Houston Area HS Previews: 6A – District 13

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. 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. 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. 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. As we head to Division 6A, let’s start with district 14: Caney Creek The Lady Panthers won just two of their 12 matches in their last campaign, ranking seventh in the eight-team district 20. Several seniors are now gone, including libero Shay Musachio and middle blocker Lesly Alcantara, but some players showed good promise last season, most notably outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="178950" first="Brooklyn" last="Davis"] and setter Bri Marsh.   Cleveland The Indians enter this season aiming to do better than they did in 2021-2022, when they lost all of their 14 matches to finish at the bottom of district 20. The team’s main scoring options, right side De’Auna Viands, outside hitter Candice Tarver and middle blocker Carley Rogers all graduated. Setter Alexandrea Roberson and libero Abigail Martinez should provide some consistency, but new scorers will have to emerge for Cleveland to be competitive.   College Park The Lady Cavaliers were a force in district 13, winning all of their ten matches to finish at the top of the standings - they couldn’t make it past the second round of the playoffs though. Star setter Paige Bernstein, libero Alexis McDaniel and outside hitter Paige Palmer have graduated, but College Park has some players ready to step up and take larger roles with the team in outside hitters Mallory Madison and Peyton Sedlacek, middle blocker Cassidy Copeland and libero Morgan Madison.   Conroe The Lady Tigers didn’t have a great 2021-2022 season, finishing last on district 13 with a single win in their ten matches. The team can have higher hopes for the upcoming season, though, as despite keeping some productive pieces from their last campaign, such as right side Kaiden Medford, middle blocker Brooklyn Spikes, libero Emma Malak and setter Josephine Christensen, they will have a massive addition in outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="122888" first="Ariana" last="Brown"], who transferred from Klein and will provide a great scoring punch to the team.   Grand Oaks The Grizzlies ranked third in a competitive district 13 last season with a campaign of six wins and four losses. It will be challenging for them to repeat or improve on that record without four key seniors who graduated in outside hitters Fallon Thompson and Aidan Ballard, setter Sarah Sampson and libero Ava Terry, but Grand Oaks has great building blocks for the future in athletic middle blockers [player_tooltip player_id="124153" first="Jaela" last="Auguste"] and [player_tooltip player_id="141245" first="Madison" last="Weedon"] and long outside hitter Caelyn Emmerling.   Oak Ridge The War Eagles finished fourth in district 13 with their campaign on four wins and six losses in 2021-2022. The team will go through a complete rebuild with the graduations of setter Avery Fowler, middle blocker Ellie Davis, libero Sofia Richmond and outside hitters Darian Lowden, Briana Raney and Kaia Johnson. Setter Bradi Rhodes, middle blocker Sabrina Ramirez and libero Kennedy Mills will need to step up for the team to remain competitive this season.   New Caney The Lady Eagles were fifth in district 20 in 2021-2022 after they secured six wins and eight losses in league play. They will have big absences to make up for with the graduations of outside hitter Kasen Morkish, middle blocker Mia Chapa and setter Kylie Collier, but will have highly-productive middle blocker Jonaida DOnowa and emerging setter Lily Thompson, who’s also an outstanding setter, to lead the way.   The Woodlands The Highlanders were one of the best teams in district 13, ending last season in second place with eight wins and just two losses. The team will miss two important contributors in graduated outside hitter Reagan Whatley and libero Cassidy MacLean, but still has a great collection of talent that includes elite setters [player_tooltip player_id="176642" first="Claire" last="Dewine"] and Olivia Chojnacki, explosive outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="179917" first="Ella" last="Lewis"], talented libero Molly Tuozo and physical middle blocker Marjorie Johnson.   Willis The Wildkats will be looking to improve from their last season’s campaign, which saw them win a single of their ten matches to rank fifth in the six-team district 13. It certainly doesn’t help that two of their most productive players graduated in outside hitters Taylor Thomas and Georgia Everett, but Willis has a rising star in middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id="190295" first="Carly" last="Paugh"], a well-proven setter in Savannah Paske and a solid libero in Caroline Woodfill.