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Georgetown is on a roll; Glenn is our volleyball team of the week

Georgetown is on a roll; Glenn is our volleyball team of the week

Texas volleyball prospect Addison Gaido led Georgetown to a banner week, throwing 21 kills in a five-set win over state-ranked Liberty Hill last Tuesday — her 21st at match point — and then leading the Eagles past Class 6A-ranked Westlake in four sets on Friday.

Georgetown has risen to No. 4 in the Class 5A state polls.

In the come-from-behind 20-25, 23-25, 19-25, 26-24, 15-12 win over Liberty Hill, Molly O’Shaughnessy added 16 kills and McKenzie Bernard added 12 for the Panthers, who have reached the last two UIL state tournaments. Liberty Hill’s Hannah Griffin had 23 kills, Taylor Gaines had 19 and Annie Witt finished with 13. Liberty Hill fell from No. 4 to No. 8 in the state poll. And in Friday’s win over Westlake, Gaido had another 22 kills. Lily Davis led the Chaps with 15 kills and 17 digs.

“We have a really tough schedule planned this year,” Georgetown coach Jenny Richardson said. “We wanted to come out fast and strong to prepare for district and postseason. Liberty Hill is really good, as is Westlake, and they’re both extremely well-coached. They’re formidable competitors.”

LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 2 best teams from Austin lose tournament

A milestone victory for Michael Kane

Dripping Springs coach Michael Kane earned his 900th career victory last week with a 25-13, 25-18, 25-15 win over Hays, moving him into the top three active coaches and the top 12 all-time among Texas high school volleyball coaches. Henley Anderson had 10 kills and 11 digs to lead the Tigers, who remain No. 1 in Class 6A with No. 4 Austin High right behind them. District play begins Friday.

District rosters begin in Austin area

District 24-5A: There’s a tie as district play begins. Anderson (13-8) and McCallum (16-13) are early favorites. Ann Richards, Bastrop, Cedar Creek and LASA are grouped together, as all six teams are viable playoff contenders. LASA is at Anderson in the top opening night game. Anderson clinched district with an impressive win over San Marcos, as Parker Duncan had 35 kills, four aces and 21 digs. And setter Bailey Santons tallied 53 assists.

District 25-4A: Austin’s new Class 4A district includes Lago Vista, Eastside and LBJ, as well as Austin Achieve, Manor New Tech, Northeast and Travis in a balanced district.

District 25-6A: Hutto got off to a fast start as the Hippos defeated both Vista Ridge and McNeil and defeated Westwood in four sets to open with a 3-0 score. The Hippos are tied with traditionally strong Vandegrift for first place and Hutto hosts Round Rock on Tuesday in a key match. Vandegrift defeated Round Rock on Friday night to drop the Dragons into a tie for second place with Cedar Ridge, Stony Point and Vista Ridge. Stony Point had a huge non-district win over Rouse 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-7 as Taliah Angeweke had 16 kills and Amya Horton added 14. Jade Key led Rouse with 18 kills.

Elsewhere: Ann Richards improved to 16-12 as Greta Urban had seven kills and Noah Morris finished with 16 assists in a sweep of Connally. But Ann Richards had a tougher time against Weiss as the Wolfpack won 25-8, 25-7, 25-19 behind Takyla Brown’s 21 assists.

PREVIOUSLY: Volleyball Report, Team of the Week as Austin School Dominates Local Tournaments

Team of the week: Glenn

The Grizzlies rebounded from a 1-7 record in their previous eight matches at Volleypalooza with a pair of huge victories last week: a five-set win over Bowie and a sweep of St. Michael’s. Milan Benavides had seven kills, 20 assists and 17 digs and Mia Brandt had 17 kills and 20 digs in the win over Bowie.

“The wins we had last week were huge for our confidence and playing together,” said first-year head coach Kaitlyn Kluna, a former assistant at Lake Travis. “The team has adapted to our new system and it’s great to see them improve daily.”

Previous teams of the week: Dripping Springs (week 1), Liberty Hill (2), Wimberley (3)

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