• BY JACK MOLITOR - JMOLITOR@VICAD.COM
• Originally published October 31, 2009 at 3 p.m., updated October 31, 2009 at 11:20 p.m.

SAN ANTONIO - The round, the city and even the building was the same. Brooke Blanton remembered what happened last year all too well.

It was nearly a completely opposite result this year. The Lady Flyers (27-5) dominated Sugar Land Fort Bend Baptist in three games, 25-16, 25-6, 25-15 in the TAPPS Class 4A regional match at the Durbon Center on Saturday.

Blanton and the 14 other senior Lady Flyers who remembered the sting of last year's regional loss to Dallas Christian didn't want it to end like that again.

"We didn't want to happen again, especially in our senior year," Blanton said. "We dominated and we won."

While last years loss was painful, Blanton said it made the senior-laden Lady Flyers well prepared for this years game against the Lady Eagles. The difference in experience was noticeable from the beginning of the game, when the Lady Flyers took a 10-1 lead on a sloppy and disjointed Fort Bend team.

Blanton, who had three kills and three digs, said the team channeled their energy, rather than letting it get out of control.

"Last year most of us were just juniors, and it was the first time for some of us so we were a little nervous," Blanton said. "But we completely turned it around this year. We were ready and we knew what had to be done."

The Lady Flyers made a habit of jumping out fast all morning. They built an 8-0 lead early in Game 2 and a 13-7 lead in Game 3. Blanton and the other outside hitters were the catalysts all game. Whether it was hard-hitting or lofting, the Lady Eagles did not seem to have an answer for the St. Joseph hitters.

Blanton said hitting had been a point of emphasis all week.

"We practice our hitting all week, and we found ways around the defense all game," she said. "It seemed to always hit the floor on their side."

Summer Brooks especially gave the Lady Eagles fits. She had 13 kills, three blocks and seven digs to lead the Lady Flyer offense, and she also cited last years loss as a big motivational factor.

"We knew this was our last game if we didn't win, so we played consistently and played hard," Brooks said. "This is where we lost last year, so this was what we've been looking forward to all season. We knew we had to bring it a notch up."

Head coach Brian Froebel said the team played its best game of the season in the most important game.

"We matched up really well against them," Froebel said. "The team played an overall good game. You could tell that the energy level from the beginning was unlike anything this year. It was a different energy even in warm-ups. They were hitting balls they haven't hit all year in warm-ups. You could see they were amped up. I told them they have to be consistent with that energy, and they were."

The Lady Flyers would advance to the state final game with a semifinals win in San Antonio on Friday. St. Joseph plays Dallas Parish Episcopal at 12:30 p.m. at the Blossom-Littleton Center with the winner to play the Tomball Concordia Lutheran-Fort Worth Christian winner for the state championship at 4 p.m. on Saturday back at the Durbon Center.

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