After last year’s brief, but exciting, run in the 6A state championship tournament, where the varsity volleyball team made it to the second round before being taken out by a strong Klein Collins team, hopes were high for the 2019 campaign.
Despite the occasional inconsistency, the team managed to sneak into the playoffs with their fourth-place finish in the district and began their run in the UIL state championship tournament with a game that looked to be their toughest of the season. The varsity squad faced off against the Bridgeland High School Bears in the first round of the playoffs. Their opponent toted a record of 42-4 coming into this game and only having dropped 23 sets all season, Bridgeland’s stellar defense had garnered them the 26th spot in the statewide rankings. Bridgeland was ranked just above Westwood, who dominated the district all season going an unmatched 16-0 including two convincing wins over the varsity team.
There was, however, a glimmer of hope for the game because of the team’s most recent encounter with number 25 ranked Vandegrift. Despite taking the loss, the varsity squad put on one of their best performances of the season, coming back from a two-set deficit to push the game to five sets. Their play against Vandegrift showed that the squad was capable of competing with some of the best teams in the state when they’re at their best, and spurred on the most successful stretch of the season since their 8-0 start. The team has gone 6-1 in their last seven contests and has only conceded two sets during that stretch.
Despite the odds, the varsity’s season-defining performance was enough to hand the powerhouse Bridgeland squad their first loss in over a month. Managing to capture the Bi-District Championship and move on to the second round of the state championship tournament.
“We played our hearts out that night and we left it all on the court,” senior Lauren Malone said, “It was collectively our best match of the season. Sweeping Bridgeland felt surreal, and the chance to continue our season into round 2 made the victory even sweeter.”
In the second round, the team was considered underdog’s once again, facing off against the 16th ranked team in Texas, Klein High School. The game started off poorly for the team as they lost the first two sets in convincing fashion. They managed to take the third set as they attempted to spark a comeback but were taken out in a hard-fought final set, losing 25-21 and ending their run in the tournament.