Yes, Monahans has been in Texas State’s Strahan Coliseum.
And, yes, the players know the feeling of wearing championship gold medals around their necks.
Then again, there is almost nothing similar about this season’s trip and the one Monahans made last season other than the ultimate goal of winning the title.
“Last year, we were really young, and we didn’t know what was going on,” senior middle blocker Ali Miller said. “Now, we all know what to do because we were there last year and we won it. Last year was more like I had to be a leader and now I want to be a leader.”
Miller was not alone last season with wide eyes when she stepped onto the floor for the state tournament. Of all the Monahans players last season, only Brittany Hughes, Candace Swarb and now-graduated defensive specialist Trisha Clements had played full-time roles on the school’s 2003 state qualifier.
Some other players were on the varsity roster for the 2003 trip to state that ended with a loss in the championship match, but that experience obviously was different than performing on the most important stage of the season.
That is part of what made the performances of players like Miller, Bailey Marcum, Catherine Cutbirth, Bethany Willmon and Dina Ortiz so impressive.
“Last year, we even had to pull down pictures of Strahan so that some of the kids we had on the team could actually see it,” Monahans head coach Patty Dominguez said. “It’s part of the visualizing process that we do. They had no idea what it was all about and what it looked like.
“Then, we took them (a day early) so they could watch and buy shirts and just get a grip on all the hoopla of things. This year, we don’t have to do any of that.”
Instead, Monahans just has to go play, and the Lady Loboes will fill exactly the opposite role of last season. This year, they’re the favorites.
Monahans not only is the defending champion and not only has it had the No. 1 ranking all season by the Texas Girls Coaches Association, but it basically has the exact same team back that won the title.
“It’s just a totally different team,” Hughes said. “Last year at the very beginning of the season, we were kind of iffy and we had some bad games and we were kind of worried. This year, we clicked really well from the get-go.”
If Monahans had not clicked, there were plenty of teams ready to take them down during the first five rounds of the postseason.
But the sheer determination of the team has been evident with its aggressive, confident performances. It also is clear that the team has not fallen prey to potentially damaging in-fighting.
“We’re like one big family,” Ortiz said. “We do things together, and we never exclude anybody or anything like that. That keeps us going all the time.”