Lake Travis, Dripping Springs are set for area, district showdown of volleyball powers
Tuesday night is showdown night in District 26-6A as defending Class 6A state champion Dripping Springs travels to defending district champion Lake Travis in their first of two district meetings. Dripping Springs swept the Cavaliers at Lake Travis last season, but lost a two-set tournament match to Lake Travis in the Fraulein Volleyfest in late August.
Last Friday night, the Tigers swept Austin High 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 as Henley Anderson had 13 kills, Riley Certain notched 10 and Sydney Lund finished with seven. Harper Luthy and Riley Malloy led the Maroons with 11 kills each. Lund and Ella Kuhn had 10 digs each for the Tigers while Aieda Moreno led Austin High with nine. Presley Alford had 21 assists for Dripping Springs while Kaela Bustamante led the Maroons with 14.
Lake Travis beat Akins 25-7, 25-6, 25-9, Bowie beat Johnson and Westlake went out of district and lost to nationally-ranked Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio 26-24, 25-19, 25-20.
Round Rock tops Westwood
In a battle of District 25-6A defending district co-champions, Round Rock outlasted Westwood 25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 25-15 to move into a first-place tie with Vandegrift, which beat Stony Point.
“Westwood has always been a tough place to play,” said Dragons head coach Christi Drier, who herself played in the Warriors gym when she went to Round Rock.
The Dragons got another exceptional night from Riley Clinton with 14 kills and xx assists while middle blocker Molly Cravens slammed another 14 kills. Round Rock dominated the first set 25-17, but the host Warriors rallied in the second taking a 20-17 lead and winning on kills by Julia Hopkins, Harper Zoll and Olivia Hendricks for a 25-20 win to even the match.
“I told our team that Westwood was tough and would never quit that we had to change up our offense to find better hitting lanes as they had worked on our middles,” Dreier said.
Round Rock responded in the third set, but Wetwood matched point for pint as the teams were tied 11 times in the set, the last at 22-22. The Dragons notched kills by Morgan Houston and two by Clinton to claim the victory. The fourth set saw Westwood race to a 10-5 lead, and then after Round Rock called a timeout and managed to tie the score at 10-10, Westwood scored three times for a 13-10 lead.
Then the Dragons' offense kicked in. Kills by Cali Jones, Clinton, Houston and Cravens sparked the Dragons to a 12-1 scoring run with Round Rock winning 25-15 on a crushing line kill by Cravens.
Julia Hopkins led the Warriors with 12 kills while Sahasra Mandalapu had 25 digs and setter Rachel Cai finished with 28 assists. Round Rock was led defensively by Eleanor Thiel with 21 digs and Morgan Houston added 15 digs and four blocks while Lexie Ankerstar finished with 24 assists and six aces. Clinton added 23 assists.
Vista Ridge prevails: Vista Ridge beat Cedar Ridge 25-22, 25-18, 25-22 led by Jordyn Zink's 10 kills and five blocks. Jasmin Dion had 27 assists with 11 digs while Merrick Hammel served three aces with 10 digs. Sophia Ely added five kills and Karol Lopez had seven digs for the Rangers.
Vandegrift beat Stony Point 25-18, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20. Weiss swept Hutto 25-14, 25-14, 25-19 behind 20 kills from Sara Randall and 13 by Kelsey Norris. Takyla Brown served five aces and notched 14 digs with 33 assists. Ashley Go added 12 digs and Briana Bryant finished with 11 digs for the Wolfpack. Isabella Orton had eight kills, four blocks and 13 assists for the Hippos.
Glenn beat Lehman 25-9, 25-14, 25-11 led by Ava Wind with ten kills, 11 digs and three aces. Jesse Letts added 14 kills while Abbie Owens had 22 assists. Kianna Creel notched 13 assists and both Mya Lord and MC Brandl collected three blocks each. Jayden Thompson had five kills, three aces and four blocks while Jaylene Garcia collected nine digs for the Grizzlies.
Hendrickson tops Pflugerville: Kara Winn had eight kills, Kamea Uitenham seven more kills and Cassie Rivera six kills as Hendrickson swept Pflugerville. Wynn added two blocks while Jordan Flores finished with 20 digs and Christiana Reyes added 11 digs. Morgan Warren had 28 assists for the Hawks. ... Joy Udoye slammed 19 kills while Sofia Peters added 10 and Olivia Maib collected nine kills s Cedar Park beat Glenn in four sets 25-12, 26-28, 25-15, 25-20. Haley Burton served five aces for the Timberwolves while Callie Krueger had 22 digs, Maib added 11 digs with 22 assists while Udoye notched 11 digs.
