Westlake shrugs off Bowie in competitive District 26-6A volleyball opener
Westlake freshman Allie Hudgins slammed 21 kills and served four aces as the Chaps (18-3, 1-0) opened District 26-6A volleyball play by beating visiting Bowie 25-19, 25-27, 25-11, 25-18 in a highly competitive contest Tuesday night at the Chap Gym.
“This was a good test against a good opponent,” Westlake head coach Miguel Saenz said. "We were serving set point in the second set and they came back and beat us to tie the match; I told the team during the break that how we responded would significantly define the type of team we would become — to shake off that loss and play well would be a favorable sign.”
Shake off the loss, the Chaps did with gusto as they raced to a 5-1 third-set lead and extended the lead to 16-8 behind kills by Reece Winkcompleck, Claire Wernli, Lily Davis and Hudgins. Davis chipped in 12 kills and 12 digs while libero and Texas volleyball signee Reese Emerick had 23 digs.
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Davis was honored between sets as the junior who has committed to play beach volleyball for Texas notched her 1,000th career kill in the Westlake gold consolation championship win last weekend at the Fraulein Volleyfest in New Braunfels.
Bowie (12-5, 0-1) battled evenly in the first set, as standout freshman Jazzlyn Hepburn collected five of her team-high 14 kills to lead the visiting Bulldogs to an early 15-15 tie. But Bowie went cold and had six unforced errors, allowing Westlake to secure the set with an 8-2 scoring run.
“We are really working on our consistency," Bowie coach Danna Wincher said. "The team is really working together, and they are talented. ... We did a lot of really good things tonight.”
Bowie showed tremendous resilience in the second set, led by Maya Arrambide with six of her 11 kills, and Simone Baskin, who had three kills and two blocks. Bowie led 23-21 before Davis had back-to-back kills for Westlake to tie the score. The teams traded errors and Hudgins had a key hit to give Westlake a 25-24 lead.
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Bowie answered with a kill by Arrambide and a spectacle rolling tip from the back row by Baskin to go up 26-25, and the Bulldogs won the set on a Chaps miscue.
The powerful Bowie finish sparked Saenz's comments to his team and gave the Chaps more focus.
"In a season, you have these moments that force you to rise to the competition or just become another team," Saenz said. "The girls really stepped up in the match. Give Bowie credit; they are very well-coached and talented. This was a good win.”
Around Central Texas
Lake Travis edges Austin High: In another key District 26-6A matchup, Lake Travis topped Austin High 24-26, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 behind 15 kills from Carrington Jaimes. Avery Hamlin knocked down 14 shots, Camden Besecker had 11 kills and Kacey Kazmierski recorded 46 assists and 20 digs. Cate Haley (20), Layla Todd (13) and Alexa Earle (12) all reached double digits in digs.
Georgetown sweeps Vista Ridge: Georgetown got 15 kills and three blocks from Addi Gaido and five kills and four blocks from Sophia Jazesf to sweep Vista Ridge 25-23, 25-13, 25-18.
Round Rock sweeps Killeen Shoemaker: Morgan Houston had nine kills and Molly Craven had seven in the Dragons' 25-10, 25-12, 25-17 win. Riley Clinton had 19 assists, two blocks and two aces while Eleanor Thiel had nine digs and Emily Truan added eight digs. Lexi Ankerstar added 12 assists.
Weiss sweeps Belton: Sara Randall slammed 22 kills with 11 digs, Kelsey Norris added 13 kills and Briana Bryant notched five kills as the Wolfpack swept to a 25-8, 25-20, 25-13 win. Ashley Go had 18 digs. Takyla Brown had 39 assists and 11 digs with a block while Bryant also added 15 digs.
Johnson tops Akins: Johnson beat Akins 25-18, 25-8, 25-9 despite strong efforts from Akins' Janese Counce and Alexis Renteria.
Dripping Springs notches district win: Defending Class 6A state champion Dripping Springs opened district with a 25-10, 25-10, 25-10 sweep of Del Valle. Riley Certain led the Tigers with 12 kills while Corina Serrano-Cardona had 10 for Del Valle. Presley Alford had 22 assists for Dripping Springs while Arabela Gryalva served three aces. Julliana Alvarez had 16 assists and served an ace for the Cardinals.
Lake Belton eases past Glenn: The Grizzlies fell in five sets as Lake Belton prevailed 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 19-25, 15-9. Ava Wind had 17 kills to lead Glenn offensively while Abbie Owens had 20 assists and served two aces and Kianna Creel had 17 assists. Jesse Letts collected two blocks as did Jayden Thompson and Ainsley Williams. Jaylene Garcia had 25 digs.
And in other matches, McCallum swept St. Andrews 25-18, 26-24, 26-24; St. Michael’s swept Temple 25-11, 25-14, 25-16; East View beat Lehman 25-13, 25-17, 22-25, 25-12.
Volleypalooza begins
The 68 team Volleypalooza Invitational begins Thursday morning at Leander and Round Rock area high schools. It's the largest UIL-sanctioned tournament in Texas and features nationally-ranked Mater Dei, Queen Creek (Ariz.) Casteel as well as defending 6A champion Dripping Springs, Class 5A champion Colleyville Heritage, TAPPS 6A champion Prestonwood Christian and Grand Oaks, which is 20-0 and currently the No. 1 team in the state.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Westlake beat Bowie in competitive district volleyball opener
