Kaylee Fifer admits she has a rather unconventional relationship with her mother.

    The Guyer standout – who recently signed to play volleyball at Colgate University -- has a court set up in her backyard, and every so often she plays against her mom, Allison. Allison, by the way, was once a standout at Texas Tech.

  Even after losing to Coppell on Tuesday, Marcus volleyball coach Cristie Liles is excited about her team’s chances in this year’s Class 5A playoff race.

Marcus volleyball coach Cristie Liles is not impressed with her team heading into this weekend’s key preseason tournament at Pearland.

    It was a typical up and down season opener, but the Flower Mound volleyball team fought through every obstacle to sweep Justin Northwest on Tuesday night.

    The 25-23, 25-18, 25-21 win gives the team confidence yet a few minor kinks to work out heading into this weekend’s Duncanville Tournament. The team will open the event against Amarillo.

    Guyer volleyball coach Jennifer Bramlett wasn’t impressed with her team’s opening night. And she said this weekend won’t be any easier.

    The Wildcats will open play at the Westwood Warriors Varsity Showcase in Round Rock this weekend. The second-annual event features some of the top talent in the state, including programs like defending champion Westwood, Reagan and Churchill to name a few. Guyer, however, is coming off being swept by Colleyville Heritage and Mansfield Legacy on Tuesday.

    After two-consecutive trips to the third round of playoffs, the Marcus volleyball team enters the 2009 season with a younger roster and similar expectations.

    Guyer volleyball coach Jennifer Bramlett doesn’t mince words.

    “It would be a gross disappointment if what happened to us last year happened again,” Bramlett said of her team’s second-round playoff exit. “We are on a mission now; this year’s group has put a lot into preparing for this season.”

    The Marcus volleyball team fended off a scrappy Keller Central squad in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs on Tuesday, winning in five sets 16-25, 25-17, 25-15, 24-26, 15-12.

    The Marauders (24-7 overall) will face Allen in the Area round, though no specific time or date had been set as of press time. Allen advanced thanks to a 3-0 win over Cedar Hill on Tuesday. Marcus beat Allen twice during the regular season.  

    The Liberty Christian volleyball team had its magical season come to abrupt end with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 loss to Dallas Christian on Saturday in the first round of the TAPPS 5A playoffs.

   The early exit was a culture shock for a Warrior squad fresh off two consecutive trips to the state tournament in 2006 and 2007. They won their first-ever state crown two years ago and were state finalists again last year. In those two years combined, they finished 57-11. This year they finished 19-11 overall.

Some of the top volleyball programs from across the state will converge on Houston this weekend at the annual Pearland Volleyball Tournament.

    Playing in its brand new gymnasium, the Marcus volleyball team trounced rival Arlington 25-16, 25-16, 25-9 on Tuesday in the season opener for both programs.

    Liberty Christian volleyball coach Lisa Deaver is excited about the 2009 season, but won’t give up too much information on how her team will approach it.

    Flower Mound felt the next logical step to its previous two playoffs berths was to take a trip deep into last year’s postseason. Not only did that not happen, but the Jaguars missed playoffs entirely.

    The Marcus volleyball team rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth and decisive game in its Class 5A Region I Quarterfinal against Plano East on Tuesday. But in the end, the Panthers pulled it out.      

    The 21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 17-19 loss means Plano East will advance to the Regional semis on Friday while Marcus bows out in the third round of playoffs for the second-consecutive season. 

    “I am very proud of how the girls fought,” Marcus head coach Cristie Liles said. “It was a good season and they fought the entire way. We had our opportunities tonight but we didn’t take advantage.”   

     The Guyer volleyball team wrapped up the District 5-4A title on Tuesday.

    The Wildcats beat Wichita Falls Rider 28-30, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 on the road for the title, which was their second in as many seasons.   

    “It’s a very difficult gym to play in with its playoff atmosphere,” Guyer head coach Jennifer Bramlett said. “They (Rider) gave us a good match overall. It was tooth and nail the whole way, but I’m proud of the girls for pulling it out. To repeat as district champs is hard to do.”   

    The Marcus volleyball team can control its own destiny now.

    Thanks to a wild 30-28, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17 win over Coppell on Tuesday, the Marauders (5-3 in District 6-5A) are tied for second place with the Cowboys entering the final two games of league play. They will play host to Flower Mound on Friday and Hebron on Tuesday to close things out.

    “It’s hard when every single game in this district is tough,” Marcus head coach Cristie Liles said. “The girls are giving all they have every night but we’ve had a lot of things not go our way. This win was a great reward for the hard work we’ve put in. We needed this one.”