Texas HS: Memorial beat Stratford away to continue undefeated

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school volleyball season continues to progress at full pace in the state of Texas, and for some districts, the playoff race is shaping up pretty clearly as the weeks go by.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We, at Prep Dig Texas, are excited to cover another season of high school volleyball in our state and will attend multiple matches every week in the Houston area, producing articles, photos and social media posts that highlight the impressive performances and accomplishments from our players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Tuesday, September 30, we attended a highly anticipated District 17 duel involving the Stratford Lady Spartans and the Memorial Lady Mustangs in Houston.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/2025/09/texas-hs-stratford-vs-memorial-photos/">Photos: Stratford vs. Memorial</a></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams entered the match holding perfect district records, but, despite playing on the road, Memorial were the ones to keep theirs clean, triumphing 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973200928678560243","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973200928678560243 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the victory, Memorial improved their district record to 7-0 and now have 20 wins and ten losses in the season - they start the second round of district play at home against Cypress Falls on Friday. Stratford now have six wins and one loss in district play and 17 wins and 13 losses in the season. They will be on the road on Friday against Cypress Creek.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Performers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Mary Margaret Schwieder","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Memorial","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68dca7f287c65"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The junior outside hitter had a big influence on Memorial's victory with her solid all-around game. Schwieder delivered at a high level in different areas of the game and was very consistent throughout the match, making big plays in key moments. She was very comfortable in serve-receive, covering a large portion of the court, and also appeared well when playing defense. The outside hitter also stood out offensively, showing excellent decision-making to find solutions to difficult plays, hitting the ball in challenging angles and tooling the block when she had to.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973197186163962346","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973197186163962346 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["775802"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68dca7f287cf7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Harting was another player who stood out in different areas of the game. Splitting her time between setting and hitting duties on the right, the sophomore was also her team's heart, playing with a lot of passion, but remaining calm in moments of pressure. Harting excelled with her playmaking, distributing the ball intelligently and speeding things up when possible. Her offense was very efficient as she displayed excellent vision to avoid opposing blockers, and the setter also got to contribute on the backcourt, playing solid defense and creating problems for Stratford's serve-receive with her aggressive floaters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":890873,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/09/2J4A0063_11143d.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-890873" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Tesa Solis","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Memorial","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Third Coast Juniors (Beach)","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68dca7f287dcd"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Playing opposite to Schwieder at the pin, Solis was Memorial's main scoring option throughout the match. A six-footer, the junior made great use of her length and firepower at the net, overpowering opponents when in system and taking advantage of her high contact point to put the ball down in sets off the net. Solis had a moment of inconsistency during the third set, making consecutive offensive errors, but quickly recovered from it and performed at a high level in the fourth set. She played only the three front row rotations, but did well with her passing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973177116637495459/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973177116637495459/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["269813"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68dca7f287e44"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The senior libero was very good defensively, coming up with impressive digs. Tan thrived with her excellent positioning at the left back position, consistently getting in the right spots to get a touch on the ball and displaying excellent ball control to deal with hard-driven swings. The libero wasn't much of a target for Stratford in serve-receive, but handled each serve that went her way efficiently. Tan also did a great job with her transition sets, using her hands to get her hitters in good situations to score, at times even fooling opposing blockers with fakes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["323202"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68dca7f287eac"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The senior setter ran Stratford's offense extremely well, playing with great creativity as she tried to make the most of her hitters. Cook used her middles at the right moments and was very good at making combination plays that got her pin hitters in good situations to score. She was very aggressive with her setter dumps, and diversified a lot, putting the ball down in different ways and giving Memorial's blockers and defenders very little chance to stop her. Cook also played solid defense and had a good blocking presence, scoring the point that gave her team the victory on set two.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973184980978414024","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973184980978414024 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["787951"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68dca7f287f19"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The sophomore outside hitter was Stratford's most consistent offensive player during the match. Hatcher made good choices every time she was set at the pin, finding good solutions to avoid opposing blockers and defenders (her tips had excellent locations) and limiting her errors. She also did well in serve-receive, displaying great ball control and confidence to deal with the serves that went her way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973186330302751019/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/grtorres/status/1973186330302751019/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->