Lubbock’s Class 5A volleyball teams were shut out of the playoffs the last two years, because they couldn’t claim one of the top four spots in a 10-team district.
This year, before the District 2-5A campaign even starts, two of the three are guaranteed to get into the postseason.
“It takes a little pressure off,” said Coronado coach Chad Jones, whose Lady Mustangs (24-10) host Lubbock High (7-25) for a district opener at 7 p.m. today.
The district once again comprises five teams — Coronado, Lubbock High, Monterey, Amarillo and Tascosa — and all but one will qualify for the postseason. It’s a welcome development for Lubbock’s teams, and especially for the Lady Westerners and Lady Plainsmen.
possibly both, will be playing in November.
Along with having greater odds of reaching the playoffs, Jones, Leesman and Monterey coach Adrian Stein said there are other benefits to cutting 2-5A in half. Among them are decreased travel — there are no more district road trips to Midland, Odessa or San Angelo — 10 fewer district matches and more time to have prepared for the league slate.
In each of the last two years there was only two weeks between the teams’ season and district openers. This year they’ve had about six weeks to prepare for 2-5A competition, and each Lubbock team has played at least 28 non-district matches.
Coronado and Lubbock High have used the extra time to build a head of steam. The Lady Mustangs have won seven consecutive matches and 12 of their last 15, while the Lady Westerners have rebounded from a slow start to win three of their last five matches.
For Monterey (7-21), which has lost eight in a row, the start of district play offers a fresh start.
Jones and Stein both tabbed Amarillo and Tascosa, which open district play against each other on Saturday, as the favorites. And for good reason.
The ninth-ranked Lady Sandies (24-8) have won four consecutive state championships. The Lady Rebels (19-9) are ranked 18th in 5A by the Texas Girls Coaches Association, and they have arguably the most talented player in the district in 6-foot-2 senior Thea Munch-Soegaard.
But Leesman said Coronado has a chance to unseat the Amarillo powers. So does Jones, whose Lady Mustangs last won a district title in 2004 — the year they advanced to the state-title match.
“It’s not our goal just to make the playoffs this year,” Jones said. “We want to try to go undefeated at home during district and try to pick up a big win on the road at Amarillo High or Tascosa and see where that puts us in that big scheme of things.