Around the area
Wimberley beat Bandera 25-18, 25-16, 25-12 as Laney Hennessee had 12 kills and two blocks. Jesse Weeks had 15 assists and Rhagen Masur collected 16 digs. Burnet had a busy week losing to Salado but beating Gatesville. Laney Huffman had 17 kills on the week while Camryn Courtney had 33 assists.
Earlier, Taliah Angwekwe slammed four of her 16 kills, including set and match point as Stony Point beat Cedar Ridge 25-21, 25-9, 21-25, 24-26, 15-11. Stony Point senior Carrie had 22 kills and 19 digs while Tiger Kylee Bagley had 16 kills with 24 assists, and 20 blocks in a triple double effort adding two blocks. Faith Reynold had 12 kills and Hannah Kilpatrick added 11 kills in the loss. Sierra Day led Cedar Ridge with 21 assists.
Vandegrift swept McNeil 25-13, 25-9, 25-8 behind 15 kills by Alex Beauchamp27 assists by Ava Carrasquillo. Jessie Hoang added 12 digs and three aces for the Vipers. Nina Salas led McNeil with six kills while Emerson Parker had 14 assists. Round Rock swept Manor 25-8, 25-21, 25-15as Riley Clinton had 19 assists with seven kills and Molly Cravens had ten kills with two blocks. Eleanor Thiel had nine digs and Alexa Ankerstar added 11 kills. Destini Doss led Manor with three kills while Janae Parker had six blocks and Dee Dee Sorrell-Walker added eight digs. Trinity Hughes finished with ten assists for the Mustangs.
Vista Ridge beat Westwood 25-16, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 16-14 behind 49 assists by Jasmin Dion who also had 13 digs. Sophia Ely had 13 kills with 12 digs while Jennavee Jensen had 11 kills and 15 digs. Olivia Kelley chipped in 12 kills while Jordyn Zink had seven kills and three blocks. Caton Firkins finished with eight kills and three blocks while Merrick Hammel added 24 digs, Karol Lopez had 14 digs and Madison Louis closed with seven digs and two service aces.
Dripping Springs beat Westlake 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-15, 16-14 as Westlake’s Lily Davis had 35 kills while Lake Travis edged Anderson 25-19, 25-27, 25-17, 25-23 despite 22 kills and 18 digs by Anderson standout Parker Duncan. Jazmine Gosten added 18 digs while Maddie Stuesser collected 38 assists. Camden Besecker led the Cavalier offense with 17 kills while Avery Hamlin had 13 kills with 23 digs. Kacey Kazmierski finished with 13 digs and incredible 57 assists. Austin High beat Akins 25-25-8, 25-15, 25-12 as Savannah Vasher and Mary Eloise Ross led the Maroons with five kills each. Campbell Bartley had 12 assists and Kaela Bustamante added seven assists.
Sadie McCauley smacked 14 kills with ten digs to lead Georgetown past Pflugerville 25-12, 25-11, 25-19. Raegan Ramirez had 15 digs and served four aces for the Eagles. The East View Patriots swept Cedar Creek 25-12, 25-15, 25-13 while Hendrickson swept Bastrop 25-20, 25-14, 25-15. Connally beat Elgin 25-15, 25-25-16, 26-24.
District leader McCallum beat Eastside Early College 25-19, 25-15, 25-13. LASA swept Northeast Early College 25-12, 25-15, 25-13, LBJ swept Juan Navarro 25-13, 25-22, 25-23 and Ann Richards school beat Travis.
In Class 4A action pitting a pair of top ten ranked teams, San Antonio Davenport beat Wimberley 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 despite 17 kills by Laney Hennessee and 18 assists from Jesse Weeks. Rhagen Masur had 24 digs while Cameron Thames, Kenslee Brown, and Addison Parks each notched three blocks for the Texans. LaGrange beat Smithville 25-22, 25-15, 18-25, 27-25 while Taylor swept Manor New Tech. Schulenburg beat Lago Vista in four sets while Salado swept Burnet 25-20, 25-22, 25-21.
