Sitting at 7-14 on Aug. 30 and in the midst of a five-match losing streak, the Abilene High volleyball team was likely an unpopular pick to be the last of Abilene’s three large high schools standing come playoff time.

But a lot can change in more than two month’s time, particularly when dealing with a hungry young squad.

All the Lady Eagles have done since then is win 11 of their last 17 matches, including playoff victories over Amarillo Tascosa (25-27, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23) and El Paso Hanks (25-22, 20-25, 25-15, 12-25, 15-6) to return to the region quarterfinals for the first time since 2007 — when current head coach Caroline Cleveland just so happened to be leading AHS on the court as a senior.