High School Volleyball roundup – Caprock clinches 5A playoff spot with thrilling rally against rival Palo Duro

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The Caprock Lady Longhorns celebrate during a District 3-5A match against rival Palo Duro on Tuesday night at the PD Activity Center. [Kale Steed/ Press Pass Sports]

District 3-5A

Caprock rallies past Palo Duro to clinch 5A playoff spot

It looked as though Palo Duro had the match in hand and was going to complete a season sweep of rival Caprock on a special Senior Night at a very energetic Palo Duro Activity Center.

However, Caprock never quit even when down two sets 20-25, 24-26 to start the match. The Lady Longhorns pulled themselves together and stormed back in the next three sets 25-21, 25-14, 15-6, to claim a huge victory and punch a ticket back to the postseason for a second straight year.

“This team has a lot of fight and never give up,” Caprock head coach Branda Morales said. “We pulled together as a team and rallied. We trust each other and even though we dug a hole we found a way out. That’s good for us to overcome that adversity. I’m just so proud of this effort against Palo Duro. To be down 2-0, these girls wanted it. We were fifth-set ready. We took it one point at a time and took care of business.”

Caprock (19-6) finishes 3-5 in District 3-5A and will be the outright No. 3-seed. That puts Plainview (17-17-1) at 2-6 in the league as the No. 4-seed. Sadly, for Palo Duro, the Lady Dons, who left everything on the floor Tuesday, saw their season end at 17-17-1 and 1-7 in district.

Each set saw momentum swings. Palo Duro stormed out to a 20-8 lead before Caprock closed the gap 21-17 in the first just to have the Lady Dons pull it out 25-20.

In the second set, Palo Duro stormed back from a 20-17 deficit to rally back for a 26-24 win. But then it was Caprock’s turn. The Lady Longhorns got up big in the third set to hold on 25-21. In the fourth, Caprock controlled the match to send it to a fifth and decisive set where they took care of business.

A huge reason for the comeback fell on the shoulders of do-it-all standout Lilianna Rangel. The senior leader and quarterback of the Lady Longhorns was all over the court putting together a triple-double effort with an incredible 42 assists, hit the floor for 30 digs and played excellent at the net with 16 kills.

Teammate Adrienne Madrid stepped up on the back row with 41 digs and four aces, Tyra Navarette put together a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs and Reese Dindinger had a team-high 23 kills.

Amarillo High ends district season with perfect mark 

The Amarillo High Lady Sandies made it a perfect run through District 3-5A with a pounding of Plainview on Tuesday night at Plainview High School.

The Lady Sandies (36-5) end the regular season on a 10-game win streak and an unblemished 8-0 in district. AHS will also carry a 38-game league win streak into next season.

Blair Pennington was in control of the offense with 26 assists in the victory. Her twin sister, Ryan, went for seven kills and Grace Hughes added eight kills. Bird Moffitt did a solid job on the back row with 10 digs.

District 4-4A

Randall, West Plains share district crown

Randall and West Plains both won during Tuesday’s regular season finale and will both earn a share of the District 4-4A championship with a 13-1 mark in league play.

It’s the first district title for West Plains in only its second season under head coach Kaitlyn Cornelius.

The Lady Wolves dismantled Borger in a three-set sweep 25-21, 25-16, 25-14, while the Lady Raiders handled Perryton with a sweep of their own, 25-15, 25-18, 25-13.

The two teams did flip for the No. 1-seed out of the district. Randall (37-4) will be the No. 1-seed with West Plains (37-7) taking the second spot.

In the victory over Borger, Zenaida Murrillo did her job thanks to 20 assists and three aces. McCall Sims as always was stellar on the back row with 24 digs and Brooklyn Garcia led the team knocking down 12 kills.

Randall’s Jordyn Gove ended her final regular season powering down 23 kills from the front row to go with eight digs. Setter Sidney Soria handed out 36 assists with seven kills and Kenna Miller chipped in with eight digs and an ace.

Hereford grounds Canyon

With the playoffs looming, the Hereford Lady Whitefaces took some momentum with them getting a Senior Night home win over rival Canyon in four-sets, 25-13, 15-25, 25-21, 25-19.

Hereford, which had already secured the No. 3-seed out of District 4-4A, ends the regular season at 19-17 overall and 10-4 in the league. The Lady Eagles head to the playoffs as the No. 4-seed with a 20-21 mark and finished district at 7-7.

Kyndal Blair and Allee Purcella each played great at the net with 15 kills. London Baker did her job running the offense with 15 assists with Madi Madrigal chipping in 15 assists of her own and Cambry Smith had a superb serving night with four aces.

Bushland’s Abby Howell passes the ball during a District 1-3A match against River Road on Tuesday. [Ryder Grace Liles/ Press Pass Sports]

District 1-3A

Bushland rolls River Road 

The Bushland Lady Falcons finished off the District 1-3A in expected fashion with a soaring sweep of River Road, 25-5, 25-10, 25-9, to send the seniors off in style in their final home contest.

Bushland (37-6) finishes district 8-0 and will take an unprecedented 89-game league win streak into next season.

Abby Howell had a huge Senior Night with 14 kills with a pair of aces. Mackenzie Sims went for a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs and Avery Ramos tallied 12 digs and served up four aces.

River Road (16-14) finishes 3-5 in district and will now play Dalhart for a third-place seeding game at noon on Saturday in Dumas. The Lady Golden Wolves forced the seeding game by downing Dimmitt on Tuesday, 25-11, 25-3, 25-13.

West Texas High’s Zoe Smith goes for a dig against Highland Park on Tuesday night. [Tucker Stroud/ Press Pass Sports]

District 1-2A

West Texas High knocks off Highland Park

West Texas High solidified itself in second place out of District 1-2A thanks to getting a big home win over Highland Park, 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 25-12.

The Lady Comanches (16-19) will be the No. 2-seed outright finishing district with a 5-3 mark. Highland Park (11-24, 3-5) will take the fourth and final spot, and Vega (17-14, 4-4), which had a bye on Tuesday, will claim the No. 3-seed.

Sage Lay, London Morrison and Scout Burris all played a pivotal role in the victory against the Lady Hornets combining for 35 kills. Burris was also strong at the net with six blocks and registered six aces, and Addi Lindley led the team with 23 kills. Morrison had quite the day also competing at the Region I-2A cross country meet in Lubbock on Tuesday morning.

Sanford-Fritch finishes district strong

Sanford-Fritch ended the regular season handling Memphis in a three-set sweep, 25-10, 25-9, 25-16, on Tuesday.

The Lady Eagles (27-6) finish district a perfect 8-0 and will be the No. 1-seed out of the league heading into the Class 2A postseason.

Avery Conner had another tremendous outing playing big up front with 16 kills and two blocks. Saydee Williams was all over the court nabbing eight digs to go with seven kills and Kinley Roberts passed out 18 assists and tallied five digs.

H.S. District scores 

District 4-4A

Pampa def. Dumas 25-20, 25-17, 25-23

District 2-3A

Lubbock-Cooper Liberty def. Tulia 25-23, 25-14, 25-9
Idalou def. Childress 25-23, 25-20, 25-19
Shallowater def. Littlefield 25-22, 25-13, 25-12

District 1-1A

Miami def. Kelton 25-17, 25-20, 28-26

 

 

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