By TJ Williams
COLLEYVILLE – It was a match that no one deserved to lose.
The Argyle Eagles have been at the top of the Class 5A rankings for a couple months as they traveled across the DFW area Tuesday night (Oct. 10) to Colleyville to take on the defending state champion Panthers of Colleyville Heritage.
Of course, this was a rematch of the first District 7-5A matchup, won by the Eagles in a sweep back on Sept. 15 at Argyle. It’s a term that’s over-used, but this match turned out to be an “Instant Classic” as the Panthers held off the visiting Eagles in five, 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 23-25, 16-14.
The win drew Josh McKinney’s Panthers back to within one game of the first-place Eagles at 8-2 in 7-5A (CHHS is also 31-10 overall). Argyle dropped to 9-1 in 7-5A and 31-7 overall. Birdville, which beat Heritage and lost to Argyle in the first round of district play, is tied with Heritage at 8-2 and will visit Argyle Friday night in another 7-5A showdown.
On Pink Out night (as part of Breast Cancer Awareness) at Heritage, the Panthers came out blazing in front of a packed home crowd side of the stands. They dominated the first two sets, winning by equal 25-17 scores. Thanks to an adjustment up front and in their blocking scheme, the Eagles (behind head coach Katelyn Johnson) won a hard-fought Set 3, 25-23.
Then came an All-Time Classic moment.
The Panthers maintained a two-to-four-point lead after overcoming a quick 2-0 lead by Argyle to start Set 4. They held leads of 10-7, 14-11 and 18-14, then jumped out to a 23-17 advantage after a big block by Middle Blocker Cadence Compton who, earlier in the day, announced she’d committed to Hendrix College on a college scholarship. Johnson took her second time out, and even the most diehard Argyle fans were feeling flustered and doomed.
Think again.
Two Heritage unforced errors made it 23-19. Then came a kill by Shaye Feely, and another hitting error by CHHS had Argyle fans believing with just a two-point deficit, 23-21. McKinney took a time out to talk to his players, but it was to no avail as Argyle’s Jordan Moore pushed a tip kill to make it 23-22. Moore, who ended up with an amazing triple-double (25 assists, 16 digs and 13 kills), then pushed another soft shot past the Heritage defense to tie the score at 23-all.
Another time out by McKinney did no good as Argyle finished its blistering (and unbelievable) set-winning 8-0 run on an unforced error and a block by 6-foot-1 Camryn Heiser to force a fifth set, 25-23.
Johnson’s squad continued their momentum, running out to leads of 5-2, 8-4 and 10-5 in Set 5. However, the home team – behind Suli Davis – dug very deep and clawed their way back. Back-to-back aces by Davis eventually drew Heritage back to within 11-9 and forced Johnson to call a time out.
Then back-to-back kills by Maddie Bird (a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs) would eventually tie the set at 12-all. Davis, who recently committed to BYU, then made a big block; Argyle answered with a kill by ACU-bound Sydney Payne to tie it at 13-13; then Addison Arnold and Payne traded kills to make it 14-14. Up stepped Suli Davis yet again with an ace, giving CHHS a 15-14 lead.
This time the Eagles couldn’t answer as Davis tipped an Argyle over-pass at the net right back down for the game-winning kill.
The Panthers’ effort was helped by libero Sarah Mendoza who dug out 35 balls on defense, while teammates Zara Mujtaba (19 digs and seven kills), Onita Davis (eight kills) and Claire Bundy (19 assists) made significant contributions.
Other Argyle contributors included Payne, who blitzed a double-double (19 assists and 15 digs); super-libero Piper Mickenheim made 22 digs; Shay Feely had 16 digs, nine kills and five total blocks; Katherine Holtman hammered 16 kills; and, Camryn Heiser added nine total blocks and six kills.
