HS Volleyball: Grand Oaks Sweeps Magnolia in Pre-Season Opener

THE WOODLANDS, TX -– The first game of the season did not disappoint. The Grand Oaks Grizzlies hosted the Magnolia Bulldogs in a pre-season matchup at Grand Oaks High School. Last year the Grizzlies packed a huge roster full of powerful servers as well as hard hitters. This year they have a couple of new faces and many returning faces which should help them play as a team early in the season.

Aaaand we are back! First game coverage of the 2022-2023 season! @grandoaksvb takes on @TheMagnoliaVB pic.twitter.com/SLaQMeZn1R

— Woodlands Online Sports (@WOLsports) August 9, 2022

The first set was a bit rocky as Magnolia held the lead but only going one for one the entirety of the set. Once Grand Oaks got their footing, points easily landed on the board. With a huge kill from Outside Hitter, Samara Coleman, the momentum changed late in the first set but just in time for the Grizzlies steal the lead.

The second set is when the Grizzlies turned up the heat. Many rallies went their way which gave them a substantial lead against the Bulldogs. Magnolia wouldn’t give up as they exposed a couple of holes in the Grizzlies game. Grand Oaks defensive specialist Cibeles Bothwell would begin the rally with a flat serve which gave Magnolia troubles returning it over the net. Grand Oaks would win this set easily 25-12.

Although the team seemed to flow, head coach Morgan Rogers said, “We still need to work on our connections, it’s kind of a whole new team, whole new squad so finding the rhythm with our hitters and our setters and making sure those connections are there.”

In the final set Magnolia once again gave Grand Oaks a run in some of the rallies by finding those small holes in their defense which put points on the board. The Grizzlies had a couple of small errors throughout the match but swept Magnolia in all 3 sets.

The first game of the season is always awkward, each team has to find their footing and groove between each player. Magnolia had a great first set but started to loosen up as the match progressed. The opposite is said for Grand Oaks as they struggled in the first set but tightened up after each of the next sets.

Grand Oaks wins their first pre-season game 25-23, 25-12, and 25-17 at home.