Despite a game effort by Hendrickson, the Hawks had no answer for Red Oak’s 6-foot-1-inch middle blocker Caleah Wells. The senior finished the match with 18 kills and eigth stuff blocks and dominated the net when she was on the court.

It was Wells who led Red Oak storming out of the gates in the first game, slamming home four kills and delivering a stuff block to help her side take a 5-3 lead. Kennedi Coleman joined in the hitting spree for Red Oak as they increased their lead to 11-6, before a Lauren Muska kill stemmed the tide and returned momentum to Hendrickson. Glad Nawazo scored on a stuff block and a kill to pull the Hawks to within two at 11-9 and powered home two more kills to cut Red Oak’s lead to 14-13. Thanks to a couple kills from Lindsay Dekeratry and a Red Oak error, Hendrickosn was actually able to take the lead at 16-15 but it was shortlived. Red Oak, riding the hot hand of Coleman, pushed their advantage to 20-17. The Hawks scored just one more time in the game, on a Red Oak error giving the Hawks from Red Oak the victory.

The momentum Red Oak built in the first game carried over into the second. Coleman and Wells dominated the net helping their team build a 9-5 lead. After Casey Friesen served an ace for Hendrickson, Wells responded with a kill which she followed with three consecutive stuff blocks. Red Oak led 17-8 when the Hawks began to unravel even further. Five Hendrickson errors put Red Oak up 22-10 before Avery Eckert blasted a kill to briefly stop the slide. Red Oak scored on a kill from Emmalee Smith before two more Hawk errors ended the game.

Hendrickson jumped out to an early lead in the third game thanks to kills from Friesen, Eckert and Dekeratry and a couple aces from Mariah Carlin. The Hawks continued to hold off Red Oak through the early stages of the third game, getting another kill from Eckert and two from Zoey Hanrahan to take a 9-7 lead. Hanrahan added an ace to push the lead to 10-7 and Hendrickson led as late as 12-11 thanks to a Red Oak error. However, once Wells returned to the court, the Hawk run came to a quick end. Wells delivered six kills and two blocks in the stretch run as Hendrickson scored just one more point, on a Muska kill, as their season came to an end.

The Cougars (27-17) hung close to the Indians (41-4) in all three games but could not close out either of the first two before dropping the final game as well.

The first two games were carbon copies of each other with Waxahachie jumping out to an early lead and Connally fighting back and eventually gaining the upper hand. The Cougars turned a 7-3 deficit in the first game into an 18-14 lead, thanks largely to the hitting of Cindy Okpegbue, Alexus Horton, Kelsie Payne and Elizabeth Johnbull. Kara Babola set Johnbull for a kill that put Connally up 17-14 and an Indian error increased that advantage to 18-14. Waxahachie came back though. Led by the play of Kate Praslicka, the Indians built a 23-21 lead before an error stopped their charge. Johnbull scored for the Cougars on a stuff block to pull Connally to 24-23 and another Waxahachie error tied the game at 24-24. However, Sophie Stevens delivered a stuff block for the Indians and Praslicka, a hybrid setter/outside hitter, set Courtney Miller for the game-ending kill.

Just as in the first game, Waxahachie jumped out to a quick lead in the second game before the Cougars charged back. Horton and Johnbull delivered kills to put the Cougars up 18-16 and the Connally lead peaked at 22-19 thanks to a kill and an ace from Johnbull and a block by Paine. Praslicka led the Indians storming back, knocking down a kill, then setting Carly Hess for another. Babola set Johnbull for one more kill, giving Connally the chance to win with a 24-23 lead. However two straight Cougar errors turned the tide and gave the Indians serve at game point. Praslicka took care of the rest, feeding Stevens for another kill to end the game.

Again in the third game Waxahachie jumped out to a quick lead, gaining a 6-1 advantage thanks to a couple aces and a couple Connally errors. However, this time the Cougars did not have a charge left in them and could not get a lead in the final game. Three times Connally cut the Indian lead to three at 19-16 on a stuff block from Alexis McNally, at 21-18 on a stuff block from Johnbull and at 23-19 on a kill by Johnbull. The Cougars came within three one more time thanks to an Indian error which trimmed their lead to 24-21. A second Waxahachie error brought Connally as close as it would come in the game as the Cougars trailed 24-22, however the Indians were not to be denied and Praslicka took care of the rest, hammering a pass from Cara Partington to the floor on the other side of the net for the win.

Connally defeated Whitehouse 25-20, 25-17, 25-13 to reach the region quarterfinals.

