2023 Houston Area HS Previews: 6A - District 17

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, 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 6A - District 17   Cypress Creek   Houston's Cypress Creek finished in third place in the district last season thanks to the ten victories obtained in 14 matches. The Cougars were able to steal a set from Tompkins in the playoffs, but ended up falling in the area round. Next season will look a bit like a restart for Cypress Creek as much of the team's core over the last few years, formed by setter Grace Krohn, libero Gabriela Espiricueta, outside hitter Ashanti Butler and Mailyn Harris has departed due to graduation. Middles Alyssa Dinh (senior) and [player_tooltip player_id='269801' first='Jaeda' last='Rawls-Fletcher'] (junior) played big roles with the team last season and will have to do even more in 2023.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/CCHSCougarVB/status/1588525926387970048?s=20 </div></figure>   Cypress Ridge   Houston's Cypress Ridge won six out of their 14 district matches last season to rank fifth and barely miss the playoffs. Returning in 2023, the Lady Rams will need to deal with the absences of outside hitter Carly Jones and setter Viany Mercado, who graduated. Senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='177537' first='Shaelin' last='White'] will be heavily involved with everything the team does on the court and she can get some valuable help from middles Rayna Dixon (senior) and Wendy Shada (junior).   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/CyRidgeVball/status/1575495284570071042?s=20 </div></figure>   Cy-Fair   Cypress' Cy-Fair dropped a spot in district play last season but remained competitive, going from first to second with 12 wins and two losses. The Lady Bobcats pushed a strong Ridge Point team very hard, but ended up falling in five sets in the area round. The roster will look quite different in 2023 as the three main scorers from last year all graduated in outside hitter Kenna Webb and right sides Bella Torres and Alisa Cofer, as well as middle Anna Farrell and libero Emily Riley. Cy-Fair got a huge offensive addition in sophomore outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='269780' first='Arianna' last='Muoneke'], who transferred from Concordia Lutheran, and will have her lead a team that also has some nice talent in senior middle Presley Steward, senior setter/libero [player_tooltip player_id='155129' first='Bianca' last='Byerly'] and junior outside hitter/libero [player_tooltip player_id='189341' first='Karina' last='Smith'].   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/cyfairVBall/status/1587643312764293120?s=20 </div></figure>   Jersey Village   Jersey Village claimed the last spot in the playoffs available in the district by finishing fourth with seven wins. The Lady Eagles didn't make it past the bi-district round, falling to Bellaire. The team will be able to return most of its main players in 2023, with the exceptions being middle Ariel Johnson and libero Nathalia Castillo, who both graduated. Jersey Village have some solid building blocks in every position with junior Bella Spjut at setter, senior Julia Ultis at libero, senior Madi Diedrich and junior Elianna Freeman at outside hitter and senior Sophia Burke at middle.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/JVVolleyball/status/1585374815158153216?s=20 </div></figure>   Memorial   Houston's Memorial had a difficult year, going from second in 2021 to sixth with five victories in 14 matches and missing the playoffs. The Lady Mustangs will return in 2023 without their two main scorers from last season, outside hitters Sophie Harlan and Lizzie Cooper, who both graduated. Memorial will have a solid senior core to rely on with setter Jordan Heath, outside hitter Ashley Sadler and libero Baker Berg and can also expect more growth from junior [player_tooltip player_id='254290' first='Reese' last='Haley'] in the middle.   Northbrook   Houston's Northbrook sat at the bottom of the district last season with a winless campaign of 14 losses and just two sets won. The Lady Raiders have also lost three players that played important roles in the team to graduation in outside hitter Madison Campbell and Mileidi Bueno and middle Daisy Miranda. Leading the team in 2023 will be senior setter Angie Romero, senior libero Lizbeth Guzman and sophomore middle Makayla Oliver.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/NorthbrookVball/status/1581337869523685376?s=20 </div></figure>   Spring Woods   Houston's Spring Woods got just two victories in 14 matches last season and ranked in seventh place. Setter/right side Morgan Banks and libero Ingrid Bulux were among the graduating class from last season and will not be back in 2023. The Lady Tigers fielded a young squad last year and some of these players will have new opportunities to grow this season, including senior outside hitter Noelle Berry, senior middle Isabella Hutchison, junior middle Brittany Bargas and sophomore setter Adriana Castro.   Stratford   Houston's Stratford were the undefeated district winners in 2022, winning all 14 matches in the area. The Spartans won a pair of playoff matches before they fall to Cinco Ranch in the regional quarterfinals. There will be a massive turnover in the team as setter Nina Terry, libero Olivia Abbott, outside hitter Skylar George, middles Sharlotte Mcclintock and Emma Hickman and right side Sophia Cornell all graduated. The good news is that Stratford appear to have one of the deepest squads in the region again with sophomore setter [player_tooltip player_id='323202' first='Audrey' last='Cook'], senior outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id='254303' first='Sophie' last='Corbeil'] and Chloe Popkin, sophomore right side [player_tooltip player_id='269826' first='Sarah' last='Hickman'], sophomore outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='254038' first='Gwenyth' last='Koss'] and junior libero Izzy Rodriguez.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/audrey_cook01/status/1669869935726608384?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.