Capital One Bank Dallas Coach of the Week: Arthur Stanfield

The Carroll (Southlake) volleyball team ignored any lingering doubts from last year's season-ending defeat, sweeping Heritage (Colleyville) in straight sets to earn the school's first Class 5A state tournament berth.

Carroll (48-1) took the first two sets, just as it did against Heritage in a regional semifinal last year. Heritage rallied to win the final three sets in 2012 and made a comeback in the third game this time.

But the Dragons held on for a 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 victory in Saturday's Class 5A Region I championship match at Tiger Arena in Glen Rose.

For leading the Dragons to the state Final Four, Carroll coach Arthur Stanfield was selected as Capital One Bank Dallas Coach of the Week.

Stanfield at no time mentioned last year's match in his huddle.

"They know,'' the coach said. "They lived through it.''

On Carroll's fourth match point, Audrey Alford's set positioned Madison Drescher for a crosscourt kill, setting off a Dragon victory celebration.

Alford, a junior, also assisted on the previous two set points, accommodating first Megan Porter and then Christen Sikora.

Sikora, a signee with Furman, is one of five Carroll seniors that has signed a letter of intent. The others are libero Cat McCoy (Texas), defensive specialist Kori Ortiz (Arkansas), hitter Katie Martin (St. Edwards) and middle blocker Timarie Nymeyer (Northern Colorado).

Three Carroll juniors have already made verbal college commitments.

But it is intangibles that separate this Carroll team from the previous four that Stanfield coached.

"Our team two years ago might have had more talent,'' Stanfield said, "but this team has heart.''

Carroll doesn't have the height of some of its opponents (only two 6-footers on the roster), but the Dragons are solid in all aspects and don't beat themselves.

"These days, if you have a program where the girls aren't playing year-round, you can't win,'' Stanfield said. "Our kids don't mind hard work. They have bought into lifting weights and running in the off-season.''

It wasn't always so. Stanfield said in his first year at Carroll in 2009, he started with 10 seniors and finished with three.

"They weren't accustomed to our off-season,'' he said.

But winning at Carroll, regardless of the sport, is expected. It goes with the territory.

"Success here is measured by state titles, not district titles,'' Stanfield said.

The Dragons benefit from having a second "Coach Stanfield.'' Arthur's wife Kathy coached volleyball for two decades and was very successful in her own right before going into school administration 17 years ago. She is an assistant principal at Lamar (Arlington).

"It's a huge advantage,'' Arthur said. "Kathy gives me feedback after a match. She's not able to go to all our matches, but she is at the big ones. Before we played Heritage, she sent me a text reminding me to be positive on the bench.''

In 29 seasons, Arthur Stanfield has 956 wins. Reaching No. 1,000 is not out of the question next year.

While a state tournament appearance is new for Carroll players, not so much for Stanfield. In 19 seasons as Red Oak coach, his team advanced to the state tournament seven times, winning state crowns in 1992, 1995 and 2002.

Prior to Red Oak, Stanfield coached volleyball at Grand Prairie for four years and at A. Maceo Smith (Dallas) for one year.

Carroll will meet 46-2 Churchill (San Antonio) in a state semifinal set for 5 p.m. Friday at Garland's Curtis Culwell Center.

A victory would earn the Dragons a spot in Saturday's 7 p.m. championship match against either The Woodlands (43-0) or Clear Falls (League City) (40-6). The Woodlands handed Carroll this season's only loss.