Category: Volleyball

by Evan Ren

2023 BIG COUNTRY PREPS MAX EFFORT TEAM: The hardest-working players in area volleyball!

Our All-Big Country Preps Volleyball team, released today, honors those who produced the top on-court performances through the 2023 season. It is off the court, however, where character, grit and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Max Effort Team that we wish to honor those players who were the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this fall. 

This team isn’t about who the best volleyball players were.

The Max Effort team honors hustle, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish every player had.

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Buck Powell
by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hico’s Powell takes this week’s accolade

Big numbers are always great to have when we decide the winner of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. Solid numbers across multiple tasks are even better. 

That was the case with this week’s spotlight player, Buck Powell, of Hico, who helped the Tigers to a 47-14 rout of Maud in the Class 2A DII bi-district round on Friday. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 31)

NOTE: This will be our final installment of Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders for the 2023 season 

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 Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 24)

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 Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Big Spring’s Kavien Ford lands the top spot

Every now and then, the biggest performances come at precisely the right time. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, that couldn’t be more true than it is now. 

With his team laboring through a five-game losing streak and in danger of losing a playoff spot, Big Spring’s Kavien Ford came up with one of the best performances we’ve seen this year when he rushed for 374 yards and seven scores on 39 carries in a 63-43 win over San Angelo Lake View. 

The win put Big Spring (2-6, 1-1) in a three-way tie for second place with one game remaining in the regular season. It also kept Lake View in sole possession of last place.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cooper volleyball keeps playoff hopes alive with five-set win over Lubbock Monterey

Hosting Lubbock Monterey with their dimming playoff hopes on the line, the Cooper volleyball team played with the urgency of a squad fighting for its postseason life, outlasting the Lady Plainsmen for a thrilling 26-28, 25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13 victory Tuesday at Cougar Gym.

In a back-and-forth match that saw four of the five sets decided by the minimum two points, the youthful Lady Cougars (11-26 overall, 2-8 in District 4-5A) did just enough to escape with the win, pulling within two victories of the Lady Plainsmen (20-22, 4-7) with two matches remaining.

Now coach Nora Campbell’s team will need to win at Lubbock High (10-28, 1-9) on Friday and at home against Lubbock Coronado (15-26, 3-7) next Tuesday and hope LHS can knock off Monterey on the road on the final night of the regular season to earn a rubber match against the Lady Plainsmen for the district’s final playoff spot.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 17)

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 Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater’s Moore takes this week’s top spot

Big numbers are one thing. But when they come in the clutch in a multitude of areas, that’s difficult to top for our weekly Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.

This time around, it’s Sweetwater junior running back-linebacker Korda Moore taking the top spot for the week ending Oct. 14. 

Moore had a big night in last week’s dramatic 45-41 win over Midland Greenwood, with 25 carries for 187 yards and four TDs. He also caught three passes for 65 yards and two more scores.

But he wasn’t finished there. He also completed a 23-yard pass and scored on two two-point conversion runs to finish with 40 total points on the night. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie on the verge of playoff berth after sweeping Cooper; Lady Coogs looking for a miracle

With just two weeks left in the regular season, only one playoff berth has been decided in District 4-5A: the Lady Pirates of Lubbock Cooper know they will be playing in the postseason.

Who joins them in chasing a state championship is still up in the air, but a small sliver of the picture came into focus on Tuesday night.

Wylie knocked off Cooper 25-8, 25-15, 25-19 at Bulldog Gym to move to the precipice of clinching its postseason berth, but the Lady Bulldogs were denied a chance to officially clinch when Lubbock Monterey claimed a five-set thriller over Abilene High.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 10)

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 Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde senior claims his second weekly accolade

One top-notch performance after another. 

That’s the 2023 résumé of Clyde senior quarterback Blake Carr, who has once again taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award after leading the Bulldogs to a 60-36 rout of Vernon on the road on Friday. 

It is the second time this season Carr has taken the top spot. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie holds off Abilene High on road to take four-set thriller

It’s not often that the momentum — or even outcome — of an entire volleyball match hinges on a single point, but that sure seemed to be the case in Wylie’s 25-27, 25-15, 26-24, 25-21 win at Abilene High on Tuesday night at Eagle Gym.

