Houston Area HS Previews: 5A – District 21

<p>The USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship (GJNC) has just ended and new national champions have just been crowned this past weekend in Indianapolis, but the prep volleyball community is already looking ahead to the start of the high school season.</p> <p>Over the next four months, prospects will store their club team uniforms in their closets and will represent their high schools with the goal of getting to the end of the year as the new state champions.</p> <p>The state of Texas has one of the largest high school seasons in the entire country with the University Interscholastic League (UIL) managing a tournament for public schools that features six divisions, 192 districts and as many as 1,207 high school teams.</p> <p>The start date for the 2022-2023 season is August 8 and between now and then, we’re previewing some of the districts located in the Houston area, highlighting their teams and most promising prospects.</p> <p>In today’s piece, we’ll take a look at Division 5A – District 21:</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>A&amp;M Consolidated</strong></p> <p>The Lady Tigers ranked right behind College Station in 2021-2022 with 12 wins and four losses, taking second place in district 19. The dynamic duo of Ava Derbes (right side) and Emma Pahl (outside hitter) will be hard to replace, but A&amp;M Consolidated will enter the season with a proven setter in Abigail McKinney, and a promising trio of hitters in outside hitter Ella Norton and middle blockers Bella Gutierrez and Lesley Munoz.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Brenham</strong></p> <p>The Cubettes were among the top teams in district 19 last season, when they won 12 and lost just four matches to finish third. With most of their player back and all of them positioned to improve with more experience under their belts, Brenham stands out as one of the favorites. The team has an excellent setter in [player_tooltip player_id="124110" first="Charli" last="Crowson"], an elite outside hitter in [player_tooltip player_id="99493" first="Brooke" last="Bentke"] and plenty of backcourt stability with libero [player_tooltip player_id="178811" first="Kristen" last="Kuehn"] and defensive specialist Brooklin Frazier.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Bryan Rudder</strong></p> <p>The Rangers ranked fifth in district 19 in the 2021-2022 season after they won six and lost ten matches in their campaign. For 2022-2023, the main challenge will be replacing the offensive production of graduated middle blocker Asani McGee. Outside hitters Neeley Rutledge and Londyn Singleton showed some promise last season and, fed by the excellent setter [player_tooltip player_id="177530" first="Reagan" last="Aponte"], could certainly improve their production this time. Libero Gabby Baker was a revelation as a freshman and has already earned the team’s trust on the backcourt.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>College Station</strong></p> <p>The Cougars had a tremendous campaign last season, going undefeated to top district 19 with 16 wins and only being stopped by Manvel in the match that put in play a ticket for the State Championship. Most of the core of that team is gone, most notably outside hitters Ana de la Garza and Madison Kimes and setters Abby Peterek and Darby Nash. College Station will likely start building their new team from the backcourt, which has the efficient libero Ava Martindale, while the offense will be led by right side hitter Riley Newton.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Lake Creek</strong></p> <p>The Lady Lions were perfect in district 20, winning all of their 14 matches to finish at the top before falling in a dramatic five-setter to College Station in the playoffs. Despite the graduations of outside hitters Anna Ertischek and Taylor Menville, the team still preserves a significant part of last year’s core with outsides Payton Woods and [player_tooltip player_id="195590" first="Ashlynn" last="Kilgore"], setter Lauren Greene and liberos Reese Micklos and Masie Riley.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Magnolia</strong></p> <p>With 11 wins in 16 matches, the Lady Bulldogs finished fourth in district 19 last season. Repeating that campaign without the high-scoring duo of Brynn Botkin and Sydney Gentry will be a challenge, but Magnolia has some interesting pieces to work with, starting will middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id="141244" first="Alex" last="Bull"], who’s a force at the net. 6’1” right side hitter Chloe Richards also has tremendous potential at the pin and few teams in the state have a setter duo as strong as the one formed by Kira Braun and [player_tooltip player_id="181522" first="Jenna" last="Cicherski"].</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Magnolia West</strong></p> <p>The Mustangs had an inconsistent season in 2021-2022, winning only four out of 16 matches to rank seventh in district 19. Middle blocker Alexa Hayes and outside hitter Holly Windrum were important pieces of the team and will be missed offensively, increasing even more the responsibility of star outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="87566" first="Evyn" last="Snook"], the team’s leading scorer last season. She will form the core of the new team with setter Bethany May and libero Kassidy Johnson.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Montgomery</strong></p> <p>With a record of ten wins and just four losses, the Lady Bears had a good campaign last season, ranking third in district 20. The team will look very different in 2022-2023, though, without outside hitter Madi Chandler, middle blocker Taryn McAnally and libero Kendall Sadler. The connection between setters Bella Fiaschetti and Kaysie Lynch and outside hitter Abby Meador and middle blocker Hailey Admire will be pivotal to the team’s success this season.</p>