As the volleyball season looms on the horizon, the Cy-Fair ISD schools that now make up District 17-5A are preparing for what many expect to be another competitive season as realigned members of Region III.
For one team, expectations are very high. The Cypress Woods Wildcats are ranked third in the state in Class 5A in the Texas Girls Coaches Association preseason poll. Others are looking to repeat successful seasons while some look to create new traditions.
Here’s a preview of the district heading into the first week of the season.
While none of the other coaches are ready to concede the district to them, they all acknowledge the wealth of talent on the Cypress Woods Wildcat team. The 2009 Wildcats went 35-6, including an undefeated run through the district, but were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by The Woodlands, so they may have a sense of unfinished business.
Cy-Woods must replace six seniors from last year’s team that graduated, but have several key contributors from that squad returning in 2010, including super sophomore Chloe Collins.
Collins started on the varsity as a freshman and was a big factor in the Wildcats’ success. Her poise and court presence impressed her coach, Ashley Ahlfinger.
“For her to come in as a freshmen and take on the varsity setting position, that is quite a bit to ask for such a young girl,” Ahlfinger said of Collins, who has already given a verbal commitment to the University of Texas. “She has no fear and ran the team like she had been with them for years.”
Along with Collins, Cy-Woods returns Daniella Arenas, Sara Nielson and Carla Armstrong, who were all starters and played the majority of the time. Ahlfinger expects them to have a huge impact on this year’s team and she believes their experience from last season will benefit them on the court.
“I truly believe that this year the team’s chemistry is unlike any other that I have coached,” Ahlfinger stated recently. “These girls will give everything they have to be successful and opponents will find it hard to defeat a team that will never give up.”
It also helps that the Wildcats are very strong defensively, which may counter big hitters from other teams.
“You can only pound the ball so many times and get dug before a mistake is inevitable,” Ahlfinger said.
The Cy-Fair Bobcats arguably suffered the biggest individual loss following the 2009 season, as all-state performer Chiney Ogwumike graduated and took her athletic skills to Stanford University, joining her sister Nneka.
Bobcat head coach Donna Benotti will have to replace more than just Ogwumike’s on-court ability.
“She brought more than just athleticism to the court,” Benotti recently said of Ogwumike. “Her leadership will be equally missed.”
Cy-Fair, who went 33-10 last year and finished as District 15-5A runner-up, must also replace outside hitters Lindsey Peterson, Audra Vaello and Madison Smith. But Benotti credits those players with helping to form the players who she expects to be the 2010 team leaders.
“I am expecting great things from Kameryn Hayes,” the Bobcat coach stated. “Sarah Teel and Morgan Decarlo are expected to be leaders for our team.”
Cy-Fair also returns libero Krissy Ordemann and expects big contributions from juniors Kylie Schott, Kylee Mann and Emily Wright.
Benotti believes that whatever her team may lack in experience, they will make up for in tenacity.
“(We) are driven to be successful and we’ll never give up, she said. “I believe that will pay off. We have a great setter, with good ball control and we will manage to find a way to be successful.”
The Cypress Falls Golden Eagles surprised some observers and finished as the third place team last year, compiling a 27-13 overall record. Falls lost in the opening playoff round to eventual Region II champion Georgetown.
Head coach Kathy Stephenson, who has been at Cy-Falls since the school opened in 1992, will have to replace eight graduated seniors from that team if the Eagles are to compete again in 2010.
Langham Creek head coach Carey Todd described the 2009 season, her first at the helm of the Lobo program, as “absolutely wonderful“. They finished the season with a 22-20 record.
“(We) built an image of respect, hard workers and positive attitudes,” Todd said. “I could not have asked for a greater group of players to welcome me into my first varsity season.“
Going into the 2010 season, the Lobos must replace outside hitter Kearby Benak and middle blocker Courtney Hintz, but they return a core group led by senior Mikaela Stanislav and juniors Brittnee Dawley, Regan Jenkins and Brittany Anson, as they look to move up from the middle of the district pack.
“As long as we work together, believe and trust in one another on and off the court,” said Todd, “we will be just fine.”
Cypress Creek was the fourth place finisher in 15-5A in 2009. The Cougars were stocked with underclassmen, though, and should be improved this year. For that reason, TGCA pollster Butch Hart mentions Cy-Creek as a team to watch.
Other district schools, including Jersey Village, Cypress Springs and second-year programs Cypress Lakes and Cypress Ranch, are just looking to gain respectability in the new season.
Jennifer Wittenburg, head coach at Cypress Ranch, expects her team to be much improved from their inaugural varsity campaign.
“(Last season) was a learning experience everyday,” said Wittenburg, whose 2009 team went 11-23 with no senior class. She added that the expectation level is raised for the upcoming year.
“I expect my program to compete against every team,” she said. “There are no exceptions, no reasons why they shouldn't give 100%.”
“The only thing we lacked last year was experience and that is what hurt us and caused us to not be as successful as we would have liked to have been.”
Still, the Mustang head coach feels that the 2009 season built a sense of camaraderie and determination into her team and she says she expects Cy-Ranch to make it to the playoffs or be in the fight for the top spots of the district.
Cypress Ranch hopes to be a surprise team in the district, but they aren’t alone
If observers are looking for the surprise team of 2010 in the district, first-year Cypress Ridge head coach Amanda Quinlan wants people to take note of her squad and she’s willing to make a bold prediction: her team will be a playoff team.
Quinlan inherits a team that struggled in district play last year, going 2-16. On top of that, she will have only one upperclassman, senior Janet Hill, surrounded by a roster of sophomores. But the coach’s enthusiasm for her prospects are almost infectious.
“We’re very young,” Quinlan said recently, “but we have a good group coming back.”
That group will be anchored by Hill, who compiled 377 digs and 345 kills as a junior. Quinlan believes her lone senior is up to the task, but sophomores Kaylen Deloney and Melissa Acosta are expected to be key contributors too.
The situation seems like a big challenge, but Quinlan instead says she takes it as a blessing in disguise.
“We’re going to shock some people,” she said. “They’ve (her underclassmen) matured, we’ve gotten better. You can already see the excitement and spirit on the court has changed--in an upward way.”
Still Quinlan knows qualifying for the playoffs in one of only two ten-team districts in the region will be a significant task.
“This has got to be one of the most difficult districts to get out of,” Quinlan, who played at and graduated from Cypress Creek, stated. “Every single team in this district in volleyball is good. Some teams will get down or have down years, but they’re still competing for those four spots.”
Woods’ Ahlfinger also expects that the district will be tough to navigate again in 2010.
“Our district is very strong and it is always exciting to see what the final outcome will be,” the coach said. “Any team can be successful on any given day, so it is important to keep our athletes motivated through out the entire year.”
“Upsets are known to happen.”
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