Cypress Ranch vs. Cinco Ranch – Top Performers
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The early days of the high school volleyball season have arrived in Texas and for the next four months, every week will be filled with exciting matches across the Lone Star State. Prep Dig will be following the action closely…
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Continue ReadingThe early days of the high school volleyball season have arrived in Texas and for the next four months, every week will be filled with exciting matches across the Lone Star State.
Prep Dig will be following the action closely and every match I get to attend will be followed with a Top Performers Report, highlighting the prospects who stood out on the court, and a photo gallery.
My first stop this season was at the Cypress Ranch High School in Houston, where the Lady Mustangs faced the Cinco Ranch Cougars from Katy in a non-district match on August 15.
The visitors were dominant and walked away with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-18) victory to improve their season record to 10-1. Cypress Ranch are now at 7-2.
Top Performers
Gabriella Martinez Gabriella Martinez 5'11" | OH Cinco Ranch | 2025 State TX
Gabriella Martinez Gabriella Martinez 5'11" | OH Cinco Ranch | 2025 State TX
Martinez moved to outside hitter this season after spending her first two seasons of high school volleyball on the right and seems ready to carry Cinco’s offense this season. She was easily the team’s most-used offensive player against Cypress Ranch and responded well, consistently scoring from the left and the right. Gabi is very explosive and she knows how to use that to put the ball down, but she mixed things up extremely well, using tips and finesse shots to score as well. She was solid with her passing for most of the match and had good moments from the service line too.
One of the top setters in the state, O’Brien played like that against Cypress Ranch, leading Cinco to an emphatic victory against a team that’s considered one of the best in the region. Her accuracy was on point, as usual, and her ball distribution was impeccable, keeping all hitters involved and making combination plays when in system, but keeping things simple and going with the team’s main scorers in key moments. O’Brien also helped with her defense and got a big block early on. She had a great serving run at the start of the third set that put Cinco in a very comfortable position to win in three.
Magdalene Finnegan
Magdalene Finnegan
Beginning her first season as a starter for Cinco, Finnegan gave some promising signs against Cy Ranch and indicated the Cougars will continue strong at the libero position. She made some impressive digs in hard-driven swings and worked very hard on the backcourt, recovering balls and getting a lot of touches. The Lady Mustangs stayed away from Finnegan in serve-receive for most of the time, but when they went at her, she was very efficient and consistent too. The libero also did a very good job when asked to set in transition, placing the hitters in good position to score.
Bello was one of the few players from Cy Ranch who can claim to have had a good performance against Cinco. Her ball handling was always efficient and her game remained steady for most of the match. Cy Ranch struggled with their passing on several moments and Bello did the best she could to turn difficult passes into hittable balls, with some success. She also got a couple of blocks, made some important digs and was very efficient when she took on hitting duties at the net, putting the ball down more often than not.
Highlights
It was by no means a memorable performance by Porter, but despite all the difficulties, she still managed to produce at a good rate and be important to her team. It took a while for the outside hitter to get going as she got blocked a few times and made some uncharacteristic errors in the first two sets, but Porter found her rhythm on set three and her offensive production was enough to keep her team in the game and give them some hope before Cinco frustrated them. She was also solid on the backcourt, passing well and getting some touches on defense.