Westwood alone in 1st
The first round of District 13-6A volleyball action ended Friday with three teams in prime positions to claim a playoff berth and a crowd for the fourth and final postseason spot.
Westwood (8-0), Vandegrfit (7-1) and Vista Ridge (6-2) are in the top three spots while Round Rock, McNeil and Leander are knotted at 4-4 in the district standings. Cedar Ridge is 2-6 in district, followed by Hendrickson at 1-7 and Stony Point at 0-8. McNeil had the nine-team district bye Friday night while the other eight schools finished the round.
Lauren Prendeville slammed 13 kills while Faith Cox had 20 assists as Cedar Ridge eased past Stony Point 25-16, 25-15, 19-25, 25-19 Friday. Sophomore outside hitter Lucy Vasquez led the Tigers with 11 kills. Vasquez had an even better match Sept. 24 when the Tigers lost in five to McNeil. Vasquez had 26 kills with only four hitting errors and added 15 digs and a solo and block assists. The sophomore has a quick arm swing and impressive court vision and looks like a key to the Tiger volleyball future under first-year head coach Julie Schier.
Westwood capped a rousing first half in District 13-6A as the Warriors traveled to Round Rock and swept the Dragons 25-16, 25-20, 26-24 Friday. Audrey Quesnel had 12 kills and four blocks, and Kenzie Beckham had 26 assists. Maddie Gillespie had 15 digs and four aces for the Warriors, who improved to 28-12 overall. They are the only Class 6A team ranked in the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association state poll. Yasmine Kadich had nine kills for Round Rock, and Grace Adams had 22 assists.
Vandegrfit remained a match back of the Warriors after handing Vista Ridge its second district loss, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22. Delaney Dilfer had 41 assists for the Vipers, who used strong ball control and a fast attack to keep the Rangers out of their normal offense. Emma Gruben had eight kills for Vista Ridge while Audrey Green led Vandegrift with 16 kills. Leander moved into a tie for fourth place with Round Rock and McNeil by beating Hendrickson in a five-set match. Leander won 19-25, 21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 15-9 as Julianne McGinnis slammed 19 kills and Callie Carrejo had what is believed to be a Central Texas 2019 single-match high 58 digs.
Round Rock Christian improve to 31-5 by sweeping Waco Live Oak 25-11, 25-9, 25-11 and Marble Falls Faith Academy 25-7, 25-15, 25-12. For the week, Kelli Northrup had 22 kills, Juliana Rodriguez had 18 kills, Emma Owens had 15 kills, Breanna Pelbath had nine kills and Lydia Headley had 30 digs with eight aces.
A local note, Liberty Hill head coach Gretchen Peterson notched her 400th coaching victory Friday night as her Panthers beat Burnet to open district play. Peterson was an all-state hitter on the Round Top-Carmine Class 1A state champions in 1995 and 1996 under legendary head coach Tanya Nygrin.