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MAGNOLIA -- The A&M Consolidated volleyball team made history Friday night by simply doing what it's done most of the season.
Dominating.
Led by a deep roster, Consol swept The Woodlands 25-20, 25-14, 25-23 at Magnolia West High School in the Lady Tigers' first Class 5A area-round victory in volleyball. Consol (31-10) will play its first regional quarterfinal match against the winner of Round Rock McNeil vs. Magnolia at a site and time to be determined.
While Carlie Kolbe led Consol in kills (11) and digs (19), five different Lady Tigers had at least seven kills as Consol displayed a balance that bodes well for an even deeper run in the playoffs.
"We were on fire tonight," Consol head coach Adam Cornell said. "There was so much confidence. We had more than one person to give the ball to, which kept [The Woodlands] guessing."
After struggling through a see-saw start in Game 1, the Lady Tigers took control when Shanell Robinson reeled off three straight kills from the middle-blocker position to give Consol its first lead. Consol led the rest of the way to close out Game 1.
Consol's Mimi McFarland was the story in Game 2. She fired three aces and seven service points in the middle of a 12-1 run by the Lady Tigers as they coasted to close out Game 2.
Also in Game 2, Consol's 6-foot-4 Karla Gilbert began taking control at the net. Gilbert, who also starts for the Consol girl's basketball team, finished with seven kills and two blocks, displaying an athleticism that makes her the biggest X-factor for the Lady Tigers in the playoffs.
"[Karla's] the most humble kid you'll ever meet," Cornell said. "She's slowly doing things that shock us all, because she's never done them before. But she's definitely athletic enough to do it. When she hits a ball at her highest reach, it's hard to stop."
On one play, Gilbert sent a hard kill over the net without even jumping off the floor. On another attempt, the sophomore dumped a ball over the net for a pont, sending it all the way to the back corner in an empty portion of the court.
Game 3 proved the toughest for Consol with eight ties and three lead changes, but the Lady Tigers showed their determination, personified by Kathryn Laza's play on a kill attempt by The Woodlands.
After the ball glanced off Kolbe's arms, Laza ranged far to her left to reach the errant ball and make a pass to Robinson, who put it over the net for the point. Laza finished with 14 digs.
Kolbe and Robinson combined to end the match and advance the Lady Tigers with a huge block on the left side of the net that fell for the game's final point. Robinson also finished second on the team with 10 kills.
Hillary Parker led Consol in assists with 33, while Allie Redpath had seven kills and eight digs.
