The volleyball season continues this week for Chaparral, Ellison and Harker Heights whose standout performances during district play propelled them into the playoffs.
Harker Heights serves up the first chance for KISD fans to check out postseason action when the Lady Knights open the Class 6A Division II bi-district round at 7:30 p.m. Monday versus Mesquite Horn at Italy High School. The match is the second of a doubleheader.
“What I believed helped us (reach the playoffs) the most was the support of each other and leaving egos at the door. They truly are a family that just wants to win and doesn't care who gets the major stats for that game,” Lady Knights head coach Crystal Bennett said. “Our theme this year was simply "Family", and all 16 bought in and had one goal and that was to make it to the playoffs.”
New to the playoffs this season are divisions in each classification based on enrollment –– matching the format already used by football. It’s a change that was enacted after the University Interscholastic League voted on the matter during the summer.
Harker Heights finished third in District 12-6A and enters with an 18-14 record. It’s the first playoff appearance for the Lady Knights since the 2020 season and the third overall (2012) since the program’s inception in 2000.
Horn (16-16) was third in 11-6A behind Waxahachie and Duncanville. The winner plays North Forney or Wylie East.
“I am really excited about our game on Monday. Not only is it a first playoff appearance for each of the girls on the team, it is a first for me as well as a head coach,” Bennett said. “I knew from the first day of practice that this team was special and that we would hang a banner in our gym. I am so proud to be their coach and I know they will give it their all on Monday night.”
Over the course of 42 sets played in posting a 7-5 district record, sophomore Milyana Hopkins delivered a team-high 114 kills, 29 blocks and 14 aces, senior Nasya McGinnis landed 86 kills, junior Sanua Falaniko added 52 kills and 18 blocks, senior Zariah Pena recorded 157 digs, 14 kills and 13 service aces, senior Aaliyah Dixon chipped in a team-high 28 aces, senior Jesselix Acevedo Lebron came away with 222 digs and 21 kills, and senior Amaya Rich offered up 375 assists.
The postseason has become almost commonplace for the Ellison Lady Eagles (17-25), who will make their 12th consecutive playoff appearance. Their latest endeavor –– a 5A Division II encounter against Midlothian Heritage (25-20) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at West High School –– arrives after tying for third in 16-5A.
The winner plays Dallas Wilson or Dallas Hillcrest.
Coach Shirelle Givens’ Lady Eagles took the Lady Bobcats the distance in a five-set district finale Tuesday, Oct. 29, setting the tone for their upcoming playoff push despite falling short against Chaparral.
Ja’Lya Swiney had 18 kills, nine aces and nine assists in the regular-season closing match. Aliyah Bowman had 26 digs, Bryanna Bowman collected five aces, nine kills, 21 assists and 21 digs, and Chanelle Cancel had four aces, four kills, 18 assists and 11 digs.
The Lady Eagles then played Belton for seeding purposes Friday, Nov. 1, getting in a few more repetitions before Tuesday’s match.
Chaparral now has advanced to the playoffs in each of its first three seasons as a program. This year, though, they moved on in stellar fashion by running the table in District 16-5A for an unbeaten district championship.
“To be a third-year program, with fourth-place finishes in Year 1 and Year 2, and to come out with a 10-0 district record, means a lot. Not very often do you get to build a program from the ground up and see repeated successes like we have,” Lady Bobcats head coach Sarah Neal said. “These girls have really bought into our system and pushed to see it to fruition. I am so proud of these girls, and this program as whole, and excited to see how far we can go.”
The Lady Bobcats (23-12), who are searching for their first playoff victory, have won 14 of their last 15 matches ahead of a 6 p.m. 5A Division I bi-district encounter versus Red Oak (28-17) on Tuesday at Red Oak High School.
The Hawks finished third in District 15-5A. The winner gets Dallas Sunset of North Mesquite.
After the regular season’s 35 matches, senior Mikayla Gray finished with 254 kills, 267 assists, 305 digs, 54 blocks and 39 aces. Kemani Washington added 227 kills and 133 blocks, Bailey Thompson had 43 aces and 162 kills, Deliana Iosefo manufactured 135 kills and 61 blocks, Madison Edwards had 56 blocks and Mikayla Cromwell had 208 digs.
“We have spent the entirety of offseason, from the day we finished last year until the last game of the regular season, mentally preparing ourselves, making sure our culture was right, and that we were all in and focused on the same goal,” Neal said. “We talked a lot about staying calm, cool and collected in the face of adversity and just taking it one ball at a time. Our girls have been focused and hungry for this season.”
