VOLLEYBALL: College Park remains undefeated in district after 3-2 match against Oak Ridge

OAK RIDGE, Texas -- College Park battled it out with Oak Ridge 3-2 in their third district game of the season.

Watch the highlights from the match here.

Alternating set victories, the Lady Cavaliers got the last word in the fifth set with a 15-13 victory, maintaining their undefeated district record. However, in the second and fourth sets, Oak Ridge proved that they would not go down easily.

“That’s the one thing about Oak Ridge—they have an incredible fight, and they have a very good team, so we know that it’s going to be a battle,” College Park Head Coach Candice Collins said. “That’s what I tell the girls that coming in tonight to be mentally prepared for it to be a long match and for it to be a good match.”

Collins said that they had to make some adjustments with senior Kennedi Smith’s knee injury in the second set. She said that this forced the girls to step up their game and pick up new roles during the match.

“Every single one of them is so important, and I talked to them tonight about some nights they play different roles, but they’re all very important,” Collins said. “Some nights they play bigger roles than others, but it’s always an important part. I think that having mostly a new team besides three players really proves to them just how strong we really are and how strong they can be.”

The Lady Cavaliers have now gone three different matches without at least one of their returning seniors. Previously in the mindset that they would be depending on these girls for their victories, they realized their ability to step up and do what needs to be done to win.

“The cool thing is it shows you really how strong they are. Even when one is missing, the other two step up big time,” Collins said. “So tonight you could see Hannah and Savannah kind of pick up their game, and when Hannah was gone, Savannah and Kennedi had to pick it up, and when Savannah was out, Hannah and Kennedi feel like they have to carry the team, and they’ve done a great job with that.”

College Park recently won their homecoming match against their cross-town rivals, The Woodlands High School. Knowing what a great victory it was for the Lady Cavaliers, Collins said that it can be difficult to bounce back and follow up with another win.

“It’s a special group of kids. I think they’re all very like-minded, and when we sat down and did our goals, a lot of their goals aligned and they didn’t even know,” Collins said. “They did it all separately, and all of their goals aligned, and I think that’s what is so incredible about that team. They’re so like-minded and they all work hard. To see them come out here and make big-time game adjustments is a really neat thing to watch.”

College Park will play at Summer Creek and Oak Ridge at Kingwood Friday, September 25.