the first game, Stephenville showed its true colors and played right with the Lady Wildcats but that brief overlooking might've lost the match for the Honeybees.
Check the paper Wednesday for stats, but here's my analysis on a few individual performances.
We'll start with my MVP of the match, Erin Garvey:
I know it sounds cliche almost to choose Garvey. After all, she is the team leader and is going on to play Division I ball at the University of Nevada. But she straight owned the floor Tuesday night. Watching her, it seems that whenever she really wants to, she flips a switch that goes from "Pretty much rule" to "Dominate".
It was pretty fitting to see her get the game-winning ace -- one of her three on the night -- because she really is the team's leader, both vocally and physically.
Kaylee Fifer: I learned tonight that the team calls her "General" and I've seen why now for a couple of months. Just a sophomore, she plays like a seasoned veteran senior. I am an admitted volleyball novice, but even I can tell that she's one of the smartest players on the floor. I think I'm going to start calling her Kaylee "Bag o' Tricks" Fifer, although I'm sure my boss wouldn't be down with me putting that in print, but that's what this lovely blog is for.
In Game 1 she had the shot of the match with her backhanded dump shot that she hit with her left hand, behind her head, and down the line parallel with the net. It was a pretty jaw-dropping turn of events, and then she did it again in Game 2.
Hannah Ingram: Ingram is the rock of consistency on this team. There's a reason she's the first to serve in every game, and it ain't because she's shaky. She was the model of consistency on Tuesday and played a great all-around game -- hitting, serving and defense.
Kristi Hager: Hager played some fantastic defense along with Ingram and kept Stephenville's big-time hitters at bay for most of the night, minus Game 3 when everything seemed to go wrong for Guyer.
Jennifer Bramlett: I really think Bramlett was at another level tonight as well, with it being her first playoff appearance at Guyer and all. I told her I'd never seen her so animated, and she and assistant Heather Van Noy laughed and said in sync, "You obviously weren't here the first two years." Well, I wasn't, but that was something I'd never seen from her before. It could've been just the noise and the environment, but she was up yelling and directing when she's usually working it from her seat on the bench.
I'll tell you this much -- and I never would've said this before tonight -- I'm really excited to cover this match this weekend against Ryan even though it'll likely mean I miss Guyer's season finale in football. I love football, always will, but this match will be a great one. Heck, Ryan's players were moved to tears of joy after taking a game from Guyer on Oct. 19. The Lady Raiders ended up taking two, and the old adage says it's hard to beat a team three times in one year. Guyer will have to do just that to advance on to the regional semifinals.
I predicted Guyer would win tonight's match in Game 4, and like always, I was right. I'm not quite ready to throw out a prediction for the third edition of the "Crosstown Showdown", we'll call it "Crosstown Showdown v.3.0" but I'll get that out to you before Friday.