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Jennifer Moore (above) and J.J. Jones of Allen are beginning their fourth trip to the playoffs as starters for the Allen Eagles. The first three ended in frustration. They want their last one to end differently.

Unfinished Business

Part 3: Fourth Time A Charm?

This is the third of three articles looking at the unique stories of some of the seniors leading their teams into the playoffs and why this final run at a state title has special meaning for them.

Nov. 7 — J.J. Jones and Jennifer Moore have been here before. After all, when you’ve been a starter for four years on teams that average over 30 wins a year the playoffs are nothing new.

J.J. took the court as a freshman at the Duncanville Tournament of Champions and hasn't been out of the line-up since.

In fact, the two Allen seniors have won 121 matches while losing only 22 since becoming starters as freshmen. They’ve won four straight district championships (they were juniors before they experienced their first district loss). They’ve advanced to the regional semifinals the past two years. They’ve been ranked in the state polls the last three years and in the national polls two of the last three.

And each of the past three seasons has ended in bitter disappointment.

Nov. 7, 2000 – Allen faces Plano in the regional quarterfinals. The Eagles have already swept Plano in two district matches and they breeze to a 15-3 win in game one. Game two is a little tighter but Allen takes a 13-10 lead and appears headed to the regional semifinals in Huntsville. Then disaster strikes and Plano rallies to win 15-13 and rallies again in game three to win the match 15-11, leaving the Eagles stunned.

“The biggest disappointment,” says Jones, “was my freshmen year when we lost to Plano to move on to the regionals.”

Nov. 9, 2001 – Allen blows into the regional semifinals in Huntsville with a 31-5 record, ranked in the Top 5 in the coaches poll and the Top 50 nationally. The team, featuring three players 6 foot or taller, jumps to an 8-3 lead against Cy-Fair only to watch the Bobcats run off 10 straight and take game one 15-9. Game two is even more shocking. Allen jumps to a 14-3 lead then doesn’t score again as Cy-Fair takes the game and the match 16-14.

“The biggest disappointments would be our performance at the regional tournaments,” says Jennifer.

Nov. 15, 2002 – Allen returns to Huntsville and the regional semifinals. It’s supposed to be a rebuilding year, but the Eagles have compiled a 31-6 record and, in a scene that has become too familiar to Eagle fans, Allen jumps to a quick lead against Klein. In the end, however, Klein has too much firepower and sends Allen home on the short end of a 15-9, 15-8 score.

“We have never played to our level during regionals and that is frustrating," Jennifer adds. "We plan to change that this year, though.”

This year the team enters the playoffs with a 34-4 record, has finished fourth at the Duncanville Tournament of Champions, won two other tournaments and finished the regular season #1 in the Dallas Morning News ranking of area 5A teams. Once more, J.J. and Jen enter the playoffs with high expectations.

Four years ago, however, they were just two eager freshmen hoping to get noticed by coach Kelley Gregoriew.

As an eighth-grader Jennifer, a 5'6" defensive specialist, had been a regular in the stands at Allen games and she set a personal goal of making the varsity by the time she was a sophomore. She reached her goal a year early and was a starting in her very first freshman match.

Jones, a 5'10" setter, finished preseason workouts on the JV, but Gregoriew took the promising young setter with the team to the Duncanville Tournament at the start the season. A couple of games into the tournament, with the Eagles struggling, Jones was inserted into the line-up and she hasn’t left the court since.

Suddenly one of the state’s most successful programs had not one, but two, freshmen in the starting line up. Looking back, both say they had similar feelings.

"I felt incredibly nervous," Jennifer remembers of her freshman season.

“I felt so excited and a little nervous,” says J.J. “Practicing with the team and Jen being with me helped me stay calm and relaxed. I remember that I had to prove my self worthy of playing on the team the first game and throughout the season.”

“I felt incredibly nervous, but I was determined to prove to myself and my team that I could do it,” adds Jen. “I really enjoyed my freshman season. We were undefeated in district and that was my first season to play with J.J. We became really close that year.”

The two also have a lot in common. Both have vicious jump serves. Both are among the best in the state at their position. And both will be continuing their careers in college.

Jennifer, one of the state's premier defensive specialists, has been the district's Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior and likely will win the award again. She has played DS/libero for Dallas Skyline's top 18s team the past two seasons. She's heading to Texas A&M this fall.

Jones, the district's outstanding setter as a sophomore and district MVP as a junior, is considered one of the state's best setter/hitter combination players. She also played for Skyline’s top 18s team last club season and she'll continue her career at Stephen F. Austin in the fall.

For coach Gregoriew, it’s hard to imagine starting a season without “Jen and J.J.”

“Right now I am trying not to think about them leaving,” says Gregoriew. “I’m enjoying the remaining time that we have together. When you coach athletes for four years, there is a bond that is unique and you sometimes feel as if they are your own children.”

For the players, there are four years of memories.

In four years as a starter, J.J. and the Eagles have averaged over 30 wins per season.

“The memories that stand out the most are probably the memories with my team and how much fun I had with them each year,” says JJ. “The highlights would have to be when we beat certain teams that we didn't like too much at the time.”

“District home games are my favorite memories,” says Jennifer. “We have so much tradition and our super-fans are awesome. They are at every game no matter where it is. The biggest highlights have been the four district championships, and making it to the regional tournament the past couple of seasons.”

They also have memories of going up many of the nation’s best players, even at a young age.

“Amber McCray (the former Longview Pine Tree All-American) and players from Houston teams that we have come up against during regionals,” says J.J., when asked who she would consider the top players she’s faced.

“A lot of times you remember players that play the same position as you when playing an opponent,” says Jennifer. “Stephanie Figgers (now at Stephen F. Austin) is one of the best defenders I've ever played against. She has great ball control, and I have a lot of respect for the desire you see when she plays.”

But that is all in the past, and for Jen and J.J. there is still a future. It begins today in the Area round of the 5A playoffs. And after four years of watching their season end in disappointment, both are very clear about what would be the perfect wrap to almost perfect high school careers.

“A state championship is the ultimate goal of course,” says Jen.

Experience, however, has taught them both just how difficult that can be.

“This season has been more up and down than the past years but I think we will go far,” says J.J.

“We played much better in preseason than in past years,” adds Jen. “In our tournaments, especially the Duncanville tournament, I thought we played really well and that set a good level of confidence going into the season, which will help us throughout playoffs.”

Of course accomplishing their goals means taking that step to the next level in Huntsville, and both Jen and J.J. know this is their last chance to make that happen.

“The step that will take us to that point is us playing our game and finishing,” says J.J.

“This season we have a lot more experience than we have had in the past,” adds Jen. “We know what to expect when we reach Huntsville and I feel we will be a lot more mentally prepared. That should help us in achieving our goal to reach San Marcos.”

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Previous

Part 1 — Michelle Moriarty Still Wants More

Part 2 - Morgan Spencer and Krystle Brydon: Overcoming The Pain