El Paso, TX – Coming off of an impressive district finale victory over Frenship, the Lady Panthers ran into a wildcat ambush as the Franklin Lady Cougars claimed a three consecutive set decision (25-17, 25-12, 25-11) to end the Mojo playoff run on Tuesday evening in the Cougar gym.
Between the long road trip and the emotional high from last week, Permian fought an uphill battle once getting off of the bus. Franklin entered the contest on a 24-game win streak with an undefeated 14-0 district mark (42-3 for the season). The two teams had met earlier (on August 9) in a dual with Midland High with a similar outcome.
In the first playoff game since 2016, the Lady Panthers used the opportunity for seniors Denali Cardenas, Anyssa Cruz, Nyxalee Munoz, and Riley Nichols to play their last varsity game together as teammates. Munoz led the Lady Panthers with 10 digs and four kills. Jade Workman finished with a surprising three digs, six kills, and six assists, which are numbers much lower than her season averages. Cardenas dished out seven assists, while Cruz donated eight digs in the effort.
The 2021 Permian volleyball team overcame adversity while raising the bar for upcoming Panthers that follow. It was a roller coaster season with the team losing a few games that they shouldn’t have, and yet pulling out a couple of wins when no one else thought they could. The season produced many achievements that will be long remembered for the group that proved pride and perseverance is alive and well at Permian High School.
BI-DISTRICT vs EP FRANKLIN
Kills (14):
J Workman 6, N Munoz 4, S Orona 2, C Harris 1, A Quiroz 1
Assists (13):
D Cardenas 7, J Workman 6
Digs (29):
N Munoz 10, A Cruz 8, D Cardenas 3, J Workman 3, I Garcia 3, K Fuentez 2
Aces (3):
I Garcia 2, D Cardenas 1