Volleyball: Wink's Creech sisters in midst of their own long playoff run

WINK There’s a lofty athletic standard around the Creech household that starts from the top.

But this is a new twist.

As the Wink Lady Cats embark on the Region I-1A Volleyball Tournament today and Saturday at Levelland High School’s Gano Tubb Gymnasium, helping lead the charge are sisters BreAnn Creech and Lacee Creech.

BreAnn is a junior middle blocker and Lacee is a freshman defensive specialist, both thriving in roles that don’t necessarily draw the glory befitting the demands.

“The cool part of it is they come in for each other,” said Penny Creech, the mother of four daughters who is getting to watch two of her own play together in a varsity sport for the first time.

“It’s so cool to have somebody on the court all the time. They even have a special handshake when one of them is going in, so it’s great.”

It might even get better this weekend as the Creech sisters help Wink (32-11) face off against Petrolia at 4:45 p.m. today in a regional semifinal. The winning team plays either Bronte or Archer City at 2 p.m. Saturday for the Region I-1A title and a trip to the UIL State Championships, which would be a first for Wink since 1998.

They’ll do it in the same gym where their mother made history herself as part of the Levelland Loboettes girls basketball juggernaut.

Penny Creech was a junior shooting guard on Levelland’s 1983 team that won the Class 4A state championship under legendary head coach Dean Weese. It was the first of seven titles Levelland won between 1983 and 1997, including four in a row from 1986-89 — which is still a Class 4A record for consecutive championships.

“They loved the feeling (Tuesday) because the team played really, really well as a group,” Penny Creech said about how her daughters felt after Wink’s three-set sweep of Fort Hancock in a regional quarterfinal.

“They have asked me before what it was like,  and now they’re getting their chance. It’s just exciting.”

Penny moved after her junior year of high school to Pyote because her father got a new job and graduated from Monahans High. She ended up meeting a lifelong best friend in addition to Harol Creech — who she married and started a family with back in Pyote.

The oldest daughter is Bristen Creech, a standout on Wink’s district championship girls basketball team in 2008 who now is a freshman guard at Odessa College. The youngest daughter is Kylie, who is 8 years old.

A natural bond formed between the middle children, who are enjoying their time together away from home, as well.

“We’re pretty competitive with each other and we just kind of help make each other better,” said Lacee, who had a team-high 15 digs in the victory against Fort Hancock on Tuesday and consistently has had solid defensive outings for first-year head coach Starla Jones.

“I’m a lot more confident in myself than I was at the beginning of the season and (BreAnn’s) definitely helped me a lot. It’s someone to look up to and we help each other.”

BreAnn Creech also had a strong performance against Fort Hancock with a team-high five blocks after providing four blocks and five kills last week in a victory against Dell City.

The junior’s blocking will be important as teams are more proficient on the attack deeper in the postseason, along with her ability to be an offensive factor.

“We’ve used her more for blocking than hitting,” Jones said. “But she’s definitely one of our weapons.”

None of Wink’s weapons would be able to fire without solid back-row play, which is a lot of pressure for a freshman like Lacee Creech.

She’s definitely done enough to impress her big sister/teammate.

“At first I didn’t know if she’d be ready for it, but I think she’s done really well,” BreAnn Creech said. “Me and Lacee always played together when we were little and I love playing with her now. Everybody asks about how I feel about having my sister on the team and it’s just awesome.”

Penny Creech wasn’t thrilled when she had to move as a teenager to Pyote, her chance at winning another state title in Levelland taken away by a twist in fate.

But having the chance to watch her children and their friends perform on a once-familiar stage in the South Plains, it all feels right.

She’s thankful for the instruction they got from Paula Kay Stewart during their elementary years that turned them into all-around athletes.

“That lady is fantastic,” Creech said.

And she can’t think of a better environment to raise a family with her husband.

“The sign says there’s 199 people maybe in Pyote,” Creech said. “There’s not many people out here, but we’ve got a good little group of friends. The kids have a lot of fun and they’re all pretty close.”

A couple of big steps are in the way, but perhaps the Creech sisters will get the chance to keep making memories with the Lady Cats, all the way down to San Marcos.