Category: Volleyball

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie stays undefeated in District 4-5A volleyball with sweep of Monterey

Wesley Ruff, Bri Johnston and Aliyah Jowers all finished the match with double digit kills as the Wylie volleyball team swept Lubbock Monterey 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 in District 4-5A action Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.

Ruff and Johnston each finished the match with 12 kills, while Jowers added 10 as the Lady Bulldogs improved to 16-14 on the season and, more importantly, 3-0 in district.

Adding to the all-around team effort were Mycala Reed (15 digs) and Callie O’Connell (34 assists, 10 digs) in a performance coach Shay Cox was excited to see.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (As submitted by area coaches through Sept. 19)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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by Daniel Youngblood

ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Talking Wylie football, predictions slump, local volleyball turnarounds

Following their 0-2 start, I was consistent in my belief that the Wylie Bulldogs would finish the season with a much stronger football team than the one that started it. I said as much on our weekly podcast after each of Wylie’s defeats, downplaying the ultimate significance of season-opening home losses to quality outfits from Brownwood and Lubbock Monterey.

But I’d be lying if I said I expected the type of quick turnaround we’ve seen the last two weeks from coach Clay Martin’s team, which is now 2-2 after gritty road wins over Lubbock Cooper (35-34) and Stephenville (42-32) — both double-digit favorites according to a prominent power ranking service. 

When I talked about Wylie finding its stride and eventually turning a corner, I was thinking more about October than September. So to see the Bulldogs go from where they were in Weeks 1 and 2 to beating a pair of good, established programs on the road was a surprise to even me.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Moran running back takes the award with insane performance

There are big games and then there are those that border on insanity. 

Moran running back Ellis Hise, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 16, fell squarely into the latter category on Saturday with a performance that was absolutely nuts. 

Helping the Bulldogs to a thrilling 68-67 win over Mullin in one of the top six-man games the Big Country has seen this year, Hise rushed for 287 yards and six touchdowns on only 26 carries. But that’s just the beginning. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: AHS volleyball picks up big home win over Cooper to stop skid, even district record at 1-1

Entering Tuesday’s crosstown volleyball match off district-opening losses on Friday, both Abilene High and Cooper needed a win to avoid falling in an 0-2 hole to start to District 4-5A play. 

In the end, it was the Lady Eagles celebrating in front of their home crowd at Eagle Gym after sweeping the Lady Cougars 25-20, 25-23, 25-15 to snap a seven-match losing streak.

AHS, which fell in four games to Wylie last week in its league opener, started strong and never let up Tuesday, improving to 8-18 overall and 1-1 in district action with one of its most complete performances of the year.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Despite sweep, ACS learns a lot in energetic match with Graham

It’s not always about the final score.

Abilene Christian Schools volleyball coach Arnett McClure made sure that his team knew that after being swept 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 by Graham on Tuesday night at Panther Gym.

ACS entered the match riding a three-match winning streak against Bangs, Hawley and Merkel, but found the going extremely tough against the talented UIL Class 4A Lady Blues.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cooper’s Bray takes this week’s top spot

When it comes to individual performances, there are big games and there are big games.

And then there’s what Cooper junior Daniel Bray did against San Angelo Central last week in leading the Cougars to their first win of the season.

The explosive tailback, who had been limited some in the first two weeks by a nagging ankle injury and the growing pains of a young offensive line, broke out in a historic way in that 53-45 victory over the Bobcats. By the time the game was over, he had rushed for a school-record 366 yards and seven touchdowns on just 21 carries, making a case for our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award that was too compelling to pass over — even in a week with a number of other monster performances.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: No. 7 Stephenville netters too much for Abilene High in nondistrict sweep

Hosting the Stephenville Honeybees in its final match before Friday’s District 4-5A opener against Wylie, the Abilene High volleyball team couldn’t keep pace with Class 4A’s seventh-ranked squad Tuesday, falling 25-16, 25-23, 25-13 at Eagle Gym.

The Lady Eagles battled and had their chances to grab some momentum in Games 1 and 2, but ultimately the talented visitors were just too much to handle in a nondistrict sweep.

The victory improved Stephenville to 21-3 on the season with three more matches to play before the start of District 6-4A play on Sept. 26, while Abilene High fell to 7-17 with its sixth consecutive loss.

