HS Volleyball: Grand Oaks Remains Unbeaten in District with Comeback Effort Against College Park

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Grand Oaks Lady Grizzlies (36-1) bested the College Park Lady Cavaliers (18-7), snapping their nine-game winning streak that spanned back to August.

Both teams went back and forth to open the match. Grand Oaks tried to find their usual success with the front row but failed to make meaningful digs to set up their hitters. These brief lapses allowed the Lady Cavaliers to stay within reach of their nationally ranked opponents.

Four ties in the early opening demonstrated the fight of College Park in the face of overwhelming talent.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Grand Oaks Head Coach Morgan Rogers spoke on the fight shown by the Lady Cavs.

“We knew that they would do that,” said Rogers. “They are very competent, they have a lot of swag, they are well coached, and they play hard.”

Despite their solid open, the Lady Cavs eventually capitulated to close the set. Back-to-back Lady Grizzlies points sealed the first set 25-17.

The early game jitters remained intact for Grand Oaks in the second set. The team scored the opening point, but a series of errors on serves kept the scoring sporadic.

“With some of the matches we have played recently, we have not had to worry about unforced errors,” said Rogers. “But here, we knew that could come back to bite us.”

With the Lady Grizzlies in front, College Park attempted several pushes that challenged the lead, even briefly claiming it mid-way through the set. Still trying to keep their streak of straight wins together, the Lady Grizzlies shored up mistakes on the front row.

Blocks became more consistent, hits made their marks, and communication became seamless for Grand Oaks. This reassurance allowed the Lady Grizzlies to maintain runs deep into the set.

A College Park timeout would derail the connections made by Grand Oaks. A run of four straight points by the Lady Cavaliers forced the Lady Grizzlies to stop and make adjustments of their own.

The Lady Grizzlies closed out the close affair with a three-point run, putting the pressure further on the Lady Cavs to respond.

College Park continued to fight with the game on the line. The Lady Cavs managed to build a lead and maintain it throughout the middle stages of the set. Grit and continued success from their outside hitters pushed the Lady Cavaliers up with a chance to end Groad Oaks’ streak of zero dropped sets in district.

The Lady Grizzlies made a concerted effort to keep the streak alive, rattling off six straight points to force a tie at 22 points apiece. The run continued for Grand Oaks as they never allowed College Park to score again, completing the comeback 25-22.

“We have not had our backs against the wall in a long time,” said Rogers. “It was just staying calm through it and working and making sure that we trust and believe and know that we were capable of doing it.”

The win not only constitutes a comeback but it also continues the streak of zero dropped sets throughout district play for Grand Oaks.

“We need to make sure that we are focused,” said Rogers on keeping the streak alive. “Making sure we are disciplined and on the same page, those kinds of things are something we definitely need to work on.”

Having claimed their ninth victory in a row, the Lady Grizzlies turn around and host the Caney Creek Lady Panthers on Friday, while the Lady Cavs get a chance to bounce back on the road against the Cleveland Lady Indians.