August 13, 2023

The quarterfinals of the MISD Methodist Mansfield Medical Center invitational were filled with some fun matchups to start off Saturday morning. Mansfield went head-to-head against Waco Midway, while Colleyville Heritage faced off against Amarillo Tascosa in the other gym. The next two matches featured El Paso Coronado squaring off against El Paso Franklin and Frisco Memorial seeing Waxahachie. In the semifinal matchups, Colleyville Heritage faced off against Waxahachie, while El Paso Coronado advanced to play against Mansfield. And in the final round, El Paso Coronado faced off against Colleyville Heritage. Colleyville Heritage’s dominance at the net, coupled with its well-rounded performance, ultimately secured them the tournament victory. The Davis sisters, Maddie Bird, and Audrey Popp shined, while libero Sarah Mendoza displayed exceptional defensive skills. Colleyville Heritage emerged as the deserving champions (25-20,25-21), showcasing its talents and determination throughout the tournament. Can we just talk about the El Paso Coronado squad? They are the perfect definition of a scrappy team. They might not be big height wise but don’t tell them that. Outside hitters Alina Strickler and Ashlee Macias swing with no fear. Right sides Nadia Pena (a Texas A&M-Kingsville commit) and Lauren Bates do a great job giving setters Rhian Gee and Faith Silex options. Libero Danielle Gutierrez sweeps up the backcourt. And middle blocker Elle Rios might not be the “normal” middle size but can score with the best of them. *** Gold Bracket Results Mansfield d Waco Midway 25-20, 25-14 Colleyville Heritage d Amarillo Tascosa 25-20, 25-14 El Paso Coronado d El Paso Franklin 25-19, 15-25, 25-20 Waxahachie d Frisco Memorial 25-23, 25-11 El Paso Coronado d Mansfield 26-24, 25-17 Colleyville Heritage d Waxahachie 25-12, 25-22 Colleyville Heritage d El Paso Coronado 25-20, 25-21 *** All-Tournament Team MVP: Suli Davis S/RS Colleyville Heritage Maddie Bird OH Colleyville Heritage Sarah Mendoza L Colleyville Heritage Danielle Gutierrez L El Paso Coronado Alina Strickler El Paso Coronado Brennan Ramirez L Waxahachie Rachel Resta S Mansfield Jordan Imperial OH El Paso Franklin Meredith Sanning S Amarillo Tascosa McCall Sims Canyon West Plains Randee McCloud Coppell Mira Klem RS Coppell Lily Hamilton OH Keller Timbercreek Brooklyn Ross Lake Ridge *** DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Meredith Sanning, SR S, Tascosa- Sims showed nice command running the offense. She has a soft, smooth delivery and was consistently on target with her location. Bennet Berryman, SO L, Tascosa- Berryman was active and playing with high energy. She was making big digs to extend rallies, bringing a defensive edge to the lineup. Jennifer Zuniga, SR MB, Tascosa- Zuniga is an undersized MB but incredibly smart and crafty, She gets the job done. Suli Davis, JR S/RS, Colleyville Heritage- Davis, a 5-star recruit, can do it all. Not only is she a wall at the net defensively, but when she gets an open net to swing on its truly impressive. Maddie Bird, SR OH, Colleyville Heritage- Bird is a reliable scorer who was finding gaps in the seams and open spots on the court with her smart shot selection. Audrey Popp, SO OH, Colleyville Heritage- Popp, a 3-star recruit, takes some big swings on the outside. Sarah Mendoza, JR L, Colleyville Heritage- Mendoza, a 4-star recruit, is smooth and consistent and rarely makes mistakes. She also reads welloin defense. Maria Herron, FR RS, Midway- Herron, a freshman, swing wells on the right side. She will be fun to watch as she continues to grow in the game. Kenna McKenzie, JR OH, Midway- McKenzie, a 3-star recruit, keeps the offense ticking across the front row. Her line shot is pretty impressive. She’s also a strong contributor in the back row. Jade Washington, JR L, Midway- Washington was holding it down defensively, coming up with saves all over to extend rallies. She is incredibly fast, dynamic and fun to watch. Rachel Resta, SR S, Mansfield- Resta, a 3-star recruit committed to Oral Roberts, has a soft touch and she can be aggressive across the front row going on two to keep defenses on guard. She can push from pin to pin with ease. Mia Clay, SR OH, Mansfield- Clay, a St. Edward’s commit, is a consistent contributor to the attack and a tough one to slow down with her extension that has her going over or around the block. Kylie Meche, SO OH, Mansfield- Meche has an athletic edge on the court. She jumps incredibly well and has no fear swinging. Julianna Hernandez, SO L, Frisco Memorial – Hernandez, a 3-star recruit, makes plays others don’t. She’s money in serve receive. She’s quick and covers ground chasing down balls and extending rallies. Ava Steffe, JR OH, Frisco Memorial- Steffe is a steady six-rotation outside who gets up with a good arm who provides offense everywhere on the court. Lauren Bates, JR RS, El Paso Coronado- Bates is an effective scorer who has a ton of energy. She helps split the offensive duties in the front row. Alina Strickler, SR OH, El Paso Coronado- Stickler