Houston Area HS Previews: 6A – District 19

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. 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. This time we’ll be heading to the Katy area for Division 6A – District 19:   Cinco Ranch The Cougars were third in district 19 last season in 2021-2022 with their campaign of eight wins and four losses and won their first two playoff matches before eventually falling to Katy. The team is set to return most of its core for the upcoming season, with graduated setter Catalina Martinez being the only notable absence. The Cougars have an excellent team with the O’Brien sisters Courtney (outside hitter) and Kassidy (setter) and outside hitters Gabby Martinez and [player_tooltip player_id="177534" first="Makenna" last="Loo"], middle blockers Emily Killam and Shea Rainosek and libero Kayla Atkinson and seem poised for another positive season. Jordan The Warriors did fairly well in the very first season of the program, tallying 6 wins in 16 matches to rank sixth in the competitive 19 district (division 5A). The squad had no seniors in 2021-2022, meaning everyone will be back this season, when they made the jump to division 6A, outside of versatile setter/right side Alexys James, who transferred to Fulshear. High-scoring outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="176641" first="Ella" last="Folse"], dynamic middle blocker Addison Oglesby and reliable libero [player_tooltip player_id="189647" first="Abby" last="Hoss"] should form the core of the team without her. Katy The Lady Tigers will be in somewhat of rebuild mode after ranking second in district 19 last season with a campaign of 10 wins and two losses and making a deep playoff run. That’s because the cornerstones of that great team, setter Maddie Waak, middle blocker Jordan Gamble, right side Courtney Lee and libero Izzy Denton all graduated. There’s still plenty of talent in the team with long and talented outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id="176649" first="Maddy" last="Chaapel"] and [player_tooltip player_id="206716" first="Addison" last="Chapman"] and athletic middle blocker Kennedy Pike, but replacing the production of so many excellent players all at once could be a tough ask. Mayde Creek The Lady Rams were right after district 19’s ‘Big Four’ last season, claiming four wins in 12 matches to rank fifth. Remaining competitive while transitioning from a senior-heavy roster will be a challenge in 2022-2023, especially with the graduation of high-scoring outside hitter Mecca Freeman, who was the team’s centerpiece. Setter Natalie Hill and defensive specialist Alondra Guardado are among the team’s most promising players heading into the season. Morton Ranch The Lady Mavericks couldn’t keep up with the high level of the division last season and sat at the bottom of district 19 with 12 losses. Morton Ranch will enter 2022-2023 without a key piece in electric outside hitter Mallorie Lamport but will feature some players who showed good potential despite the team’s campaign, most notably athletic outside hitter Neveah Donahoe, solid libero Kyler Maple and talented setter Hadley Hyle. Paetow The Lady Tigers are another team joining district 19 after competing in division 5A last season, when they secured three wins in 16 matches to rank eighth. The team graduated a single senior after 2021-2022 in outside hitter Kelsi Sims and have some players that could be set for a breakout season such as talented setter/right side [player_tooltip player_id="203987" first="Caelyn" last="Dumas"], productive middle blocker Amaya Thompson and reliable libero Charrish McLemore. Seven Lakes The state champions in 2020-2021, the Lady Spartans were more pedestrian last season, when their six wins and six losses placed them in fourth place in district 19. Star setter Casey Batenhorst leads a good graduating class that also features right side Emma Schroder and outside hitter Mia Blum. [player_tooltip player_id="196106" first="Simone" last="Romriell"] and Julia Valverde should split the setting duties in 2022-2023 while libero Grace Lanier controls the backcourt and middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id="124148" first="Sameena" last="Burns"] and outside hitter Temitope Sam-Olibale make an impact at the net. Taylor The Lady Mustangs were capable of winning just a pair of their 12 matches last season, ranking sixth in district 19. Setter Gracie Gibbens, middle blocker Bria Dixon and outside hitter Nicole Carrasco are among the top graduated players while outside hitters Allyson Campbell and Hannah Fan and libero Tessa Woods will most likely be the ones guiding the team into the 2022-2023 season. Tompkins The Lady Falcons were unstoppable in league play last season, winning all of their 12 matches to finish at the top of district 19 and make a deep playoff run. Star outside hitter Paris Herrman has graduated but the position will continue one of the strengths of Tompkins in 2022-2023 with the return of leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="87549" first="Cindy" last="Tchouangwa"]. Other players to watch are all-around middle blocker Tendai Titley and the strong setter duo of [player_tooltip player_id="124136" first="Erica" last="Dellesky"] and Presley Powell.