Houston Area HS Previews: 6A – District 17

<p>The USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship (GJNC) has just ended and new national champions have just been crowned 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>Now it’s Division 6A – District 17’s turn:</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong> </strong><strong>Cy-Fair</strong></p> <p>The Lady Bobcats were the best team in district 17 in 2021-2022, winning 13 of their 14 matches to finish at the top of the standings. Repeating that campaign without their last season’s Big Three of outside hitters Payton Rink and Madison Hrncir and middle blocker Alexis Robinson will be a big challenge, though. Cy-Fair has some interesting players on their roster in outside hitter Alisa Cofer, libero Emily Riley and setter/defensive specialist Bianca Bierly, but will need to find a way to add some scoring punch to their offense.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Cypress Creek</strong></p> <p>The Cougars had a winning season in 2021-2022, coming out on top in nine of their 14 matches to rank fourth in district 17. Their two best players in that campaign, outside hitters Lindsey Kriendler and Kayla Richardson, have both graduated, putting the team in a tough spot in the position. Cypress Creek has one of the best liberos in the region in [player_tooltip player_id="87583" first="Gabby" last="Espiricueta"], a solid setter in Grace Krohn, two reliable middles in Alyssa Dinh and Mailyn Harris and a good opposite in Sebastian Grimm and can do solid teamwork to remain competitive.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Cypress Ridge</strong></p> <p>The Rams ended in sixth place in district 17 last season after they won five and lost nine times during league play. The team’s top scorer, outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="177537" first="Shaelin" last="White"], and best blocker, middle Rylee Hampton, will both be back, creating the conditions needed for improvement. The biggest challenges for the team will be dealing with the graduations of setter Emily Trinh and libero Sierra Calles.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Jersey Village</strong></p> <p>The Lady Falcons were in the middle of the pack in 2021-2022 as their campaign of six wins and wight losses was good enough for a fifth-place finish in district 17. Expect Jersey Village to be a little more vulnerable on the backcourt without the great Gabriela Mansfield and to struggle in the setting department with the graduation of Grace Lee. Keeping their scoring efforts consistent will be key for the team and they seem to be in a position to try and do that with outside hitters Elianna Freeman and Madi Diedrich and middle blocker Sophia Burke all returning for another season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Memorial</strong></p> <p>The Mustangs were the second-best team in district 17 last season, losing only three of their 14 matches. The team will look a lot different this year, though, after setter Caroline Howell, outside hitters Samantha Cousins and Carly Beckman, middle blockers Jada Gibson and Mary Rieke and libero Megan Xie all graduated. This season’s team will likely be built around outside hitter Ashley Sadler and will have in middle blocker Sophie Harlan and setter Jordan Heath as other key pieces.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Northbrook</strong></p> <p>The 2021-2022 season was a difficult one for Northbrook as the team managed to win a single match in league play, ranking seventh in district 17 with one victory and 13 losses. Leading scorer and outside hitter Madison Campbell will be back and the level of offensive production her and middle blocker Nyla Walker manage to get will be pivotal to the team’s success. Replacing dynamic libero Jasmine Ochoa will also be important as the Raiders look for improvement.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Spring Woods</strong></p> <p>The Lady Tigers were last in the eight-team district last season with just one victory in the 14 matches they played. With several seniors graduating, the team will have a clean slate to start rebuilding in 2022-2023 and middle blocker Noelle Berry will be important to push the team in a different direction.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Stratford</strong></p> <p>The Lady Spartans fought at the top of district 17 last season with a third-best record of ten wins and four losses and have every reason they can compete for even bigger things in 2022-2023. The team lost just one of their key contributors to graduation in outside hitter Alexis Andrews, but have quality players in virtually every position with setter Nina Terry, right side Sophia Cornell, outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="176640" first="Skylar" last="George"], middle blockers [player_tooltip player_id="176727" first="Sharlotte" last="McClintock"] and Emma Hickman and libero [player_tooltip player_id="87582" first="Olivia" last="Abbott"].</p>