UPSET SPECIAL! Underdogs take down top seeds and more from Fort Worth-area volleyball
Tuesday, November 2nd
The UIL Texas high school volleyball playoffs are off to a sizzling start with four No. 1 seeds in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex going down on Tuesday night and another handful of games going to five sets.
And it’s only the first round.
Keller Timber Creek 3, Boswell 2
Two of the four upsets came on the west side of the metro, including Timber Creek over Boswell, the District 3-6A champ.
Behind the play from senior Halle Sherlock (Yale commit) and a strong supporting cast, the Falcons made history by winning their first playoff game, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 15-11 in a Class 6A bi-district showdown at Haltom.
Timber Creek is in the playoffs for just the third time and first since 2017. The Falcons, the No. 4 seed from 4-6A, improved to 23-16 this season and are headed to the second round for the first time.
They will face El Paso Coronado, which swept Wolfforth Frenship on Tuesday night.
Alisa and Alexa Ranete, Ava McCrary, Lily Hamilton and Callie Muff helped lead the Falcon attack while Sherlock, Camryn Dennis and Megan Rosen sparked the defense.
Boswell (28-14) was led by a handful of players, including Peighton Serda, Caitlyn Boyd, Madi Parrish and Stephanie Gutierrez.
Birdville 3, Aledo 2
The second upset in the Fort Worth-area took place at Keller Central where the fourth-seeded Birdville Hawks knocked off District 5-5A co-champ Aledo, 25-15, 12-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13 in a Class 5A bi-district game on Tuesday night.
Iowa State commit Maya Duckworth finished with 16 kills and gets the chance to go over 2,000 in her career. The senior stands at 1,997 kills as Birdville (27-17) will take on Burleson (25-21) in the area round at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth Paschal.
Burleson swept FW North Side on Tuesday.
Birdville gained all the momentum after holding Aledo to just 15 points in the opening set, but the Ladycats (26-15) stormed back to tie the match at 1-1. The teams continued to trade sets to force a final and decisive fifth.
The Hawks had just enough control in the final game. Lyric Steward and Caroline Kahle chipped in nine kills each for Birdville. Patricia Settlemeir added eight.
Briley Balderas (25 digs), Duckworth (24), Kahle (22) and Georgia Stinson (19) led the Birdville defense, and Stinson and Ashley Munoz combined for 45 assists.
Aledo was led by senior setter Mattie Gantt (UTEP commit) and hitters Maddie Frank (UNT), Sam Smith and Vivian Parker.
In the Dallas-area, Prosper beat No. 1 seeded Flower Mound in four sets. Hebron upset No. 1 seeded Denton Guyer in five. Sanger beat Kennedale in four sets on Monday night.
Grapevine 3, Wichita Falls Rider 2
Rider was on its way to a first-round sweep, but Grapevine, a state semifinalist last season, rallied back to win three straight and beat the Raiders in five, 19-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-6 on Tuesday night in Weatherford during a Class 5A bi-district match-up.
Grapevine (16-17) will get Mansfield Legacy (24-16) in the second round. Legacy swept FW Trimble Tech on Monday.
Missouri commit and senior Janet deMarrais led the Mustang charge against a Rider squad that was co-district champs with Aledo in 5-5A.
Sydney Engel, Alea Lastinger, Helen Hood, Ava Shankle, Ella Davis, Mikayla Ethridge and the entire Grapevine core played some of its best volleyball during the rally that stunned the Rider crowd.
Other five-setters around DFW included Forney over Joshua, Plano West over Allen and McKinney North over Frisco Independence...just to name a few.
Colleyville Heritage 3, Granbury 0
Saginaw 3, Mansfield Timberview 0
Both the Heritage Panthers and Saginaw Rough Riders made quick work during their 5A playoff openers on Tuesday night at the Arlington ISD Athletic Center.
Heritage defeated Granbury, 25-11, 25-16, 25-10 for the program’s 10th bi-district volleyball title in the past 11 seasons.
The Panthers (38-10) will face Burleson Centennial (29-14) in the second round after Centennial eliminated FW Arlington Heights on Tuesday.
Granbury (19-25) had trouble all night against the 6-5A champs. Led by Houston commit Ella Busey and Air Force commit Reagan Engler, the Panthers were able to beat the block and score points in bunches. Junior setter Morgan Howard and Busey connected numerous times. Howard finished the regular season with the second-most assists in the Fort Worth area. Busey had the second-most kills.
Lindsey Houran, Ava Ash, Emily Sugg, Madelyn Hanlon and Maddie Bird chipped in key contributions to help send Heritage to the next round. 6-5A swept 5-5A in bi-district (Northwest, Grapevine, Birdville).
During the second game in Arlington, Saginaw was able to beat Timberview in a playoff rematch from 2020, 25-19, 25-13, 28-26. The Rough Riders, District 7-5A champs, won their 30th game of the season and will host Justin Northwest (27-11) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Northwest swept Azle at home on Monday.
Saginaw wins bi-district trophies in back-to-back seasons after having no playoff wins prior to 2020.
Following relatively easy work during the first two sets, Saginaw had to hold off a scrappy Timberview team, led by 6-5 junior middle Reese Robins (Louisville commit).
Robins, who finished the regular season with the most kills (711) in the area, helped the Wolves take some control in the third set. They led 8-4 forcing a Saginaw timeout.
Saginaw would jump back in front thanks to an 8-1 run highlighted by the play from Bailee Hewitt and Jadien Dixon from the outside. A Camille Williams kill off a Timberview overpass gave the Rough Riders a narrow 18-17 lead.
Timberview had a chance to close the set out and go to the fourth with set point, but Saginaw tied it then proceeded to have match point two times, which Timberview broke. Finally on a third match point, Hewitt’s kill from Caroline Bacon went off the defense and hit the floor, sending Saginaw to the next round.
Others
Arlington Martin picked up its 36th win in 38 games this season following a Class 6A bi-district clincher against Richardson Berkner on Tuesday in Irving. Martin will get Flower Mound Marcus at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Byron Nelson.
Arlington got over the .500 mark (18-17) after taking down 30-win Richardson in five sets on Tuesday in Coppell. Richardson won a share of the District 7-6A title. The Colts will face Hebron in the Class 6A area round.
Haslet Eaton swept Chisholm Trail on Tuesday at Justin Northwest to improve to 34-3, extending its school record for wins in a season. The Eagles will get El Paso Franklin in the Class 6A area round at 6 p.m. Friday at Lubbock Cooper.
Southlake Carroll, the third seed from 4-6A, swept two-seeded Weatherford on Tuesday at Wilkerson-Greines Activitiy Center. The Dragons (25-16) will get Midland Legacy in the Class 6A area round. 4-6A rounded out a 4-0 sweep over 3-6A (Keller, Eaton, Timber Creek).
Fort Worth schools Benbrook (3-1 defeat vs. Krum) and Young Women’s Leadership Academy (3-0 defeat vs. Springtown) were eliminated on Tuesday night. Benbrook won the District 8-4A championship while YWLA tied for second and made the first playoff trip in school history.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 12:02 AM.