Private Schools
St. Michael’s Academy beat Hyde Park 25-9, 25-13, 25-11 as Mora Mooney and 15 kills with 11 digs and Gabi Spellings added 15 kills. Heidi Bergfeld finished with 18 digs and Rainey Clark had 16 assists with three service aces.
Defending TAPPS 3A state champion Round Rock Christian had a notable week as head coach Doug Keyser record coaching win number 300 while the Crusades were a perfect 6-0 and captured the gold championship at the Castle Hills Varsity Tournament and did not lose a set in the process over the weekend. In the finals, the Crusaders beat New Braunfels John Paul II 25-10, 25-12. Statistical leaders for the Crusaders tournament championship were:
Chayse Wilson with 62 kills, 12 aces and 32 digs; Rachel Millikan with 56 kills, seven aces, and 42 digs; Peyton Turner with 141 assists, 16 aces, 27 digs; Emily Sonnier with 12 aces and 46 digs; Elsa Baxley with 19 kills and nine aces; and Sophia Dall’Oglio with 15 kills.
Brentwood Christian swept Boerne Geneva Christian 2510, 25-21, 25-12 while Austin Waldorf swept San Juan Diego 25-9, 25-21, 29-27. Round Rock Christian Academy won their fifth straight match when the Crusaders swept the Hyde Park Panthers 25-21, 25-14, 25-20. Chayse Wilson led the Crusaders with 18 digs and nine digs while Rachel Millikan added 15 kills and nine digs Setter Peyton Turner had 31 assists with eight digs and served four aces. Senior libero Emily Sonnier added ten digs.
State Polls: Defending state 6A champion Dripping Springs and Tuesday night foe Lake Travis is fifth in the Class 6A polls released by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. Four other local teams are also ranked in their respective classifications in Top Ten polls. Three of the teams are in Class 5A as Hendrickson is fourth while 2022 region finalist and defending district champion Rouse is sixth and Liberty hill, who beat Rouse in the Region IV final to earn a state berth is ranked eighth. Thrall is tenth in class 2A after losing a tough battle to Jewett Leon in four sets. Leon is 34-0, ranked number one and has only lost three sets on the season.
Westlake and Wimberley are 12th respectively as the chaps lost twice last week, in five sets losing 16-14 in the fifth set at Dripping Springs then falling to national powerhouse San Antonio Cornerstone Christian in a non-district contest. Wimberley lost to state fourth ranked Davenport. Other local teams ranked in the Top 25 include: Taylor (15th in 4A), Jarrell (21st in 4A), Salado (23rd in 4A), Burnet (24th in 4A), McCallum (17th in 5A), Cedar Park (20ty in 5A), LASA-Austin (21st in 5A) and Round Rock (20th in 6A).
Player of the week
Player of the week: Alex Beauchamp, sr., Vandegrift. Beauchamp has led the Vipers from a slow start back into a tie for first place in District 25-6A as the senior had 15 kills in a win over McNeil and then followed up with 20 more kills as the Vipers beat Stony Point in four sets Friday night.
Team of the week
Team of the week: Dripping Springs. The defending Class 6A state champion Tigers beat Westlake in five sets Tuesday night, then swept Austin High on Friday night to improve to 36-2 on the season. The Tigers have won eight straight matches since losing to nationally-ranked Grand Park in the Gold Bracket quarterfinals at Volleypalooza. The Tigers have won 21 of their last 23 sets played.
Fab Fives
Class 6A
1. Dripping Springs 36-2
2. Lake Travis 33-4
3. Westlake 27-8
4. Round Rock 25-9
5. Austin High 23-9
Class 5A
1. Hendrickson 21-5
2. Rouse 26-11
3. Liberty Hill 29-7
4. McCallum 19-15
5. Cedar Park 21-12
Class 4A/others
1. St. Michael’s 28-8
2. Round Rock Christian 24-8
3. Wimberley 21-6
4. Thrall 20-5
5. Taylor 19-10
This week's top matches
Tuesday
Austin High at Westlake, 6:30 p.m.
Cedar Park at Rouse, 6:30 p.m.
Dripping Springs at Lake Travis, 6:30 p.m.
Hendrickson at Georgetown, 6:30 p.m.
Round Rock at Vandegrift, 6:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lake Travis and Dripping Springs to play in area volleyball showdown