The Cougars (26-16) had to rally to get past Mesquite Poteet in West on Monday. Connally won the first game 25-18 but lost the next two 26-28 and 22-25. The Cougars then took the final two games 25-15 and 16-14. It was the second year in a row Connally had beaten Poteet in the bi-district round.

“One thing we learned about Mesquite Poteet last year is that they have a lot of heart,” Cougar coach Ruxton Williamson said. “They play hard and don’t give up on any play. Our girls played hard, as well, but we lost sight of the other teams will to win. We have to remember that we’re not alone and teams want to take us out. In the end, though, we were able to pull it out and I’m proud of our team and our desire to come out on top.”

Elizabeth Johnbull led the Connally offense with 18 kills. Cindy Okpegbue had 17 kills and Alexus Horton added 14 and three blocks. Kara Babola doled out 49 assists. Jessica Pierce had 15 digs, Johnbull and Babola each had 13.

The Cougars advance to to take on Whitehouse.

The Hawks (31-14) did not have as much trouble in their match, sweeping Corsicana 25-23, 25-15, 25-12 in Waco on Tuesday.

Zoey Hanrahan led Hendrickson with 14 kills and three blocks. Casey Friesen had 35 assists. Mariah Carlin added three aces and three digs.

The Hawks move to to face the winner of the Rose City/Tyler match.

Connally will face Mesquite Poteet on Monday at West High School. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. The Hawks take on Corsicana on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Waco High School at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets to both games are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

A Panther victory would have propelled Pflugerville into a three-way tie with the Warriors and Leander.

The host Warriors used solid serving and strong defense to claim the first game sparking the home crowd to a roar but the Panthers, winners of more than 30 matches on the season, were fighting for their playoff lives and rallied to claim the second set 25-23 then took the advantage with a 25-19 third game victory sending the Warriors to the precipice of defeat and the looming three-way tie for the final spot.

Westwood relied on a balanced attack as head coach and former McNeil High standout Kate Zora rallied the Warriors with a ball control offense to offset the superior Panther size advantage.

Westwood won game four 25-22 to force the winner take all fifth set.

Westwood claimed a five point victory, winning 15-10 to finish district play with a 7-5 record while Leander was fifth at 6-6 and Pflugerville falling to 5-7.

The Hawks finish the regular season tied with Connally with identical 14-2 records in district. Hutto had a chance to make it a three-way tie but the Hippos lost to Elgin on Tuesday so the title was only split two ways.

The outcome of the match never really seemed to be in question as Hendrickson took the first two games 25-20 and 25-14. However the third game had a decidedly different flavor as Connally led for most of it, ultimately taking a 24-19 lead while holding serve. However, a two bad hits by the Cougars trimmed their lead to 24-20 and opened the door for the Hawks.

Hendrickson responded with a 5-0 surge thanks in part to kills by Zoey Hanrahan and Lindsey Dekeratry and aided by two more Connally errors. With the Hawks up 25-24, the Cougars made one last stand as Kara Babola fed Elizabeth Johnbull for a kill to tie the game at 25-25. But the night belonged to Hendrickson and so did the final game. Casey Friesen set Dekeratry for a kill to put the game at match point then fed Hanrahan for the game-winning kill.

The Hawks came out swinging in the first game, building a 10-5 lead before Connally came storming back. Three straight kills by Johnbull, cut Hendrickson’s lead to 10-8 and another Johnbull kill trimmed it to 11-9. The Hawks continued to hit back, getting kills from Glad Nawazo, Blaine Koester, Hanrahan and Dekeratry to push their lead to 18-14. Ashlyn Upah served an ace to put Hendrickson up 20-15 and Friesen set Hanrahan for another kill to increase the Hawk lead to 23-17. Hanrahan followed her kill with an ace, putting Hendrickson up 24-17, but two Hawk errors and an ace from Kelsie Payne pulled the Cougars to 24-20. That was as close as they’d get as Friesen set up Nawazo for the game-winning kill.

The Hawks took the momentum from the second game and rolled into the second game, jumping out to an 11-1 lead. Koester scored on a stuff block and a kill and Friesen served an ace to get the run started. Nawazo delivered two more kills and a stuff block and Lauren Muska served four aces as Hendrickson built a lead it would not lose. The Cougars were game, fighting back on kills by Johnbull and a stuff block by Payne. After Johnbull delivered a stuff block the Hawk lead was trimmed to 14-8, but Hendrickson answered with a kill from Muska, an ace from Hanrahan and a stuff block from Nawazo to push their lead to 17-8. The two teams traded points the rest of the way. Connally got kills from Babola, Alexus Horton and Payne while the Hawks answered with blasts from Muska, Koester and Hanrahan. Friesen set Dekeratry for a kill to put Hendrickson up 24-14 and a Cougar error wrapped up the win for the Hawks.