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by Daniel Youngblood

ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Talking Shotwell renovation, TLCA’s big football win, ACS’ matchup with Benjamin and Wylie volleyball

It’s no secret that the Abilene High-Cooper rivalry — dubbed the Crosstown Showdown — is among the best series in the state of Texas.

When the Eagles and Cougars get together, you know you’re going to excellent effort from both teams in front of close to 15,000 rowdy fans.

In that way, Friday’s matchup, which saw AHS earn a 26-7 win in the 63rd playing of the series, was a lot like many before it. But there was one factor that made the most recent Showdown just a little bit unique: It marked the first game played in Shotwell Stadium since the historic venue got one heck of a facelift.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde quarterback takes the top spot with huge night

After two weeks, few teams are grabbing the attention of Big Country football fans more than the Clyde Bulldogs (2-0), who have opened with consecutive wins over Cisco and Eastland. 

And topping the list of last week’s area performers is Clyde senior quarterback Blake Carr, who posted some eye-popping numbers in last week’s 34-21 win at EHS. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie volleyball sweeps dual match against Midland Christian, Clyde

The Wylie volleyball team pulled two wins closer to .500 on Tuesday with a sweep in its dual match against Midland Christian and Clyde, defeating the Lady Mustangs 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 before knocking off the Lady Bulldogs 25-16, 25-14, 21-25, 25-17. 

The victories improved WHS to 11-13 with three matches to play before its Sept. 8 district opener against Abilene High. And coach Shay Cox is hoping they will provide some positive momentum for a Lady Bulldogs squad that had lost six of its previous eight matches going into Tuesday night. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Catching up with local volleyball and talking a little AHS, ACS football

It’s an unfortunate truth in this profession that there are more sporting events going on in a given week than we could ever hope to attend. 

And while we here at Big Country Preps pride ourselves on providing the most comprehensive high school sports coverage you’ll find from any Big Country source, we can never make it to all the games and matches that we would like to.

With that in mind, we’re adding a new feature this year to try to catch up on some of the things we missed or just to double back on some notes that we couldn’t quite give the attention they deserved. 

Introducing the “Abilene Notebook,” our collection of such odds and ends from the past week of local athletic action. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder’s Stewart takes our first award of the school year

After a summer-long effort to produce our football preview, it is good to be back in our school year routine — a big part of which is our Big Country Preps Player of the Week. 

That said, we are proud to hand our first accolade for 2023-24 to Snyder senior quarterback Easton Stewart, who led the Tigers to a 42-0 season-opening win over Slaton last week. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Volleyball Position Rankings: Utility Players

After highlighting the Big Country’s top front- and back-row players the past four nights, we close out our volleyball position rankings series with the players who do a little of everything.

For the final installment in our five-part series, we rank the Big Country’s top five utility players with others to watch.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our rankings, and make sure to check back throughout the fall for all of our volleyball coverage this season.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Big Country Preps Volleyball Position Rankings: Liberos/Defensive Specialists

After highlighting the area’s top front-row players the past three nights, we now shift our attention to the those digging the ball off the floor in the back row.

For the fourth installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top-five liberos and defensive specialists for 2023 season.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Big Country Preps Volleyball Position Rankings: Setters

After focusing on the top hitters and blockers the Big Country has to offer the past two nights, it’s time to shift our attention to those setting them up.

For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 setters for the 2023 season.

We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Big Country Preps Volleyball Position Rankings: Middle Blockers

After kicking off our volleyball position rankings series with the outside hitters on Monday, we now turn our attention to the middle blockers.

For the second installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top five players at that position with some others to watch for in 2023.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Big Country Preps Volleyball Position Rankings: Outside Hitters

With the volleyball season upon us, it’s time to take a look at the local and area players who will be making the biggest impact for their teams during the 2023 season.

For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all positions, we’ll be focusing on the Big Country’s top outside hitters, ranking our top five with a list of others to watch this season.

As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: MVP Williams leads South to FCA volleyball sweep

Wall’s Kamryn Williams was off her game on Saturday morning as the Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes volleyball all-star game played two warm-up sets at Wylie High School’s Bulldog Gymnasium as the North team took a pair of wins.

But when the lights came on for the best-of-three match between the area’s best players, Williams flipped a switch and shined as she led the South to a 25-21, 25-16 win in front of a raucous crowd with the football players for Saturday night’s game in the stands firing up everyone in attendance.

