No. 3 O’Connor sweeps No. 9 Harlan.
O’Connor is the two-time defending Region IV-6A volleyball champion.
But if you ask Panthers coach Yami Garcia and her players, their perspective is much different. They still see themselves as an undersized squad that succeeds with a relentless work ethic.
While the spotlight is brighter now after back-toback trips to the UIL state tournament — the approach hasn’t changed. It showed Tuesday.
Displaying a balanced attack and the Panthers’ trademark mettle, No. 3 O’Connor topped No. 9 Harlan 25-15, 25-14, 26-24 in the opener of a doubleheader at Taylor Field House.
“We look at it as we don’t want to be too overconfident,” said O’Connor senior outside hitter Kali Nelson, who had a match-high 21 kills. “We look at it as everybody wants to beat us. We believe we still have to work for it, just as hard as we did in the past two years.”
The Panthers (16-7) needed to navigate only a few anxious moments in a contest they controlled for the most part.
Harlan (10-6) nearly extended the contest, fighting off three match points to pull even at 24 in the third set. O’Connor responded, winning the final two points to prevail.
“I feel like teams come at us more intense because of our reputation and what we’ve done,” Nelson said. “We still have to show what we’re made of.”
After coming from behind in the opening set, O’Connor never trailed in the second frame. The Panthers led 5-0 and 20-10 before closing out the set on a kill from Nelson, who combined with junior outside hitter Bryshanna Brown (14 kills) for a potent 1-2 punch.
“It’s a lot more emotional because it is my senior year and I want to go as far as last year,” O’Connor outside hitter Sunnie Ozment said. “A lot of the girls have stepped up. They are really working hard every day in the gym. It’s been really fun.”
Three days after a thirdplace finish at the North East tournament, which included wins over Reagan and Churchill, Harlan looked poised early on to beat another area titan. The Hawks jumped to a 9-6 lead behind the play of outside hitters Ayanna Jackson and Arissa Willis and middle hitter Amaia Martin, but then Nelson took charge.
Nelson had four kills to fuel an 8-0 spurt as O’Connor took a 14-9 lead and never looked back.
BRANDEIS 3, ALAMO HEIGHTS 0
In the nightcap, Selby Draker and Carlee Pharris each registered doubledoubles as the No. 6 Broncos strolled to a 25-12, 25-10, 25-22 win.
Draker finished with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Pharris tallied 21 assists, 11 digs and four aces. Jayln Gibson had a match-high 12 kills for Brandeis.