The Marcus volleyball team fell to 16-10 overall after losing to Highland Park on Tuesday.

            The Marauders beat Arlington Martin 24-26, 23-25, 25-17, 26-24, 15-9 in the first half of a duel on their home court on Tuesday before falling to Highland Park. It was the second time in as many weeks that Marcus lost to the Scotts. Last week, they lost in three sets. This week, they lost 25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 20-25, 10-15.

            “We are still very much up and down,” Marcus head coach Cristie Liles said. “We did much better tonight, but we are just trying to focus on doing better in our game, and fix our mistakes.”

            The Marauders still have the better part of this month to figure things out, so to speak. District 6-5A action doesn’t kick off until Sept. 29 against Southlake Carroll. From now until then, the team has five preseason games left – including a match up against Lake Highlands on Friday.

            The team will close out non-district play against Plano West, Allen, Plano and Mesquite.

            “We’ve got some time,” Liles said.

            Liles was in higher spirits on Tuesday despite the 1-1 performance. Last week, she was adamant that her team find a way to cut down on poor passes and general errors that had cost them several close games. It continued into this past weekend at the Pearland Invitational in Houston, where the team went 3-3 overall. Marcus beat Mayde Creek, Hutto and Clear Creek in pool play on Thursday but dropped like a rock against Round Rock, Friendswood and Cedar Park on Friday and Saturday.

            The tournament has become nationally recognized as a hot bed for some of the toughest and most talented programs in the state. They lost in the consolation finals last year.

            On Tuesday, the team started slow against Martin only to take the last three sets in order. They even played strong against Highland Park, but simply couldn’t find the right rhythm, Liles said.

            “We never regained our focus,” Liles said. “We kept fighting, and I think we played hard overall, but we just couldn’t put it away in the end.”

            Don’t look for Liles to take it easy on her youthful roster – which returns six players from a year ago, two of which saw significant playing time for a team that finished 32-13. They also come into this season having advanced to the third round of playoffs the last two years.