Mixed results at Pearland Texas Invitational for both Lady Highlanders and Lady Cavaliers

It was a day of excitement for both the Lady Cavalier and Lady Highlander volleyball teams as they entered the gold bracket in the Pearland Invitational undefeated and seeded well. Win both games today, and they would meet in the quarterfinals tomorrow morning. In fact, asked if there was anyone in the 87 team tournament they were looking forward to playing, the choice was simple for College Park sophomore Kayla Black.

“The Woodlands, of course,” she said. “It’s always great when we get to play them, so hopefully we see them later in the tournament.”

However both opponents for the first round of the gold bracket were up for challenging the higher seeded Cavaliers and Highlanders.

For the Lady Highlanders, they were behind in both sets against NB Canyon before eventually pulling out the match 25-21, 25-17. While not having a loss at this point in the tournament, senior leader Rachel Reed knows there is work to be done.

“If our hitting is good, then our passing has been kind of off, and if our passing is good then our hitting has been kind of off,” said Reed. “We just need to work on talking and communicating our sets better because we have so many people who can run so many sets.”

Unfortunately for the Lady Cavaliers, they ran into a feisty Granbury team that wouldn’t quit, and in the end, fell in an extremely competitive contest 25-23; 21-25; 25-23. Despite the intrigue of a pre-district meeting with The Woodlands no longer likely, College Park coach Candice Collins was still in good spirits after the match.

“It’s a good, strong field of teams with a good level of play, and our goal is to (still) do well in the gold bracket,” said head coach Candice Collins. “We just need to continue to focus on having everyone contribute, because we are at our best as a team when that happens.”

College Park responded well from the setback by beating tenth seeded Clear Falls 25-22, 25-21 in the next game. While they can’t win the entire tournament, they are still alive in the gold bracket and can finish with an impressive record. College Park will take on an Aledo team that also has only one loss in the tournament tomorrow at 10am.

“We’re a small team this year, so we are making sure we are cheering each other on and staying together as a team and picking up covering and sticking together,” said Black. “We’re getting better.”

Meanwhile, after beating NB Canyon earlier in the day, the Lady Highlanders advanced and faced a tough San Antonio O’Connor squad in their next contest. After a fast start, The Highlanders may have hit a wall and saw their amazing 50-game win streak end by a score of 17-25; 25-23; 25-16.

With five new players on the squad, this year’s team is young and Coach Madison knew this tournament would be a challenge for her players. Despite the setback, there is little doubt she will be able to use this game as a teaching tool that could help her come playoff time in November.

The Woodlands will look to start fresh tomorrow and reignite their winning ways. The Lady Highlanders can still win several more games in the gold bracket, and will look to start a new winning streak tomorrow at 8am against the same Grandbury team that upset College Park earlier in the day.