The win by the South on Saturday gave them a 6-5 lead all-time in the series — and was the squad’s fourth consecutive win in the event dating back to 2019.

Williams, who played a role in 17 of the South’s points, said the MVP honors were the culmination of a week of hard work, bonding and growth.

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by Evan Ren

AREA SIGNEES LIST: Stanaland, Lawson among the area’s top signees

With Signing Day 2023 in the books, the Big Country will be placing several of its athletes on college campuses across the country, including multiple Division I signees. 

Headlining this year’s group are Jim Ned lineman Gage Stanaland, who has inked a Letter of Intent with Oklahoma State University and Breckenridge defensive lineman-fullback Jerry Lawson, who will be playing football right here in the Big Country with Abilene Christian University. Lawson is one of three Breckenridge athletes who will be heading to DI institutions, the others being Sean Cooksey and Chase Lehr.

Stanaland, a 6-foot-5, 290-pounder, originally committed to Navy and received offers from UTEP, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech. Texas A&M and Baylor were showing interest but never offered. However, Oklahoma State suddenly entered the pursuit late in the game and convinced him to become a Cowboy. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIGNING DAY: Abilene High volleyball standouts Hernandez, Dolton make college choices official

After helping lead the Abilene High volleyball team to its first playoff berth since 2015 and first region tournament appearance since 2007, two of the Lady Eagles’ top players are set to take their talents to the collegiate level.

Middle blocker Jadyn Hernandez and setter Alexis Dolton both made their college choices official during a signing day ceremony Wednesday at the AHS gym, with Hernandez committing to compete locally for Hardin-Simmons and Dolton pledging to play at Vernon College.

Those announcements, which came on the heels of a transformative season for the AHS volleyball team, mark well-earned opportunities for a pair of players who were instrumental in putting the Lady Eagles back on the map, coach Caroline Cleveland said.

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by Evan Ren

2022 BIG COUNTRY PREPS MAX EFFORT TEAM: The hardest-working players in area volleyball!

While BCP is proud to honor the top volleyball players in the area with our All-Big Country Preps team each year, our “Max Effort” team honors something that doesn’t show up in a box score. 

This is a unique honor which has nothing to do with physical talent.

Here, we recognize character, grit and work ethic — the elements that coaches wish every player had. Put another way, BCP’s Max Effort Team is where we honor the best teammates and best citizens that area volleyball has to offer.

It is for that reason that this team is selected by area coaches and described in their own words.

Big Country Preps is now honored to present these individuals to you.

Ladies and gentlemen: Our 2022 Big Country Preps Max Effort Team. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Abilene High volleyball downs El Paso High to reach Region I-5A tournament

MIDLAND — The Abilene High volleyball team extended its best season in more than a decade into the Region I-5A tournament Tuesday with a 25-20, 16-25, 25-17, 25-21 win over El Paso High in a region quarterfinal match at the McGraw Event Center.

The Lady Eagles, who are making their first playoff appearance since 2015, improved to 19-20 with the victory, which earned AHS its first region tournament trip since 2007.

Coach Caroline Cleveland’s team will now play North Richland Hills Birdville in the I-5A semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lubbock Coronado for a chance to play the winner between Lubbock Cooper and Colleyville Heritage in the region title match on Saturday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Run to third round has reenergized Abilene High volleyball program back on the map

Sitting at 7-14 on Aug. 30 and in the midst of a five-match losing streak, the Abilene High volleyball team was likely an unpopular pick to be the last of Abilene’s three large high schools standing come playoff time.

But a lot can change in more than two month’s time, particularly when dealing with a hungry young squad.

All the Lady Eagles have done since then is win 11 of their last 17 matches, including playoff victories over Amarillo Tascosa (25-27, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23) and El Paso Hanks (25-22, 20-25, 25-15, 12-25, 15-6) to return to the region quarterfinals for the first time since 2007 — when current head coach Caroline Cleveland just so happened to be leading AHS on the court as a senior.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie safety Wright takes top honors with three fourth-quarter picks

If it’s true that big-time players make big-time plays in big moments, few had a stronger claim to that “big-time” title this past week than Wylie sophomore Hayden Wright.

