LITTLE ELM — It has taken time for the Braswell volleyball team and new head coach Corey Jenkins to figure each other out. Entering Tuesday night’s match against Lewisville, Braswell sported a record of 10-18.
The Lady Bengals have showed signs of development recently. After shuffling the lineup last week, including moving 2018 District Newcomer of the Year Kaeden Robinson from libero to outside hitter, Braswell swept Azle.
For the first three sets on Tuesday against Lewisville, the Lady Bengals finally saw the result they had been looking for. They were minimizing mistakes and jumped out to a 2-1 lead.
However, the lead quickly vanished. Lewisville responded with a 25-21 victory in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set.
The Farmers never trailed in the final set and finished the match on a 9-2 run to complete their come-from-behind victory over Braswell (15-20, 27-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-7).
“We made a lot of mistakes in the last two sets,” Robinson said. “Then we started dwelling on our mistakes, and we just need to learn how to shake it off.”
Braswell falls to Lewisville
Lori and Rick Higginbotham, parents of Katie, a child who died of cancer on June 11, 2018 accept flowers from the varsity volleyball team in honor of September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month prior to the variety volleyball game against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 at Braswell High in Little Elm. Today would have been Katie’s 10th birthday.
Braswell head coach Corey Jenkins speaks directly to Lori and Rick Higginbotham, parents of Katie, a child who died of cancer on June 11, 2018, in honor of September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month prior to the variety volleyball game against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 at Braswell High in Little Elm. Today would have been Katie’s 10th birthday.
Braswell’s Tereney Suggs (13) and senior Tytiana Johnson (7) block a hit during the first set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s head coach Corey Jenkins talks to the varsity players during the first set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell students watch the varsity volleyball team during the first set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s Laci Scheefer (3) passes to advance the team 20-15 during the first set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s Laci Scheefer (3) sets up the ball during the first set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s Kaitlyn Neubauer (6) spikes the ball during the second set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s Tytiana Johnson (7) hits the ball past a block during the second set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s Najah Harris (21) receives a serve during the second set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Braswell’s Najah Harris (21) hits the ball during the second set of the match against Lewisville on Sept. 10, 2019 in Little Elm.
Despite the loss, Jenkins said he feels the Lady Bengals are shaping up at just the right moment.
“We’re finally starting to jell,” Jenkins said. “I’m preaching to them that tomorrow everybody is still 0-0. We’ve made changes in the past week or two with our rotation, so we haven’t got to spend time with our whole rotation during nondistrict. I feel like we’ve shown a lot of fight the last three matches, and I feel like we’re getting closer to where we want to be.”
Robinson led all players with 34 service points, while senior hitter Tytiana Johnson led Braswell with 15 kills and six blocks. Johnson said the team will need to learn from this experience to win close matches in district play.
“We need to keep watching film and practicing hard,” Johnson said. “You can definitely tell we’re starting to come together on and off the floor, so we just have to keep working.”
The Lady Bengals begin district play on Tuesday at Little Elm, the No. 17 team in Class 5A according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association poll.
“I think there are a few things we can tweak this week to get ready for district,” Jenkins said. “We’re all ready for the games to matter.”