After seeing a 24-21 lead erased in a tough Game 1 loss to fall into an early hole, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves in an almost identical situation in Game 3. This time, Wylie watched a 24-19 lead evaporate as the Lady Eagles fought off game point for five consecutive points to even the score at 24-all.

With the set and match score tied and the balance of the key District 4-5A contest seemingly at stake at that point, the teams played their longest point of the match, going back and forth for what felt like minutes before the rally finally ended with an AHS hitting error. That point spurred Wylie to a Game 3 win, which was followed by a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to take the match — and a two-match lead on the Lady Eagles in the district standings.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 3)

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 Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Twins Abby, Blake Carr fueling Clyde athletics’ successful fall

As fans of the Clyde Bulldogs revel in the school’s resounding success in both volleyball and football this fall, they don’t have to look long to find a common denominator in the collective achievement.

The volleyball team is 26-12 and 2-1 in District 6-3A and will play at Ballinger (4-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. The overall record is a little deceiving in that all but a handful of the defeats came against Class 5A and 6A schools. Per usual, Clyde is a 3A contender.

The Bulldogs’ football team, meanwhile, is 5-0 heading into its District 3–3A Division I opener at Vernon (also 5-0) on Friday. The winner will emerge as the district leader, but few around the program believe Clyde won’t have a run to — and possibly through — mid November. 

And one last name appears on the rosters of both teams: Carr. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Local volleyball races heating up; football teams hitting pivotal stretches

Several weeks ago, when our local volleyball teams were struggling against tough nondistrict schedules, I laid out a case in this column for patience, citing the significant progress those squads typically make over the course of the season.

Well, we’ve reached the midway point of the District 4-5A campaign and the Wylie and Abilene High volleyball teams are making me look smarter than I really am.

Heading into the second half of league play, which begins Tuesday with a big matchup between those two teams at AHS’ Eagle Gym, the Lady Bulldogs (18-15 overall) are in second place at 5-1 — behind only 6-0 Lubbock Cooper — while the Lady Eagles (11-19 on the year) are a match behind in third at 4-2.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco running back takes this week’s accolade

After an 0-4 start against a brutal non-district slate, the Cisco Loboes have rebounded with a pair of wins in district play, most recently, Friday’s 48-7 victory over Winters at Chesley Field. 

Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, senior running back Gus Hart, was at the forefront of that win with 173 yards and six touchdowns on only 14 carries. 

“Gus had a great game against Winters,” coach Kevin Stennett said. “He has battled some injuries this year and he is finally getting back to 100 percent. “We will rely on him heavily over the next few weeks.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Clyde rights the ship in sweep of Jim Ned

TUSCOLA — When you’re coming off a bad match, sometimes all it takes to get back on track is playing a rival.

It can also help when you aren’t playing up to your capabilities for your coach to yell at you a little bit.

Both of those happened at Bill Thornton Arena on Tuesday night as Clyde used a 13-3 run to close out the first set and take a 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 win over Jim Ned in a tense District 6-3A matchup.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Pair of torn ACLs not enough to slow ‘one of a kind’ Abilene High senior McMillon

While the bulky braces on each of Maddie McMillon’s knees serve a functional purpose, their significance goes well beyond utility for the Abilene High senior volleyballer.

After spending most of the last two years rehabbing torn anterior cruciate ligaments in both knees, those braces serve as both a security blanket and a visible reminder of the journey that’s brought her to this point.

McMillon, whose injury history would have ended many — if not most — athletic careers, wouldn’t allow her adverse circumstances to alter — much less close — her course. And after two arduous years of pain, heartbreak and intense therapy, the 5-foot-10 middle blocker is finally reaping the rewards sown through an unwavering positive outlook and a relentless work ethic. 

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by Evan Ren

BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abilene High QB Slack takes honor with six-TD performance

Photo by Chase Seabolt, HubCityPreps.com

Entering District 2-5A Division I play off back-to-back losses, the Abilene High football team needed a fast start and a strong performance on the road against Lubbock Monterey to get back on track and kick off its league schedule the right way.

Led by senior quarterback Dylan Slack, the Eagles got both, building a 49-7 halftime lead on their way to a 59-14 win over the Plainsmen.

Slack’s fingerprints were all over the win as he hit 15 of 20 passes for 217 yards and five touchdowns while adding another score on the ground — a performance worthy of this week’s Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.

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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 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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