UIL 5A State Championship – Three-Peat for Lovejoy

<p>Grapevine vs Lovejoy for the 5A State Championship. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Grapevine came in to the championship match with a 22-17 overall record and a third place finish in district at 9-5. They then went on a fantastic run through the state playoffs to earn a birth in the Title match.  Defending two-time 5A State Champs, Lovejoy, had another great season with an overall record of 41-6 coming into the championship match.  While this state title match was definitely about a tale of a Cinderella team, Grapevine, it was more about the culmination of a dynasty. Lovejoy had one mission and that was to send off it’s seniors with something special.  Nothing was going to stop them from writing the ending to their story of being one of the most dominant teams in Texas High School history.     </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2725-rotated-crop-3024x1986-1638123754.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-167297" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2725-rotated-crop-3024x1986-1638123754-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="263" height="173" /></a>Grapevine started off strong and gave Lovejoy all it could handle in the first set.    Junior Middle [player_tooltip player_id="87530" first="Greyson" last="Button"] was amazing and kept her team in the set.  [player_tooltip player_id="119921" first="Janet" last="deMarrais"] also played amazing for Grapevine to fight the powerful attack of Lovejoy.  Lovejoy also has its experienced set of stars who answered the bell every time that Grapevine thought it was about to go on a roll.  Set one was tight throughout, but Lovejoy came out on top 25-19. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img class=" wp-image-167299 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2709-e1638123908780-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="163" height="217" />Set two was about the defense that Lovejoy possesses.  Senior libero [player_tooltip player_id="87496" first="Ava" last="Camacho"] was a beast in the back row and was flying all over the place to make sure that her team stayed in every rally.  The potent mix of All-World [player_tooltip player_id="87389" first="Averi" last="Carlson"] and super setter/right side [player_tooltip player_id="99506" first="Rosemary" last="Archer"] was too much for Grapevine to handle.  Lovejoy was dominant in set two and won 25-15.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Set three was closer than the other two and Grapevine put up a valiant fight, but as the entire crowd at the Culwell Center in Garland witnessed, this night was about Lovejoy putting their stamp on Texas Volleyball folklore.  The complete teamwork by Lovejoy was unstoppable and they won the final set 25-20 to complete the sweep. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img class="alignleft wp-image-167301" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2720-rotated-e1638124088337-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="187" height="250" />There are no other words that can describe this program other than, Special.  The way that the crowd interacts with the each other and the love that is poured over social media for them shows you just how together this school’s community is.  Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="87389" first="Averi" last="Carlson"], [player_tooltip player_id="87496" first="Ava" last="Camacho"], [player_tooltip player_id="99506" first="Rosemary" last="Archer"], Avery Villarreal, [player_tooltip player_id="140399" first="Maci" last="Perkins"], Elizabeth Ponder,  Grace Millikan, Maddie Smittle, Charlotte Wilson, Brooklyn Lloyd, Megan Dierks, and Lauran Richards have something they will remember forever…one of the most dominant runs in Texas Volleyball history. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The following players received All Tournament honors from UIL at the State Tournament. </p> <p><strong>5A - 2021-2022</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99506" first="Rosemary" last="Archer"] - Senior - Lucas Lovejoy</strong></li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153291" first="Hannah" last="Gonzalez"] - Junior - Lucas Lovejoy</strong></li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="119921" first="Janet" last="deMarrais"] - Senior - Grapevine</strong></li> <li><strong>Alea Lastinger - Senior - Grapevine</strong></li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="142200" first="Megan" last="Hawkins"] - Sophomore - Comal Canyon</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Championship Match Most Valuable Player</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87389" first="Averi" last="Carlson"] - Senior - Lucas Lovejoy</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p>We would like to congratulate Lovejoy on their amazing season and way to cap it off with their third straight State Championship!!! Enjoy it ladies. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>We will be publishing more articles weekly to give recognition to those teams and athletes who are playing great in their matches.  Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.  If you have anyone that you think deserves to be recognized as a player of the week, feel free to send me a message with their information. Or if you have anyone that you think have what it takes to be added to our database, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com.  As always, thanks for following our publication Texas Family!</p>