Coppell, Hebron and Flower Mound entered the week in a three-way tie for first place atop the District 5-5A volleyball standings.
All three teams are potential state title contenders, but the winner of the district will have a demonstrably easier path to state.
Coppell took an important first step Tuesday, beating Hebron in five sets to avenge its only district loss of the season.
“I think the girls felt like they did not play their best game in the first round,” Coppell coach Julie Green said. “I guess they wanted to prove themselves a little bit. And definitely, my kids don’t like to lose in general, but Hebron is always tough and always competitive and always well prepared.”
Senior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell, a California-Irvine pledge, missed the first round against Hebron (21-13, 4-2) with an injury, but returned Tuesday to contribute 15 kills and 24 digs. Erica Bohannon added 16 kills, and Chiaka Ogbogu had nine kills and five blocks.
Flower Mound (28-7, 5-1) swept Lewisville to remain atop the 5-5A standings with Coppell (37-3, 5-1). The two teams square off Friday night, and the winner will be alone in first place.
Coppell has already beaten Flower Mound twice this season.
“We played them in a tournament and then they did some different things in district,” Green said. “They have some good size in the middle and they’re a really good offensive team. We’re going to have to be ready at the net to match them.”
National powers: Several Dallas-area volleyball teams are included in a pair of national polls.
Four area teams are in the top 10 of the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings, which are calculated based on wins and strength of schedule. Coppell (No. 2), Colleyville Heritage (No. 5), Southlake Carroll (No. 7) and Lovejoy (No. 10) are featured in the rankings. Torrey Pines (Calif.) is No. 1.
Carroll and Coppell are also featured on the MaxPreps “Xcellent” 25, a ranking of the top 25 teams by MaxPreps writers.
Carroll clocks in at No. 13, and Coppell is ranked 17th.
Carroll cross country teams win Nike South: Southlake Carroll swept the boys and girls titles at last weekend's Nike South Invitational in The Woodlands.
The boys placed three runners in the top 10, including Connor Hendrickson (4), Nate Sullivan (6) and Joe Sansone (9). Courtney Kriegshauser took fifth place for the girls, and Elena Arriza finished seventh.
Hebron, Flower Mound and Flower Mound Marcus also had strong showings at the meet. Hebron’s Robert Domanic took second place to lead the team to an eighth-place finish. The Hebron girls took seventh.
The Flower Mound boys finished fourth, and the girls took third, led by Safiya Belbina’s fourth-place finish. The Marcus boys placed fifth and the girls took fourth.
Follow David Just on Twitter at @DavidJustDMN