The Bulldogs free safety not only came through with three interceptions in his team’s 20-10 District 2-5A Division I title-clinching win over crosstown rival Cooper, he recorded all three picks in the fourth quarter as Wylie was trying to hold off a late Cougar rally.

For that effort, which saw him snatch his fourth, fifth and sixth interceptions of the season, the young playmaker has been named the Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 5.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Honeybees open playoffs with sweep of Estacado

As one of the top teams in Region I-4A, the Stephenville Honeybees hoped that Tuesday’s bi-district playoff matchup with Lubbock Estacado would be over fairly quickly.

The District 6-4A champions ensured that with a 25-11, 25-6, 25-11 sweep of the Lady Matadors at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum, ending Estacado’s return to the postseason after a 25-year drought in an emphatic way.

Coach Shay Douglas was proud of the concentration her team showed in the win.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brock junior takes the award with one big half of play

Every now and then, two quarters of playing time is enough to have a enormous impact. That was the case several times last week in a Friday night filled with lopsided finals throughout the area.

Topping that list: Our BCP Player of the Week, junior running back Brett Tutter, who helped lead Brock to a 77-27 win over Ponder. 

Tutter got only 16 carries in two quarters of play, but finished with an eye-popping 318 yards and five touchdowns as Brock (5-4, 4-0 District 4-3A DI) earned its fifth straight win after an 0-4 start. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hawley sweeps Coleman to claim share of District 6-2A title

Coming off a big five-set win over Albany on Saturday that opened the door for a co-championship in District 6-2A, the Hawley Lady Cats barreled through that door on Tuesday, sweeping Coleman 25-19, 25-14, 25-16 on Senior Night to share the league title with the Lady Lions.

On a night that began by honoring their only two seniors, Kylie Chesser and Mikayla Neble, the Lady Cats took care of the visiting Bluekatts without too much trouble, claiming their sixth consecutive win to wrap up the regular season at 23-16 overall and 7-1 in district play.

Coach Amy Eckhoff’s squad, which will flip for seeding with Albany, will now enter the Class 2A playoffs as either No. 1 or 2 seed out of District 6-2A and take on either the third- or fourth-place team out of District 5 — a four-team league comprised of Water Valley, Sonora, Miles and Junction.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie stuns Lubbock Cooper with Senior Night sweep

The Wylie volleyball team entered Tuesday’s District 4-5A volleyball match against Lubbock Cooper with nothing tangible on the line.

The Lady Bulldogs were already locked into the league’s No. 2 playoff seed and a date with Amarillo Caprock in next week’s bi-district round when they took the floor for their Senior Night match against the district champions.

Making matters tougher, the Lady Pirates had only lost one set over the past seven weeks entering their match at Bulldog Gymnasium.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Zephyr running back brings home Player of the Week honors

With some people projecting Zephr as an underdog in last week’s game with Sidney, very few people were expecting ZHS to provide us with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week.

Nonetheless, here we are.

Zephyr senior running back Jayden Millican takes the spotlight after rushing for 285 yards and six touchdowns in a 68-20 win over over Sidney. But he wasn’t finished there.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High Lady Eagles snap playoff drought with Senior Night sweep

Tuesday was a memorable night for the Abilene High volleyball team.

In addition to honoring seniors Jadyn Hernandez, Alexis Dolton, Ryleigh Lawson and Mia Cairo, who were playing their final match at Eagle Gym, the Lady Eagles snapped a seven-year playoff drought with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 win over Lubbock Coronado.

The victory, which improved AHS to 16-19 overall and 7-4 in District 4-5A play, not only guaranteed the Lady Eagles their first postseason berth since 2015, it locked up the No. 3 seed behind second-place Wylie and district leader Lubbock Cooper once combined with Lubbock Monterey’s win over crosstown rival Cooper.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Vinson battles through diabetes to become one of area’s more versatile players

If you watched Jim Ned’s Avery Vinson play volleyball for the first time, you’d notice a few things about the junior.   

She never comes off the court. The six-rotation standout helps the Lady Indians as an outside hitter while sharing setting duties with Kate Bryant.  

She has really good hands, which is one reason she leads Jim Ned with 478 assists. She’s also a lefty, which adds another dimension to the Lady Indians’ attack.  

Perhaps you’d notice the passion Vinson has for the game and how she’s become more of a leader this year.  

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