The Lady Scots traveled to Allen on Thursday to play the Rockwall Lady Jackets in their second playoff game. Diehard fans from both schools braved the stormy weather to come out and support their teams and Highland Park even brought their freshman cheerleaders along with them.

The first set started out close as the teams figured eachother out. After a 4-4 tie, the Lady Scots broke away and earned themselves an 8-4 lead. Highland Park increased their lead to 6 points, 17-11, before the Lady Jackets rallied and closed the margin to two, 17-15. The Lady Scots answered with a 7-0 run to give them a comfortable 24-15 lead. The winning 25th point was scored by junior Jordan Westendorff, who had scored 3 times already in the set. Falyn Reaugh, also a junior, contributed four points as well and senior, Madeline Bonnet racked up an impressive three service aces as the Lady Scots took the first set 25-16.

Rockwall ran right with HP in the second set and lead multiple times, most notably at 17-19. Highland Park stayed in the game however and won the set 25-23, barely avoiding having to play past 25. Elizabeth Gilley and Peyton Eisnaugle, both seniors, scored 4 and 3 points respectively as the Lady Scots increased their lead in the match to 2-0.

The Lady Jackets, refusing to quit, stayed competitive in the 3rd set. They came back from several deficits but failed to do so when it mattered most, giving up a 5-1 run to the Lady Scots as they fell, 25-20. Westendorff, as she had done in the first set, scored the winning point as she she deliver a vicious spike directly at a Lady Jackets defender. The velocity that she put on the ball proved to be too much for Rockwall to handle as it went on a wild trajectory out of bounds after being bumped by a Lady Jacket. Realizing that she had just sent her team to the next round of the playoffs, Westendorff jumped for joy as the team, elated, gathered around her.

Highland Park played some of their best volleyball of the year. Their defense, lead by seniors Madeline Bonnet and Landry Ray, repelled the Lady Jackets’ attacks and forced them to fight tooth and nail for every single point. One of the Lady Scots’ keys to victory was their ability to stay cool under the immense pressure throughout the match. Bonnet, who finished with a very impressive total of six service aces in the match, was asked how she manages to serve as accurately as she does while under so much pressure. “I don’t worry about missing, I worry about acing”, she explained. “I don’t listen to the crowd, I just focus on the ball.”

The Lady Scots’ next game is against Waco Midway in the third round of the playoffs on Tuesday. The game will be played in Red Oak and the Lady Scots will need all the fans they can get. Come out Tuesday night and cheer on Highland Park as they fight to advance through the playoffs on their path to a state championship.