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High school volleyball: LASA, Ann Richards, McCallum make 24-5A volleyball race a jumble

Butch Hart
·7 min read
Dripping Springs coach Michael Kane, left, chats with players between sets during an Aug. 15 match against Cedar Ridge. Last week Kane's Tigers beat Johnson, which is coached by his younger brother Thomas, and retained the Kane Cup for the 12th straight time.
Dripping Springs coach Michael Kane, left, chats with players between sets during an Aug. 15 match against Cedar Ridge. Last week Kane's Tigers beat Johnson, which is coached by his younger brother Thomas, and retained the Kane Cup for the 12th straight time.

It’s bunched at the top of District 24-5A as Ann Richards, McCallum and LASA are tied for first place with the district moving into the second round of play. In head-to-head matchups, LASA beat Ann Richards in five sets at home, then lost at McCallum in five sets, while Ann Richards beat McCallum in four sets on the road. Each team has just one loss through half of district play.

LASA, Ann Richards and McCallum look like strong playoff contenders while Crockett leads LBJ for the final playoff spot.

Ann Richards, which will host LASA on Friday, has won six straight matches and beat LBJ last Friday 25-18, 25-11, 25-9 behind freshman standout Noah Morrie's three aces and strong six-rotation play. Sally Barnhill led the Stars with five kills, and Alondra Garcia had 13 digs. Madison Mowell had 10 assists for the Stars, and Jayda Golech added a pair of blocks.

“The kids are working hard and wanting to get better every day," Ann Richards coach Meg Brown said. "It is fun to compete and to know you are going to have to play hard every night.”

McCallum kept pace by sweeping Northeast Early College 25-5, 25-7, 25-15. The Knights handed LASA its only district loss two weeks ago. ... In other district action, Crockett beat Navarro in three sets while LASA swept Eastside.

Bohls: Dripping Springs sophomore Henley Anderson looks set for a bright volleyball future

Class 6A: brother vs. brother

It was a brotherly competition last Friday in District 26-6A as defending Class 6A state champion Dripping Springs, coached by Michael Kane, swept Johnson — coached by Kane's younger brother, Thomas — 25-17, 25-23, 23-22 behind Riley Certain's 16 kills.

"We are extremely close and very competitive; winning against each other has family bragging rights, but is also a focus on family and being brothers," said Michael Kane, who retained the Kane Cup for the 12th straight year. While Dripping Springs and Lake Travis appear to be well on their way to the playoffs, Johnson remains in the hunt with Austin High, Anderson, Westlake and Bowie for the final two playoff spots.

Anderson swept Akins 25-10, 25-4, 25-15 Friday as Parker Duncan slammed 15 kills with 13 aces and Maddie Stuesser notched 31 assists. Jazmine Gosten led the defense with 12 digs. Westlake swept Del Valle 25-11, 25-18, 25-13 as Lily Davis had eight kills and Claire Wernli added five. Reese Emerick had two aces and seven digs for the Chaps while Emerson Butler had 17 assists. And Bowie got its second straight huge district win by beating Austin High 13-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16.

Round Rock rolling

In District 25-6A, Round Rock closed the first half of district play with a 7-0 record and sole possession of first place after beating Stony Point 25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20 behind the offense of Morgan Houston, Molly Craven and setters Riley Clinton and Alexa Ankerstar. Vandegrift is in second place after beating Manor 25-7, 25-15, 25-7. Audrey Chimura had 13 kills and Kristi Bishop served six of the team's 17 aces. Estella Homoya had 23 assists.

Vista Ridge beat McNeil 25-9, 25-11, 22-25, 25-18 as Sophia Ely had 11 kills with three digs and Merrick Hammel had 19 digs while Madison Louis added 11 digs and four aces. Jasmin Dion collected 43 assists for the Rangers.  Westwood beat Cedar Ridge 25-16, 28-26, 24-26, 28-26 in a highly competitive contest. Julia Hopkins slammed 18 kills with 17 digs and Ava Moncada added 11 kills for the Warriors.

Around Class 5A: Rouse, Liberty Hill win

Weiss tuned up for the Tuesday night showdown with first-place Waco Midway by crushing Temple 25-11, 25-11, 25-10 as Briana Bryant served five aces and Ashly Go added four. Kelsey Norris led the Wolfpack with 13 kills while Sara Randall added 12. Takyla Brown had 30 assists and seven digs.

