Houston Area 2025 HS Previews: District 19

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After almost eight months of intense action around the country, the club volleyball season came to an end two weeks ago, with the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship taking place in Dallas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The prospects from Texas won't, however, have a lot of time to breathe and relax after defending their club teams, as, in just over a month, on August 11, the high school volleyball season is about to begin in the Lone Star State, with the first matches of the University Interscholastic Legue (UIL) being held.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As in the past years, Prep Dig Texas will continue to follow the action closely in the Houston area, attending multiple matches every week and providing comprehensive coverage, with analysis, photos and social media posts from each of them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It should be another exciting season, filled with highly-contested matches and strong individual performances, and, before August 11 arrives, we'll preview each district in the Houston area so you know exactly what to expect from each team competing:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">District 19</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cinco Ranch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cinco Ranch repeated as the undefeated district champions in 2024, getting wins in their 16 district matches with just two sets dropped. The Lady Cougars had an amazing run in the Division 1 Playoffs and were only stopped by Fulshear in the Regional Final, ending their season with 35 wins and six losses. Next season will mark the start of a new era for the team, as many of the players who took the program to another level in the last few years, such as setter Kassidy O'Brien, outside hitter Gabriella Martinez and libero Magdalene Finnegan, graduated. Some key returning players for the Lady Cougars will be senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='517258' first='Gillian' last='Wolf'], junior middle Rahima Kone and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='805404' first='Emma' last='Reed']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jordan took the last spot in the playoffs last season, ranking fourth in the district with nine wins and seven losses. The Lady Warriors appeared in the Division 2 Playoffs and progressed until the Regional Semifinals, where they were downed by Shadow Creek - their season record had 22 wins and 20 losses. Middle Damisi Osibodu, middle/right side Abbie O'Shay and outside hitter Kalen Tuety were the standouts in their graduating class. In 2025, senior setter/right side [player_tooltip player_id='504400' first='Ava' last='Ribakovs'], senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='254150' first='Emmy' last='Nicholas'], junior libero [player_tooltip player_id='713066' first='Jenilee' last='Ngo'], junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='543673' first='Cooper' last='Rolens'] and sophomore outside hitter Eti Osague will form the core of the team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Katy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Katy finished sixth last year in district play with a campaign of eight wins and eight losses. Their season record was also neutral, with 21 victories and 21 defeats. In the upcoming season, the Lady Tigers will no longer have outside hitter Kennedy Pike, middles Kaysen Miller and Montgomery Henderson, libero Allison Sanders and setter Jade Adams, who all graduated. Senior outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id='831429' first='Kaitlin' last='Waak'] and [player_tooltip player_id='486934' first='Ella' last='Chaapel'] and junior setter Ashlyn Dodd will be key players for Katy in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mayde Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mayde Creek ranked eighth in the district last year, getting two wins and 14 losses against their regional rivals. The Lady Rams were better in non-district matches, completing their schedule with nine wins and 29 losses. The 2024 season was the last for some staples in the program, such as setter Melanie Gasca, middle Jasmine Thomas and outside hitter/middle Raquel Cortez. Senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='820881' first='Sydnie' last='Bankston'], sophomore outside hitter Isabella Gomez and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='506410' first='Kaleah' last='Lee'] will be tasked with carrying the torch for the Lady Rams in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Morton Ranch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morton Ranch were at the bottom of the district standings in 2024 after they dropped all their 16 matches and failed to win a single set. The Lady Mavericks were considerably more competitive against other opponents, having a 9-31 win record for the season. Having only middle Victoria Mire and outside hitter Ariana Campos Guzman as players with significant playing time to graduate this year, Morton Ranch will be able to build on what they built in 2024. Senior outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id='832396' first='Dylan' last='Day'] and [player_tooltip player_id='839567' first='Skyla' last='Van Tilburg'], senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='799861' first='Skylar' last='Banks'], senior setter Allison Willingham and sophomore setter [player_tooltip player_id='788916' first='Taylor' last='Willison'] should be among the team's standouts in the upcoming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paetow</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paetow finished in seventh place in the district last year, amassing four wins and 12 losses. The Lady Panthers had a much better preseason and ended their campaign with 13 wins and 27 losses. Libero Mia Deleon, middle Kate Bailey and right side Myriam Dagnono were part of the school's graduating class and won't be back in 2025. The Panthers will, however, be able to keep most of their core intact with outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id='845401' first='Lia' last='Martin'] (sophomore) and [player_tooltip player_id='824999' first='Arayla' last='Scranton'] (junior), middles [player_tooltip player_id='662606' first='Calea' last='Bush'] (senior) and [player_tooltip player_id='490856' first='Sydney' last='Crowder'] (junior), libero [player_tooltip player_id='793639' first='Lyric' last='Cruz'] (senior) and setters Jade Songer (senior) and Sofia Moctezuma (sophomore).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seven Lakes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perennial powerhouse Seven Lakes had the third-best campaign in the district last season, with 11 wins and five losses. The Lady Spartans ended their campaign with 29 wins and 11 losses after going down to Fulshear in the bi-district round of the Division 1 Playoffs. Next season should be one of change for Seven Lakes after setter Kate Kuehn, middles Heidi Wingate and Claudia Deuel and defensive specialist Natalie Holloway graduated. In senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='468893' first='Megan' last='Chapman'], senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='478110' first='Lily' last='Lott'], junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='805228' first='Gracie' last='Hobin'], sophomore middle [player_tooltip player_id='820056' first='Nlonna' last='Okwura'] and junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='832391' first='Sofia' last='Faidi'], the Spartans have plenty of building blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Taylor</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor narrowly missed the playoffs last year, ranking fifth with the same nine wins and seven losses as Jordan, but going down in the tie-breakers. The Lady Mustangs then ended their season with 25 wins and 14 losses. The team's leading scorer in last seasons, outside hitter/right side Julia Porath has graduated, as have outside hitter Talyn Woods, setter Ella Randall and libero Shelby Landry. Junior right side [player_tooltip player_id='534334' first='Eva' last='Kate Simoncic'] will carry a larger load on offense, with senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='435684' first='Madison' last='Barrera'] and junior middle [player_tooltip player_id='827250' first='Kennedy' last='Ogden'] helping while junior [player_tooltip player_id='593867' first='Lucy' last='Mihalick'] slides in at setter and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='755262' first='Sydney' last='Herleth'] takes over at libero.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tompkins</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tompkins finished second in the district last season, getting 13 wins and three losses. The Lady Falcons represented the district in the Division 2 Playoffs and made it past the first round, but fell to Stratford in the area round and ended their season with 30 wins and 14 losses. Tompkins graduated a strong class a few months ago, which included the likes of libero Brooklynn Merrell, setter/right side Caelyn Dumas, middle Simi Elliott, middle/outside hitter Christian Cowart and outside hitter Sydney Lynch. Tompkins continue set in the middle with senior [player_tooltip player_id='254092' first='Callie' last='Funk'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='534310' first='Natalie' last='Kitts'] and have talented players in other positions too, such as sophomore outide hitter Elsa St. Rose, senior middle/right side [player_tooltip player_id='326514' first='Emma' last='Elsasser'], junior setter Drew Merrell and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='482087' first='Lainey' last='Monroe'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->