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Reagan’s third-year coach Rachel Torvik points to three matches that defined the Rattlers in 2019.

The losses cost them a prestigious tournament title, an outright district champion and a possible state-tournament berth.

In each match, Reagan blew leads. The biggest was when Clemens rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Rattlers in five games in the second round of the playoffs. That launched Clemens to the state semifinals.

“Last year, we had some matches that we just didn’t finish,” Torvik said. “We had things in our pocket.”

Reagan lost a two-game lead and lost to Churchill. It cost them a district crown. Instead, the Rattlers shared it with Churchill. The Rattlers also lost a lead to The Woodlands before dropping the match in a three-game championship at the Pearland tournament.

As a result, Torvik’s goals for the Rattlers are simple — focus, fight and finish.

“We’re still salty,” Torvik said. “We still wake up with nightmares about not finishing and not doing what we were supposed to do. They’re hungry to be able to do it.”

Torvik is counting on three experienced seniors to lead the way with outside hitter s Nyah Anderson and Julia Aleman and libero Maddie Correa. All are four-year starters, including Aleman who played at Churchill for two years before transferring to Reagan.

Anderson, who is committed to Miami (Fla.), was last year’s District 27-6A Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the Express-News Super Team. Correa was a first-team all-district selection and Aleman was selected as the offensive MVP at the Pearland tournament.

They remember those tough losses from last season

“We definitely have that in our minds all the time,” said Correa, who is committed to Texas Tech. “It motivates us to work harder. That is definitely not a good feeling to have when you’re so close to something and you just let it slip away. It was a learning experience for us, and we’re going to work as hard as we can to not that same feeling.

Torvik said her team has shown plenty of energy in practice. The biggest reason is most of her players didn’t participate in club volleyball over the summer after competitions were canceled because of the pandemic.

“Usually, it’s hard to get them motivated in August after a long club season of nationals in July, but this year, they just want to play hard and we’re working hard every day,” Torvik said. “This is their normalcy, and they’re appreciative to be back together.”

Because of COVID-19 scheduling restrictions, the UIL is prohibiting pre-district tournaments. That dramatically cuts amount of preparation for district play.

Reagan was 39-9 last year. This season, the Rattlers have 19 games on their schedule, including three non-district matchups.

Although the Rattlers open their season against LEE on Sept. 19, they’re already getting some recognition.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association/USA Today Region 4 preseason rankings list Reagan No. 6. They are the only area team and one of seven from Texas in the top 10 from the region, which includes Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“It motivates us,” said Aleman, who is committed to St. Mary’s. “I think it gives us a spot where we want to be, and we just want to play up to that level.”

Reagan will need to work hard to maintain that lofty standard. Northside ISD powers Clark and Brandeis join North East ISD’s seven school to form District 28-6A.

Clark, which was 43-8 and lost to Clemens in the Region IV-6A final last year, returns 6-4 middle blocker and Baylor pledge Elise McGhee.

Brandeis was 33-12 and return five starters including juniors Jalyn Gibson and Carlee Pharris, who are both committed to TCU.

“We have some good competition this year,” Anderson said. “Competition is really great, especially when they are on the same level, and I feel everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. It’s just going to be really fun.”

dhinojosa@express-news.net