GRAPEVINE — Both the Patriots’ varsity and JV squads advanced to the gold bracket after first-day play at the 2021 Dallas Angels Classic on Friday.
The varsity squad (32-2) began the day bright and early with an 8 a.m. victory over the Red River Rattlers, winning handily, 25-6, 25-13. They then dumped Elevate, from Springfield, Mo., in straight sets, 25-15, 25-19.
In their final match of the day, the Patriots met Houston Homeschool Athletics having already secured an appearance in the gold bracket. FEAST took the first set, 25-16, before dropping its last set of the day, 24-26.
Despite the single blemish on their record, the Patriots advanced as the pool’s top seed. They meet the THESA Riders in an 8 a.m. showdown tomorrow.
Before the varsity match was complete, the JV Patriots (13-11-1) opened play in their pool across the Fieldhouse USA. The Patriots quickly dispatched both THESA’s and the Austin Royals’ JV2 teams to clinch their spot in the gold bracket.
That set up the final match of the pool and the night, a winner-take-all scenario against the Northern Oklahoma Area Homeschoolers (NOAH) Jaguars. In a tight battle, the lead changed hands seven times before the Patriots squeaked by with a 25-23 win in the opening set. NOAH rebounded strong in the nightcap, building a lead early and holding off several Patriot runs. The Jaguars led 24-17 when Viviana Quiles stepped to the service line. The Patriots made a nice rally, scoring four in-a-row before committing the final fatal error.
The four-point loss gave the pool’s top seeding to NOAH. FEAST finished second and will have to face the top THESA JV team in its 8 a.m. Saturday match. The Patriots defeated THESA in Arlington three weeks ago.
Both teams will make their push for the state title at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Fans can catch all of the action on Instagram Live, with the varsity on the flagship channel, @feastvolleyball, and the JV playing on @feastvolleyball2.
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