Klein Bearkats Will Be Contenders in 2020

Texas High School Volleyball is littered with amazing athletes that come from all over the state. Our next installment of our High School coverage series brings us back to H-town. We are going to introduce you to Houston area District 15-6A program Klein Bearkats. Klein High School has a rich tradition on the volleyball court. They have only missed the playoffs four times in the last thirty years. They have dominated their district in volleyball. They have also made it to the area round of the state playoffs sixteen times during those thirty years. The Bearkats are coming off of a 2019 campaign that saw them make it to the Regional Finals. They are looking to go back this coming year and have a great chance to do so. We start out like we always do with the leader of the program, Head Coach Kate Zora. Kate has an extensive background as a volleyball coach with seventeen years under her belt. She will be going into her sixth year at the helm of Klein. For the last 3 years they made have the regional tournament. Before taking on the Klein position she had stints at A&M Consolidated where she was a State Semi-Finalist in 2014 and before that she was at Westwood for nine years where they made it to three regional tournament appearances in a row in 2017, 2018, 2019. Klein is in great hands with Kate. Here is a little from our conversation about her program.   Prep Dig Tx: What is your expectation for district play this coming season? Coach Zora: We will be in a new district and it will be comprised of us. Cain, Oak, Forest, Collins, Tomball Memorial and Tomball. But we are returning 11 players from our Regional Finalist team including all starters.   Prep Dig Tx: I think its safe to say they will be competing for another run at state this coming year.   Prep Dig Tx: What do you love about the school? Coach Zora: Blue and Gold. Bearkat Pride never dies. Girls work hard and love volleyball.   Prep Dig Tx: What is your coaching philosophy and how do you apply it to your teams? Coach Zora: Love the sport. Respect the sport. Follow your passion and give all of your efforts into what you love!   Now we will meet a few of the players who will help keep Klein running on all cylinders and make a push for State.   [player_tooltip player_id="87438" first="Annie" last="Antar"] [2021] 5-11 Setter/Right Side (HS: Klein/Club: Houston Juniors/Verbal: North Florida) Annie has had a very great school campaign over her past three years. This past year her Klein Bearkats were led by [player_tooltip player_id="87438" first="Annie" last="Antar"]’s 491 kills and 620 assists going into the playoffs. She earned the honor of Offensive player of the district last season. She is looking to do even more damage in her senior season. She is a valuable asset with her size and will do great things for the North Florida program in a few years as she is able to play all the way around and is a viable threat to score when attacking. She is a solid six-rotation player and has a cannon for an arm on the front row.   [player_tooltip player_id="87426" first="Devan" last="Taylor"] [2021] 5-8 Defensive Specialist/Outside (HS: Klein/Club: Houston Juniors/Verbal: Clemson) Devan earned defensive player of the district this past season. She plays at Houston Juniors where she plays both Libero and outside from time to time for her team. She has been solid on the back row for Klein and has been a four-year starter. She always keeps her eyes on the prize, has great court vision, and amazing balance in her footwork. My favorite thing about her play has to be her extensive range defensively. There isn’t a ball she can’t get to in my opinion. This is why we have her ranked as the 37thbest prospect in the class of 2021 according to our Prep Dig Rankings. She has a verbal commitment to divison one volleyball program Clemson.   Camy Kling [2021] 5-10 Setter (HS: Klein/Club: Willowbrook/Verbal: Uncommitted) Camy earned 2nd team All-District honors last season. According to her coach she is a solid setter with great court composure to lead her team. She plays at a great long time program in the Houston area, Willowbrook. She is a great asset to her team as a setter but more importantly on the defensive end. She digs extremely well in right back. There aren’t a lot of balls that fall near her defensive zone. She picks up everything.   [player_tooltip player_id="87476" first="Kierstyn" last="McFall"] [2022] 6-4 MB (HS: Klein/Club: Houston Skyline/Verbal: Uncommitted) Kierstyn earned 1st Team All District last season as well. She is a dominant force at the net and is able to attack from all positions. Being six foot four definitely has its advantages and tons of college coaches have noticed her skills. She plays on one of the best club teams in the nation at her Houston Skyline club. She shows off great quick footwork during her play in the middle. She stays on the balls of her feet when running her attacks and drives her feet hard into the ground to aggressively approach her setter. Being that tall, she is able to aggressively contact the ball on top of it and drive it into the ten foot line often.   Gaby Mansfield [2022] 5-5 Defensive Specialist (HS: Klein/Club: Houston Skyline/Verbal: Uncommitted) Gaby earned 1st Team All-District honors last season as well. According to her coach, she set last year’s single season dig record at Klein. She is a teammate of Miss McFall at Houston Skyline. She has also earned accolades from some other volleyball publications as well. I am impressed with the way she plays in the back row. She constantly has her feet moving and is very active. When the ball is contacted, I love how she has great body control to absorb contact from the attack. She is very active on hitter coverage as well and should be commended for that. I see some great things from this young lady in volleyball and if she continues down the path she’s currently on, she should have no problem being on college coaches’ radars soon.   [player_tooltip player_id="87538" first="Mikala" last="Sampson"] [2023] 6-0 Middle (HS: Klein/Club: Willowbrook/Verbal: Uncommitted) The newcomer to the program this past season was Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="87538" first="Mikala" last="Sampson"]. She earned 1st Team All-District also with her play. Prep Dig has her ranked as the 11th best prospect in the 2023 class. She is a very explosive blocker and attacker with an outstanding ability to read on the block according to her coach. When I watch her play I see rapid footwork that will have her hitting at a high clip with quick sets for the rest of her career. She is very quick to the ball and extremely quick off of the ground. Once you add her lightning quick arm swing, you have a recipe for fireworks. She is young and talented. Her club director at Willowbrook Gabi Carbone and her high school coach Zora will definitely have her college ready in a few years. Keep your eye out for this one folks.   Ariana Brown [2023] 5-11 Outside (HS: Klein/Club: Willowbrook/Verbal: Uncommitted) Miss Brown earned Newcomer of the District last season as a freshman. She plays with Mikala at Willowbrook. Ariana is a heavy powerful attacker with an arm that brings the heat on the pins according to her coach. I’ve watched her play and she’s right. This kid has an absolute cannon on the left side. Klein will be in great hands if it has these two youngsters coming up in their program.   A program like this mixed with a coach with so much experience means great things on the volleyball court for the foreseeable future for the Bearkats. They have it all. They have great senior leadership with experience, rising juniors who have also been there before and play high level club, and last but not least, they have some amazing young talent with fresh legs to keep the attack coming. I think its safe to say they will be a solid contender for the State crown in 2020. I can’t wait to cover them this season.   There are many stories of schools and club teams similar to this that we will be covering. Stay tuned for more great info. If you think your school or club has a good story, please contact me and I will gladly communicate. You can email me at nov8vb@yahoo.com.