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

            The Marauders (12-6 overall) averaged 15 errors per set on Tuesday night as they went 1-1 in a dual with Rockwall and Highland Park. Marcus beat Rockwall 25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20 but lost to the Scotts 20-25, 17-25, 19-25.

            “We made the same mistakes against Rockwall that we did against Highland Park, it’s just that we somehow managed to beat Rockwall,” Liles said in disgust. “When playing a team like that, you can’t have those errors where you are shanking passes and hitting balls into the net. You make it easy on them.”

            Liles is concerned given their upcoming appearance at the Pearland Volleyball Tournament in Houston – which started on Thursday and runs through Saturday. The tournament has become nationally recognized as a hot bed for some of the toughest and most talented programs in the state.

            Marcus – which has been invited the last several years and lost in the consolation finals a year ago – is set to face Mayde Creek, Hutto and Clear Creek in pool play. Other top-flight programs making the trip include Amarillo, Arlington, Kingwood, Westlake and Cy Springs to name a few.

            It will also mark Marcus’ third and final preseason tournament before District 6-5A play starts.

            “It’s usually a time for us where we go out there, do well and come back ramped up and ready to do some good things in district,” Liles said. “We’ll see what happens now.”

            Tuesday’s performance was not a good note to head into such a tournament on, Liles said.

            While Liles praised Mary Koehler for her individual performance against Highland Park (eight kills), it was overshadowed by 15 team errors in Game 1, 14 in Game 2 and another 13 in Game 3. They had similar numbers in the earlier match with Rockwall, but won two out of the first three sets before winning the final set 25-20.

            Lauren Douglass added eight kills against Highland Park while Lindsey Sales had 21 digs. Teammate Haley Neisler posted five blocks.

            “That’s pretty much where it stops, though,” Liles said. “We have been all over the map so far this season. I’ve seen some things that are coming together, and others that still need lots of work. We have a lot to fix right now, and it has nothing to do with our skills. It’s our attitude and mental game.”

            So far this season, Marcus has placed fifth at the Duncanville Tournament and 10^th at Allen.