District 4-4A continues to dominate
District 4-4A made up of Randall, West Plains, Hereford and Canyon, flexed its muscle once again showcasing how strong volleyball is in the Texas Panhandle with four one-sided sweeps in the UIL Class 4A area round on Thursday and Friday.
Through the first two rounds of the playoffs the Lady Raiders, Lady Wolves, Lady Whitefaces and Lady Eagles are a combined 8-0.
West Plains swept took care of El Paso Irvin, 25-5, 25-4, 25-8, Randall blitzed San Elizario 25-3, 25-5, 25-7, Hereford eased past El Paso Riverside 25-12, 25-5, 25-7, and Canyon soared over Fabens 25-11, 25-17, 25-11.
These four teams now set themselves up for a 4-4A doubleheader showcase in what should be in front of a packed house on Tuesday at the WTAMU Fieldhouse in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals.
West Plains (39-7) takes on Hereford (22-17) at 6 p.m., followed by Randall (39-4) against arch-rival Canyon (22-21) at 8 p.m., with the winners advancing to the Region I-4A Tournament next weekend.
As for the area games, Brooklyn Garcia led West Plains with nine blocks against Irvin with McCall Sims adding nine digs.
Randall’s sensational setter Sidney Soria smoked San Elizario with 35 assists to with 10 digs.
Hereford’s London Baker set 22 assists and Allee Purcell knocked down 13 kills against Riverside, and Canyon’s Brooklyn Kinsey was great at the net with 10 kills and had three aces to lead the Lady Eagles over Fabens.
Class 5A
Amarillo High blasts Del Valle
Amarillo High is headed back to the regional quarterfinal after cruising by El Paso Del Valle in the Class 5A area round 25-14, 25-14, 25-16, on Friday in Andrews.
The Lady Sandies improve to 37-5 on the year and will now get a rematch against Lubbock-Cooper (31-12) in the regional quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Hutcherson Center on the campus of Wayland Baptist in Plainview. The Lady Pirates eliminated the Lady Sandies in this same round a year ago.
Sienna Cavalier has been on fire all season long and that didn’t stop as she was strong on the front row with a game-high 12 kills. Blair Pennington had a massive showing with 37 assists and hit the floor for 11 digs and Claire Fansler tallied 10 kills with five blocks at the net.
Tascosa advances on
Tascosa is marching on to the third round of the playoffs thanks to handling El Paso Ysleta in a three-set sweep, 25-15, 25-18, 25-21, on Friday in Andrews.
Berkley Harper and Saphina Stanley played great offensively combining for 24 kills. Stanley added a big night on the front row with five blocks. Meredith Sanning quarterbacked the offense by handing out 35 assists and Kassidy Langeland provided the defense with 15 digs.
The Lady Rebels (29-15) head to the regional quarterfinals to take to El Paso High (32-7) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Denver City.
Class 3A
Bushland rolls over Coahoma
Bushland is the last Class 3A team from the Texas Panhandle team still standing through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Lady Falcons didn’t waste any time beating down Coahoma 25-6, 25-16, 25-6, on Thursday night in the area round.
Senior standout Abby Howell made the most of her playing time with 10 kills and three aces. Setter Mackenzie Sims dished out 16 assists with three aces and Avery Ramos registered 14 digs.
Bushland (39-6) advances to the regional quarterfinals to take on District 2-3A champion and first-year program Lubbock-Cooper Liberty (28-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Dimmitt.
In the other Class 3A area round matchups that were played Saturday, Alpine swept Friona 25-16, 25-17, 25-21. The Squaws end a solid year at 31-10. Dalhart also saw its season come to an end after upsetting Shallowater on Tuesday. The Lady Wolves fell in four-sets to Denver City, 22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-23. Dalhart ends its season at 21-14-1.
Class 2A
Sanford-Fritch sweeps Colorado City
The Sanford-Fritch Lady Eagles played great volleyball on Saturday in the Class 2A area round to take down Colorado City, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19.
Fritch was led by outside hitter and leader Avery Conner who continues to have a great year. Conner knocked down a team-high 15 kills against the Lady Wolves and added two blocks. Emma Williams also had a great performance with 10 kills, five digs and a block as teammate Kinley Roberts pulled out a double-double performance with 21 assists and 10 digs.
The Lady Eagles (29-6) are headed to the Class 2A regional quarterfinals to battle Ropes (32-10) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Dimmitt.
In the other 2A area round clash on Saturday, Forsan earned a sweep of West Texas High 25-19, 26-24, 25-14. The Lady Comanches end their season at 17-20.
Class 1A
Wildorado, Miami, Fort Elliott advance in area round
Like District 4-4A, District 1-1A showed how good they were this season as Wildorado, Miami and upstart Fort Elliott all earned Class 1A area round victories on Friday and Saturday.
The Lady Mustangs (20-4) started things off on Friday with a sweep of Fort Davis 25-19, 25-14, 25-11. Reyna Segovia was stellar on the offensive side with 16 assists and three kills. Sonell Van Wyk had nine kills with nine assists and Jovi Perkins tallied 14 digs.
Fort Elliott is headed to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season. The Lady Cougars kept their magical postseason run going by downing Van Horn on Saturday 25-21, 6-25, 25-21, 26-24.
Ali Mahler did all she to get the win with 12 digs, eight kills, two blocks with two aces. Mikilah Baca ran the offense with 18 assists and three aces, Jaylie Dickey was solid on defense with 14 digs to go with seven kills and Rylee Rose had a pair of aces with 10 digs.
It will now be a 1-1A rematch in the regional quarterfinal when Wildorado takes on Fort Elliott on Tuesday in Stinnett. A time has yet to be set. The Lady Mustangs swept the season series from the Lady Cougars.
Miami burned it down on Saturday with a four-set sweep of Buena Vista, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21. The Lady Warriors (22-9) are set to take on Klondike (25-14) at a time and place to be determined.