Midlothian wins Mansfield tournament and more from Week 1 of the volleyball season

The opening week of the Texas high school volleyball season came to an end on Saturday with tournament play across the state, including in Mansfield, Denton, Pearland, Argyle, Crowley and Fort Worth.

Top Performance

Midlothian: The team capped off the Mansfield ISD Volleyball Invitational with an early season statement, defeating Colleyville Heritage, 25-19, 25-22 on Saturday. DBU commit Jenna McMichael (No. 12 ranked area player) was named tournament MVP while Kenna Buchanan (Corpus Christi commit, No. 2 area ranked player) and Lauren Safrit (Oklahoma Baptist commit) received all-tournament honors.

Midlothian entered the season No. 2 in the Class 5A area rankings while Heritage was No. 1.

Heritage (8-1) led 9-7 in the first set after a dump by setter Morgan Howard (Louisiana-Monroe commit, No. 1 ranked area player).

Midlothian (10-0) made a push and led 13-12 following a kill by Buchanan. The run extended to 8-0 following a pair of aces and a block by middle Kenzie Berg. Berg had three solo blocks, including on set point to give Midlothian a 1-0 lead.

Midlothian got off to a 6-1 start in the second set. Kills by Avery Shanahan and Buchanan made it 10-5. Maddie Bird’s block got Heritage within 11-8. Back-to-back kills by Suli Davis (No. 8 ranked area player) and a point by Howard cut it to 17-16 in the second set, but Angelina Masojc scored off the block and Berg picked up another block to push Midlothian to the title.

Mansfield tournament

Howard and Davis were named to the all-tournament team for Heritage.

Aledo finished in third place. The Ladycats went 8-1 with their only loss coming against Midlothian. Lauryn Mack was all-tournament.

Justin Northwest came in third of the gold bracket (8th overall). Rylee Jackson was named all-tourney. Mansfield defeated Waxahachie, 25-20, 12-25, 26-24 to win the silver bracket (11th overall). Keller Central came in third of the silver bracket (13th overall) after beating Birdville, 31-29, 26-28, 25-22 and Frenship, 25-14, 25-23 on Saturday.

Decatur, the No. 1 team in the 4A area rankings, defeated Keller Timber Creek, 25-16, 21-25, 25-20 to win the Challenger 1 bracket. Fort Worth Paschal came in third place. Euless Trinity and Mansfield Lake Ridge came in second and third of the Challenger 2 bracket.

Number

400: Midlothian head coach Shain Sackett won his 400th career game following the Panthers’ championship win over Colleyville Heritage. Midlothian went 9-0 during the Mansfield tournament, and dropped just two sets (18-2). Sackett is in his fifth year with the program. The Panthers went 37-8 last season and reached the 5A Region 2 quarterfinals.

Boswell with the bronze

Boswell defeated Barbers Hill, 25-10, 25-22 to finish in third place of the John Turner Classic on Saturday. The Pioneers ended the weekend with a 7-2 record, tied for fourth best among the 44 teams that competed.

Stephanie Gutierrez (Rice commit, No. 18 ranked area player) finished with 11 kills and three blocks, and was named to the all-tournament team. Madi Parrish (Angelo State commit, No. 19 ranked area player) had five kills and four digs. Presleigh Roest was also named to the all-tourney team.

The Pioneers also beat Friendswood to open bracket play on Saturday before losing to Cornerstone Christian. Parrish had eight kills against Friendswood and Gutierrez added seven. Brianna Russell had 14 assists.

Boswell went 3-0 on Friday with wins over Joshua, host Pearland and defending 3A champ Bushland.

Defending home court

Jordyn Moore finished with three kills, 12 assists and seven digs as Argyle beat Frisco Liberty, 25-18, 25-20 to win the Sawyer Camillo Memorial tournament on Saturday.

Argyle, which entered the season No. 9 in the 5A area rankings, defeated Lake Dallas, 25-16, 25-11 to open up Saturday’s bracket play. Sydney Payne had 16 assists and six digs. Piper Mickenheim added 15 digs and Olivia Sanchez chipped in eight kills and seven digs. Moore recorded five kills, six assists and eight digs.

The Eagles advanced to the semifinal round where they defeated neighbors Argyle Liberty Christian in three, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22. Mickenheim had 23 digs and Sanchez added seven kills and 10 digs. Moore put in five kills, 10 assists and 12 digs. Katherine Holtman was awarded with the Sawyer Heart Award and Sanchez was named to the all-tournament team.

Liberty Christian earned the bronze after beating Canyon Randall, 25-22, 25-19 in the third-place match. Setter Reagan Fifer (Houston commit, No. 13 ranked area player) received all-tournament honors.

Sawyer Camillo was a four-year starter at Argyle and graduated in 2012. She played at Louisiana-Lafayette before passing away in December of 2012.

TAPPS: Fort Worth Lake Country defeated Arlington Grace Prep in the titanium bracket of the TAPPS Spikedown tournament on Saturday. Weatherford Victory Baptist defeated Fort Worth Covenant Classical to win the gold bracket.

Denton Ryan: Weatherford defeated Aubrey to win the Denton Ryan tournament on Saturday. Seniors Riess Griffith (No. 24 ranked area player) and Kate Hansen (Texas Tech commit, No. 4 ranked area player) both received all-tournament honors.

100: Desiree Shahan won her 100th career game with Granbury.

This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 2:01 PM.