COPPELL – If anything taught Coppell about the dangers that lurk in the playoffs, it was last Tuesday's loss to Flower Mound Marcus in its regular-season finale.

On the surface, the game had no meaning. Coppell (36-4) had already captured the District 6-5A title, and the loss had no impact on its playoff seeding.

But Coppell's 21-match winning streak was snapped, and its hopes of posting a perfect district mark were dashed.

"It was a big letdown," senior middle blocker Laurie McNamara said. "But it's going to be a big motivation for us to do well in the playoffs."

TOM FOX / DMN

Juniors Sally Downs (3) and Lexi Ornell were just two of the underclassmen who helped Coppell win the 6-5A title.

Coppell has three Division I recruits among its five senior starters. Coppell was No. 4 in lonestarvolleyball.com's state's Top 20 before the Marcus match and is No. 63 in prepvolleyball.com's national rankings.

Coppell's wealth of offensive weapons makes it among the area's most talented teams, but as it learned in the loss to Marcus, nothing's going to come easy.

A trip to next month's UIL state tournament is not even on the horizon. First, Coppell must navigate Region I.

Should Coppell get by Tuesday's bi-district opponent, Keller, its next three foes could be Arlington Lamar, Arlington Martin and Amarillo.

Lamar has eliminated Coppell from the playoffs the two previous seasons. Martin is the state's fifth-ranked team and will be looking to avenge a loss to Coppell at the Allen tournament. Amarillo, the defending 5A champion, is No. 2 in the state and No. 3 in the country. It has already defeated Coppell twice this season.

"It's going to be a lot of competition," senior setter Elaine Minden said. "We're going to have to be ready to play our 'A' game. Amarillo is waiting for us, but we have to get past some good teams in our region."

Coppell has won seven district titles and has qualified for the playoffs 17 times, including the last nine seasons, in coach Sherri Hankins' 20 years.

Coppell made the 3A final in 1989 and the 4A semifinals in 1997. However, Coppell has never advanced to the regional semifinals in 5A.

"When you are sitting with a program that hasn't been able to get past the regional quarterfinals in 5A, that's motivation enough, I would hope, for them to realize that there are strong teams in this region that have knocked us out every year," Hankins said.

Hankins' seniors are an important part of the team's success. McNamara, who is committed to Villanova, leads the team with 122 blocks and is third in kills (228). Senior outside hitter Kayla Kirk, a Duke recruit, had a team-leading 408 kills and 67 aces. Denver-bound Jordan Raines, a senior outside hitter, is second in kills (376) and digs (399).

Such options are a luxury for Minden, who will play for Division III Washington University in St. Louis next year and has 753 assists to lead the team.

Maybe there are too many.

"We all want the ball constantly, and we are so aggressive about wanting it," Kirk said. "I respect [our setters] for putting up with us for constantly begging for the ball."

Underclassmen have made vital contributions. Sophomore Shelby Tamura leads the team with 471 digs and has become the team's mainstay on defense as senior captain Kelly Chasteen recovers from a deep bruise on her knee. Junior middle blocker Sally Downs (85 blocks) has more than ably subbed for McNamara on rotation changes. Junior setter Lexi Ornell and the outside hitters – sophomores Deirdre Pajares and Taylor Meade and junior Molly Cook – are making strong contributions.

"We feel pretty strongly that we have the components that we need," said Hankins. "But, obviously, you don't look too far down the road."

5A Region I bi-district volleyball playoffs: Keller (15-11) vs. Coppell (36-4), 7:00 Tuesday at Grapevine High School.