Rouse and Liberty Hill remained one-two in District 25-5A after the Raiders swept Lehman 25-12, 25-16, 25-15 behind Taylor Tatum's 10 kills and Naara Tanco's eight. Isla Ornelas, a freshman, had 35 assists. Liberty Hill swept Lockhart 25-10, 25-6, 25-10 and Cedar Park beat Hays 25-20, 25-11, 23-25, 25-18. Cedar Park got 13 kills by Joy Udoye and 10 more from Callie Krueger, who led the defense with 31 digs. Sibley Oster had 34 assists and served five aces for Cedar Park. Kayley Beaman led Hays with seven kills while Lusia Langi added six.

In District 23-5A, Georgetown is in first place after beating Bastrop 25-14, 25-14, 25-14 behind 11 kills from Sadi Macauley and 13 assists from Allison O’Shaughnessy. Hendrickson swept Elgin 25-18, 25-16, 25-15 as Kara Wynn had 13 kills, Mia McCurley add nine and Morgan Warren checked in with 27 assists. East View beat Connally 21-25, 25-19, 31-29, 25-21 while Pflugerville beat Cedar Creek.

Wimberley swept Canyon Lake 25-9, 25-19 , 25-14 as libero Rhagen Masur notched her 1,000th career dig. Laney Hennessee had 25 kills while Jesse Weeks had 26 assists. Burnet won twice, beating Lampasas 25-9, 25-8, 25-9 and then Marble Falls 25-15, 25-19, 25-14.

Class 4A/others

In District 22-4A, Giddings improved to 6-0 by beating Caldwell 25-20, 25-16, 25-10. Taylor is in second after beating Smithville 25-10, 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, and La Grange swept Manor New Tech 25-7, 25-13, 25-16. Caldwell is in third and La Grange fourth with Smithville a match back in fifth.

St. Michael's (31-8, 4-0) swept Hyde Park behind Mora Mooney's 14 kills and Gabi Spellings' 13 kills and 11 digs.  Hannah Bergfeld finished with 21 digs, 10 assists and five aces. ... Round Rock Christian (28-8, 7-0) beat Marble Falls Faith 25-10, 25-23, 25-17.

Fab Fives

Class 6A

1. Lake Travis 36-4

2. Dripping Springs 40-3

3. Round Rock 29-9

4. Weiss 22-7

5. Vandegrift 17-19

Class 5A

1. Rouse 30-11

2. Liberty Hill 32-8

3. Georgetown 25-14

4. Hendrickson 24-6

5. LASA 18-3

Class 4A/others

1. St. Michael’s 31-8

2. Round Rock Christian 28-8

3. Wimberley 25-6

4. Blanco 23-8

5. Burnet 20-10

Lake Travis' Hamlin earns player kudos

Player of the week: Avery Hamlin, sr., Lake Travis. Hamlin had 14 kills and 12 digs to lead state-ranked Lake Travis (36-4, 9-0) past Austin High 25-12, 26-24, 25-23. Hamlin, who has signed to play Duke, is averaging a double-double with 354 kills and 372 digs on the season while serving 36 aces and recording 48 blocks.

Previous players of the week: Dripping Springs' Henley Anderson, Liberty Hill's Kealy Dirner, Weiss' Sara Randall, Round Rock Christian's Chayse Wilson, Round Rock's Riley Clinton, Vandegrift's Alex Beauchamp and Rouse's Savannah Skopal

Bowie rises with big week

Team of the week: Bowie. Last week the Bulldogs (23-12, 4-6) served notice that they will be a factor in district. Bowie beat Westlake last Tuesday in an epic five-set match after losing the first two sets, then came from behind again Friday to beat Austin High 13-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16 for its third win in the past four matches, pushing the Bulldogs back into playoff consideration.

Previous teams of the week: Austin High, Lake Travis (week 2), Stony Point, St. Michael’s, McCallum, Dripping Springs and Lake Travis (7)

This week's top matches

Tuesday

St. Michael’s at Regents, 6:15 p.m.

Bastrop at Pflugerville, 6:30 p.m.

Dripping Springs at Anderson, 6:30 p.m.

Round Rock at Vista Ridge, 6:30 p.m.

Waco Midway at Weiss, 6:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: High school volleyball: Three teams tied atop District 24-5A