Bushland Lady Falcons dynasty rolls on winning fourth UIL state championship in the past five years

The Bushland Lady Falcons volleyball dynasty is cemented and doesn’t look to be going anywhere any time soon.

The Lady Falcons not only won their second straight UIL state championship Friday, but Bushland showed why they are the standard in Class 3A taking home the fourth state title in the past five years.

Bushland capped off another amazing season taking down Goliad in four-sets, 25-19, 25-27, 25-13, 25-8, to win the UIL Class 3A Division I title at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.

The Lady Falcons, who finished the year 45-4 overall, end the season on some amazing streaks.

Bushland ends a stellar state championship campaign with 26 straight wins, 12 straight playoff wins, and are currently riding a 97-game district win streak dating back to 2011.

Making an incredible 13th state appearance at the state tournament, Bushland has now won unprecedented eight state titles since the high school doors opened in 2006.

“It shows the community is invested,” Bushland head coach Jason Culpepper said. “This was a great program before I got here and that’s because the support this program gets. We reload every year because it’s a program. There are players waiting in line to be that next great Lady Falcon.”

For Culpepper, he continues to grow his legacy as one of the top volleyball coaches in the state of Texas. This is Culpepper’s fourth state championship at Bushland and fifth in his stellar career boasting a career coaching record of 835-182.

“This one was different,” Culpepper,” But they all are in some way. We had 10 seniors on this team, and it was awesome to see them all go out on top. They have been in the program as seventh graders when I got here. So, this was extremely special.”

Goliad (41-6) did its best to push Bushland. After the Lady Falcons cruised in the opening set, Goliad bounced back to take the second set 27-25. However, Bushland took over showing its power dominating from that point forward.

Senior leader and setter Mackenzie Sims not only got to celebrate with her team for a second straight year, but she was able to accomplish a rare feat. Sims was named game MVP for a second straight year as the team captain left everything, she had on the floor dishing out 24 assists, knocking down 11 digs and hitting the floor for 10 digs for a eye-popping state title triple-double.

“Mackenzie was tremendous like she has been all year,” Culpepper said. “She’s a special player and I’ve been lucky to coach someone like her. She has a great volleyball IQ and does all the little things to help a team win.”

On top of Sims performance, LilyAnn Shannon and Ambree Hatfield both were strong on offense with 15 kills. Bella Babbitt added 12 kills. Ansley Tiffin-Fernandez chipped in 16 assists and Avery Ramos led the team with 34 digs.

For a look at the full game stats, please visit https://www.uiltexas.org/files/athletics/state-volleyball/24VB-3AD1.pdf