2023 Houston Area HS Previews: 5A - District 18

The club volleyball season has come to an end in great style, with the best teams in the country battling at the 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship, in Chicago, between the end of June and the start of July.   The top talent in the state of Texas won't have much time off the court, however, as they are now gearing up to represent their high schools in the upcoming season, which is set to begin in just a few weeks, with the first non-district matches set to happen on August 4 and district play starting from August 22.   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.   Prep Dig will be following all the action, as usual, but until it starts, let's take some time to preview some of the districts located in the Houston area.   Division 5A - District 18   Angleton   Last season wasn't an easy one for Angleton as the team finished at the bottom of the standings in district play with a single victory in 12 matches. The Lady Cats should have a new look this year with several seniors graduation, most notably libero Isabel Avalos, setter Chelsey Owens, outside hitter Sydney Moseley and middle blocker Lee'Andra Foston. The new core should feature junior outside hitter Brooklyn Smith, sophomore middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='489324' first='Paige' last='Smith'] and sophomore setter Lily Soliz, who all return to the team.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/LadycatVolleyb1/status/1598516238535254017?s=20 </div></figure>   Friendswood   Friendswood finished in second place in the district and defeated all opponents twice, except Manvel. The team played three playoff matches last season, falling in the regional quarterfinals. Middle blocker Kaitlyn Gotsch and libero/outside hitter Cierra Pesak have both graduated and won't be back with the team, but the Mustangs still have plenty of talented pieces to dream of a deep playoff run. Among them are senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='177541' first='Meghan' last='Donoughue'], junior right side [player_tooltip player_id='181381' first='Jordyn' last='Sims'], junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='179894' first='Sydney' last='Gibson'], sophomore outside hitter Nadi'Ya Shelby and senior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='124149' first='Isabella' last='Thompson'].   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/JordynSimsJ3/status/1668822228140531712?s=20 </div></figure>   Galveston Ball   Galveston Ball will certainly be looking to finish better than they did last season, when they were sixth with four wins and eight losses, and they have the quality to do it. Leaving the team after last season's campaign were libero Sunny Jo Higgins and right side Kari Nance who both graduated. The Lindamood sisters Kate (senior) and Sterling (junior) will continue to play a big role for the Lady Tors in the middle, with setter/right side Charli Stein running the offense and outside hitter Charli Dean operating as an important offensive weapon at the pin.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/09/Ball.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-230030" /></figure>   La Porte   La Porte was the first team outside the playoff qualification zone last season, ranking fifth in the district with four victories and eight losses. Because the team had a heavy senior squad last year, the 2023 season will mark a restart for the Lady Dawgs as they will enter the tournament without their two main setters (Miranda Huerta and Natalie Martinez), their two best defensive players (Madison Guidry and Destiny Conde) and two of their three top scorers (middle blockers Chloe Paul and Paylin Sjolander). For the team to be able to compete against the best in the district, seniors [player_tooltip player_id='269812' first='Kera' last='Arrington'] (outside hitter) and Bailey Upshaw (right side) will need to carry the offense, while junior Sophie Sandel steps up and produce at libero.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/LPLadyDawgsVB/status/1673375369448103936?s=20 </div></figure>   Manvel   Manvel was dominant in the district last season, winning all 12 matches and dropping just two sets to finish at the top of the standings - their postseason run lasted until the regional semifinals. The main challenge for the Lady Mavericks will be replacing the offensive production brought over the last few years by outside hitter Devyn Lewis and Lyric Jordan, who both graduated. Everywhere else, Manvel is stacked again with junior [player_tooltip player_id='179904' first='Kenedy' last='Massie'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='254265' first='London' last='King'] at setter, senior Christian Fairbanks and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='226814' first='Jasmyn' last='Walker'] in the middle, senior [player_tooltip player_id='124122' first='Tylisee' last='Brinkley'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='254283' first='Nevaeh' last='English'] at right side and senior [player_tooltip player_id='254078' first='Bea' last='Angeles'] at libero.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/ManvelVBall/status/1678902700774154243?s=20 </div></figure>   Santa Fe   Santa Fe had a successful season last year, ranking third in the district with seven wins and five losses, only behind Manvel and Friendswood. They couldn't make it past the first round of the playoffs, though, and saw their season end in the bi-district round. The Lady Indians will be missing three key pieces of their last campaign this year as middle blocker Kadee Frantz, outside hitter Andee Stamper and libero Breanna Montemayor graduated. Some of their key returning players will be setters Hailey Collins (junior) and Morgan Walton (senior), junior outside hitter Hannah Doerre and junior middle blocker Addilynn Webb.   Texas City   Texas City claimed the last spot in the playoffs last season by finishing fourth in the district with four wins and eight losses. There will be some change this season, however, with middle blocker Makenzie Briles, setters Jayla Diaz-Medina and Emie McCoy and libero Julianna Ruiz all leaving the team due to graduation. The two main scorers for the Lady Stings in their last campaign, outside hitters Kailey Thompson (junior) and Lexi Ashcraft (senior) will need to replicate or even improve their performances to take the team to the playoffs again. Junior libero Jayda Rodriguez will also be important in the backcourt.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/TCHSVolleyball1/status/1563719060789026823?s=20 </div></figure>

The club volleyball season has come to an end in great style, with the best teams in the country battling at the 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship, in Chicago, between the end of June and the start of July.