Lady Scots Punch Second Straight State Ticket

Comment Experience and versatility are two areas few programs can match Highland Park’s volleyball team in. And head coach Michael Dearman believes that’s a big reason the Lady Scots are now two wins away from a second consecutive Class 5A state title. HP moved one step closer to its ultimate goal Tuesday, sweeping McKinney North (25-20, 26-24, 25-20) to claim the 5A Region II title at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. The Lady Scots will now face a familiar foe in Frisco Reedy Saturday at the Culwell Center, while the other Division I semifinal pits Georgetown against Flour Bluff. On Tuesday, HP was on point from the opening point, quickly claiming a 4-0 lead it would never relinquish. The Lady Scots also never trailed in their match-sealing third set, and after leading for a majority of the second frame, overcame a set point by closing with three consecutive scores capped by a block-kill from junior Sarah Floyd. Floyd would later provide the finishing kill in the third set, a sign that the Texas commit may be in peak form despite playing in just her third match (and second on the front row) back after a near three-month hiatus due to injury. “She’s playing great,” Dearman said. “It’s amazing. Not playing for 2 ½ months, she came in and played one week on the back row and in a game and then last Monday she was full-go. It looks like she hasn’t missed a beat. That’s just what kind of elite athlete she is. She’s that good.” But Floyd was just one option McKinney North had to contend with Tuesday. Five different Lady Scots recorded terminations on HP’s first nine points, and those same five players – Marlee Roehm, Taylor Toomay, Annabelle Strohbehn, Allie Hudgins, and Floyd – would finish the match with at least five kills. “The rare thing about high school volleyball is to have a threat at every position,” Dearman said. “We’re very fortunate to feel comfortable to set any player at any hitter position. And they’re all legitimate hitters. That gives us diversity and makes it very hard to defend us because you just don’t know where we’re going to set the ball and it doesn’t matter who it goes to … I wouldn’t want to have to defend us.” The Lady Scots back row featuring Catie Robinson, setter Anna Lee and libero Landry Carroll, meanwhile, made life difficult for McKinney North’s attack while consistently setting up HP’s hitters. The result is a date with Reedy Saturday in HP’s second straight state tournament appearance. “The great news here is that we’ve been here before,” Dearman said. “We have mostly the same players from last year. We’re missing two middles and our libero, but everyone else is the same. “And we were in the same district as Reedy last year, so we know them pretty well, too. It’s going to be a fight.” Author Justin Thomas View Profile Justin Thomas is the Sports Editor for People Newspapers . Thomas has spent a dozen years as a sportswriter and community editor for Star Local Media, a Plano-based publisher of several North Texas weekly newspapers. He has also freelanced for that company and The Dallas Morning News.