Highlanders dominate Tigers

CONROE - Seniors Madison McDaniel and Morgan Eason combined for 19 kills and to lead The Woodlands Highlanders to a 25-13, 25-14, 25-9 district road win against the Conroe Tigers (14-17 overall, 2-5 district) Tuesday night.

“We started off pretty good in Game one, Game two we had a lot of unforced errors and by the end of Game two and Game three, I thought we did really well finishing,” said Highlander Head Coach Leslie Madison.

Game one saw The Woodlands jump out to a 10-5 lead and stretch the lead at 14-7 behind McDaniel and Eason back to back kills. Conroe shouldn’t get back into the game as the Highlanders got two consecutive aces at the end of Game one by Junior Rachel Reed to win Game 1, 25-13.

Game two saw the Highlanders commit unforced errors and service errors to give Conroe an early 7-3 lead. The Highlanders responded with a 7-2 run to take a 10-9 lead and quickly turned the tables on the Tigers as McDaniel, Eason, Reed, and Junior Courtney Quinn showcased why they are the number one ranked team in the state giving the Highlanders a 23-12 lead when Junior Julia Pasch and Senior Courtney Eckenrode had back to back kills to close out Game two for a 25-14 win.

Game three saw The Woodlands continue to flex their muscles as they jumped out to a 10-3 run on a combination of well executed attacks and Conroe errors. The Highlanders extended their lead in Game three to 20-4, before closing out the Tigers, 25-9.

“At the end of our season, no matter what, I want us playing our best volleyball,” said Madison.

It was a total team effort for The Woodlands as Juniors Rachel Reed and Courtney Quinn each had 8 kills each, respectively, and Senior Courtney Eckenrode totaled 31 assists, while Senior Libero Kelly Quinn totaled 16 digs.

The Highlanders return home on Friday, October 11 at 6:00pm to host A&M Consolidated (26-8 overall, 4-2 district).