As had Wimberley in the previous match, Texarkana Pleasant Grove did its part in setting up a showdown between the top two 3A teams in the Texas Girls Association Poll by cruising past Monahans thanks in part to a display of big-time serving by Amanda Schwartz.

Schwartz had 8 aces in a match dominated from start to finish by the Lady Hawks.

"No," Schwartz said when asked if she had ever had a serving day like that before. "I just had a feeling and I felt like serving a lot."

Texarkana was led by 6'1" junior Briane Smith and 5'11" junior Sarah Bassett with 5 kills each. Jenna Malloy added 4. Brittany Hughes and Laura Crumrine had 5 kills each to lead Monahans.

As a result, Texarkana has a chance to do what no other 3A team has done this season and that's knock off the defending 3A champion Lady Texans in Saturday's finals.

"(Until today) we had never seen them play," said coach Melissa Daniel, whose Lady Hawks will actually have a size advantage in the finals. "Wimbrley is like us. They play a really fast match and we're going to have to be ready on the blocks and be there on defense."

Against Monahans, that wasn't a problem. "The girls everything I told them to," Daniel said."I just told them not to let them get the ball back and get in the game."

"We went out with a lot of conifdence," said Schwartz, who also had 3 kills.

"Our attitude was this is our time to do it, so don't be nervous," added Morgan. "It was about us playing our game and being consistent."

Statistical leaders

Texarkana Pleasant Grove
Kills - Briane Smith and Sarah Bassett 5, Jenna Malloy 4, Amanda Schwartz 3, Libby Morgan 2
Assists - Blair Belvedere 14
Blocks - Libby Moran 2S, 2A; Briane Smith 3A; Amanda Schwartz 1A
Aces - Amanda Schwartz 8, Jenna Malloy and Libby Morgan 1
Digs - Amanda Schwartz 5, Jenna Malloy 4, Blair Belvedere and Briane Smith 3, Libby Morgan 2

Monahans
Kills - Brittany Hughes and Laura Crumrine 5, Rachel Miller and Kristien Hall 1
Assists - Kristien Hall 10
Aces - Amanda Knife and Karla Armendariz 1
Digs - Karla Armendariz 7, Kristien Hall 3, Amanda Knife and Nicky Dickson 2