DFW Volleyball Private School Contenders

So much for showing any signs of nervousness on their first trip to the UIL State Tournament.

The Fulshear Chargers came out swinging early and often against Kennedale in their Class 4A state semifinal Thursday night at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.When the dust settled, Sydney Gotcher's Charger had slammed 38 kills (an astounding average of almost 13 kills per set) as the swept the Wildcats, 3-0 (25-14, 25-1, 25-20).

The Chargers (44-4) advanced to Saturday's 1 p.m. state final matchup against Hereford. The Wildcats finished their season at 36-8.

Gotcher explained how her team refused to be nervous despite taking the court at the state tournament for the first time in the program's short three-year varsity history.

"We were in the locker room before the match and one of my players said, 'Hey, this is just another game,'" stated Gotcher, who opened the Fulshear volleyball program when the school opened four years ago. "When we talked in the huddle,before the match, we said that we need to act like this our court. We needed to act like this is the Fulshear home court and we have to protect our court.

"That mind-set keeps us grounded and kept us from any crazy nerves or anything when we took the court."

Leading by a 5-3 score in Set 1, the Chargers blasted five kills and opened up a 15-8 lead on a 10-5 scoring run. Two kills by sophomore Alexis Decosta (who finished the night with a match-high 20 kills along with three service aces, six digs and one block) and one by senior Shelby Tally (two digs and one kill) increased that lead to 20-12. Moments later, junior Ellie Echter (11 kills, 10 digs, two total blocks and three aces) slammed back-to-back kills to close out the first set for the Chargers.

Fulshear was even stronger in Set 2.

They slowly built up a 7-3 lead; moments later, senior Brooklyn Decosta (33 assists, four digs and two kills) dumped a ball into the middle of the Kennedale defense for an 11-4 lead. Kills by Echter, senior Jallie Rodriguez (two kills), and Tally and an ace by Alexis Decosta capped off an overall 14-4 run to push Fulshear's lead to 18-7. The Chargers cruised from there to an easy win in Set 2.

Kennedale, playing to keep its season alive, came out with some fire in Set 3. They kept it close early on, then - trailing 19-9 - launched a 9-3 rally to close the gap to 22-18. However, back came the offense for Fulshear; Echter had a quick-set kill, then Alexis Dacosta appropriately closed out the match with back-to-back kills.

"(Getting to state) was something we talked about when the school opened, and we knew we could do it," Gotcher explained. "All the kids love the game; they're obsessed with volleyball. I can't speak enough to how hard they work and how much they've earned this."

Other contributors to the Chargers' cause included sophomore libero Ava Underwood (17 digs, two aces and one assist) and junior Rebecca Ferrari (seven digs and three aces). The Chargers served up 11 total aces against just four service errors; they made 47 digs and totalled three team blocks.Kennedale was led by Madeline Pyles (12 kills and four digs), Bryley Steinhilber (five kills and six digs) and Lillian Rychlik (23 assists, two aces and eight digs).