
Lady Mavs cap first week of season with strong showing at Van Tournament
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MARSHALL, Texas – Marshall High School’s volleyball team capped a promising first week of the season on Saturday with a Gold Bracket appearance in the Van Tournament at Van High School.
The Lady Mavs’ performance in Van gave them a 3-4 mark in their first week under new coach Kayla Green, which equals Marshall’s entire win total from the 2016 season.
After rallying to win their last two of three matches during pool play on Friday to earn a bid to the Gold Bracket, the Lady Mavs dropped a pair of games on Saturday to finish the tournament at 2-3. Marshall lost to Bullard, 25-20, 25-18 in the first game of the day, and ended the weekend with a hard-fought 25-21, 25-17 loss to fellow 5A rival John Tyler.
In the loss to Bullard, Ja’Kiya Fisher led the Marshall offense with 5 kills and a block, with Kiari Johnson and Gabby Moore adding 3 kills apiece. Moore had a nice all-around game, adding 6 digs, 5 assists and 1 block.
Cate Truelove dished out 7 assists and also had an ace, and Elizabeth Palmer (7 digs) and Chloe Buchanan (6 digs) paced the defense.
Against John Tyler, Moore finished with 3 kills and 4 assists with Keara Irving adding 3 blocks. Palmer led the defense with 5 digs in the loss.
On Friday, Marshall lost to Paris in the opening match 25-13 and 25-22 but came back to sweep Gladewater (25-18, 25-16) and Arp (25-22, 25-16) to earn the Gold Bracket bid. Palmer had 9 digs to lead the win over Gladewater with Truelove adding 5 assists and Johnson 2 blocks.
In the win over Arp, Moore had 5 kills, 5 assists and 2 blocks while Ry’An Sharpless added 4 kills. Johnson had 2 blocks at the net, and Buchanan (6 digs) and Maycee Griffin (7 digs) led the defense. Truelove keyed the offense with a team-high 7 assists in the win.
Johnson had 4 blocks in the loss to Paris, with Moore adding 3 kills and 3 assists and Buchanan adding 5 digs defensively.
Marshall will open its 2017 home schedule on Tuesday, hosting Chapel Hill at 6:30 p.m. in Maverick Gym.