With the win the Hawks improve to 27-14 on the year and 12-2 in District 16-4A with two matches left on the schedule.

Lauren Muska led the way for Hendrickson with nine kills. Blaine Koester had four blocks, Mariah Carlin 13 digs and Casey Friesen 15 assists. Muska and Zoey Hanrahan each had three aces.

The Hawks defeated Bryan Rudder in five games Friday, winning 25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12.

Cougars win two

The Connally High volleyball team kept its hold on first place in District 16-4A with victories over Cedar Creek on Tuesday and Bastrop on Friday.

The Cougars defeated Cedar Creek 25-14, 25-17, 25-14 and beat the Bears 25-18, 25-21, 25-17. The wins improve Connally’s district mark to 13-1, they are 24-15 overall. The Cougars hold a half-game lead over Hutto. The teams will meet Friday in a match that could determine the district champion.

Georgetown 3, Pflugerville 1

The Panthers fell to the Eagles 25-17, 14-25, 18-25, 20-25, dropping their District 16-5A mark to 5-5.

Pflugerville (33-10) was led by I’Tiana Taylor who finished with 19 kills and three blocks. Madison Rigdon added 13 kills, 21 digs and three aces. Lindsay Oborny finished with 27 asssists. Kate Palladino finished with a team-high 23 digs.

The night belonged to the Texans whose play at the net was a problem for the Hawks all evening, one Hendrickson was unable to solve. Time and again during the match Wimberley’s aggressive play at the net (both offensively and defensively) caused the Hawks problems that resulted in points either as a result of blocked shots or monster spikes.

The Hawks continued to battle back from deficits. The deciding factor in all the games was momentum and which team would go on a run last. Unfortunately for the Hawks it was the Texans that always got that last push.

As strong of a game as the Texans played there were times when they were their own worst enemy. This was never more evident than early in the second game when the Texans jumped out to an early 9-5 lead. Back-to-back unforced errors, however, allowed the Hawks back into the game and were the catalyst for a key series of points that eventually lead to the Hawks tying the game at 14-14. The Hawks kept the game close but fell just short as Wimberley scored the final two points to secure the win.

Game three was almost a mirror image of game two as the Hawks again battled throughout and kept the game close only to see the Texans rattle off the last four points to get the win and take the match. To add insult to injury Wimberley’s final point came on an ace serve.

The night was not all bad for Hendrickson however; even though they were on the short side of the score the Hawks did get some solid performances out of Lauren Muska, Avery Eckert, Zoey Hanrahan, Casey Friesen and Glad Nawazo. Each of these ladies made plays at key moments during the match that helped keep the Hawks in the contest.

I’Tiana Taylor had 34 kills and three blocks to lead the way for the Panthers who improve to 5-4 in district (33-9 overall) with the win. Stony Point falls to 5-3 in district.

“We’re getting back to playing like we were earlier in the year,” Pflugerville coach Jeff Coward said of his team which has now won three straight district matches. “We’re playing really well again. I was shocked when we were 2-4 in district. We were not winning the points we had to win. The team has really made the decision to play better.”

The Panthers jumped out to an early lead in the first game, building a 7-2 advantage behind four kills by Taylor. Pflugerville had a lead as late at 13-12 before the tide began to turn. The Tigers, riding the hitting of Lauren DeAnda, Dana Faught and Bridget Crawley clawed their way back into the game, eventually taking an 18-16 lead when Faught set Crawley for a second consecutive kill. The Panthers tied the game at 18-18, but a stuff block from Stony Point’s Rachel Jordan was followed by a kill from Crawley to put the Tigers up 21-19. The opening was enough to get Stony Point the win as kills by Crawley and DeAnda and another Johnson stuff block finished off the Panthers.

The two teams traded points through the second game before Pflugerville took over. The Panthers led 6-5, then went on an impressive 19-8 run to get the victory. Taylor, Madison Rigdon (15 kills), Diana Omozee (8 kills) did most of the damage as Taylor served an ace for the final point.

After a tough battle to win the third game, the fourth game mirrored the second as the Panthers rallied from a 13-11 deficit to go on a 14-3 run to get the win.

Taylor sparked the rally, taking a pass from Lindsay Oborny (58 asssists) and slamming it home for a kill. She added five more kills in the charge, including the match winner. Rigdon had one and an ace.

“They looked a lot like we did early in the year,” Coward added. “They put their foot down. It feels really good to get that back.