is an undersized scrapper who finds ways to score in the front and back row. Danielle Gutierrez, JR L, El Paso Coronado- Gutierrez provides a steadying presence in the back row. She was sound in serve receive and putting digs right on target consistently. Jordan Imperial, SR OH, El Paso Franklin- Imperial was my favorite athlete to watch play. She might be 5-6 BUT she literally played like she was 6-0. She has a whip of an arm and loved to tool blocks. Did I mention she plays lights out defense? Hannah Finn, JR S, El Paso Franklin- Finn can set on the move as well and does a nice job of connecting with all her hitters. Tionna Owens, SR MB, Waxahachie- Owens makes a big impact defensively at the net and putting down any overpasses that came her way. Brennan Ramirez, SR L, Waxahachie- Ramirez is a calm presence at libero with strong skills and rarely makes mistakes or errors. She is also fast and able to make quick reaction plays. Migdaly Bernal, SR

Mira Costa CA arrived at the Ann Kang Invitational hosted by ‘Iolani in Honolulu as the defending champion and ranked No. 4 overall in vballrecruiter.com’s initial Top 50 National High School Rankings. However, if the Mustangs were going to head back to the mainland with their eighth overall Ann Kang title, they were served an early reminder that it wasn’t going to come easy. With 5-star Wisconsin commit Charlie Fuerbringer (S/RS) playing with the USAV U19 squad, the Mustangs were short-handed and left without their best player and leader. It looked like that could lead to a real struggle for Mira Costa, which was upended by Punahou HI in its first outing on Thursday morning. However, the setback didn’t derail the team’s hopes, as Mira Costa didn’t blink and instead responded by running the table from there, including handing national No. 8 Cornerstone Christian TX its only loss with a three-set victory, 16-25, 25-19, 15-11, in the championship match Saturday evening. It was an impressive feat not only because Fuerbringer was missing from the trip, but because those the Mustangs needed to rely on were underclassmen who needed to help the cause and they all stepped up in admirable fashion. Five-star outside Audrey Flanagan, 4-star setter Milly McGee and 3-star outside Simone Roslon are all sophomores who contributed in key roles to back the play of the upperclassmen. Flanagan was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Junior libero Taylor Deckert – a 5-star USC commit – and senior right side Chloe Hynes also made the All-Tournament Team. Senior setter Hayden Lin, senior right side Nora Williams and senior middles Bryn Shankle and Rachel Moglia filled out the lineup that lifted the Mustangs to their nation-leading eighth Ann Kang championship and a comeback victory over Cornerstone Christian. The two programs weren’t totally unfamiliar with one another. The sides met in the championship match of the Nike TOC Southwest tournament last October, with Cornerstone pulling out a three-set victory in that one. Though Cornerstone graduated three key pieces, the Warriors remain formidable with 5-star junior outside Megan Fitch (Texas AM) and 4-star senior right side Grace Carroll (Baylor) still in the mix. Mira Costa entered as the top overall seed, but it was Cornerstone which was looking like the favorite heading into the championship clash. The Warriors had dropped just one set through seven pool matches and its semifinals victory over Los Alamitos CA. That came in a three-set victory over national No. 17 Sierra Canyon CA to close out Thursday’s action for the Warriors. Cornerstone came out hot in the opening set against Mira Costa, racing to a 12-5 cushion and never looking back. However, the Mustangs were not ready to enjoy the rest of their time on the island without first putting up a fight, turning the tide and pulling away down the stretch of Game 2 to force a decisive game to 15. Once more, Mira Costa outplayed the Warriors in the clutch, leading to a joyous celebration after Hynes put away the final point with a cross-court kill from the left side. Mira Costa reached the four-team championship bracket only after narrowly getting past Lovejoy TX in three, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10, earlier in the day. It was a must-win contest for Mira Costa, which ended in a three-way tie for first in Pool A with Los Al and Punahou. Punahou was eliminated from contention based on tiebreakers. It was Los Al which handed fifth-place Punahou its only loss of the tournament. That victory proved key for Los Al, which ended tied for third after being swept by Cornerstone in the semifinals. Before getting a shot at Cornerstone in the final, Mira Costa needed to get past Sierra Canyon in its semifinal. The two schools had their recent history from last year’s encounters at the event. First with Sierra Canyon beating Mira Costa to close out pool play in a memorable match that saw the third set to 15 go Sierra Canyon’s way at 25-23! However, Mira Costa delivered payback by sweeping the Trailblazers when they met again in the final. Mira Costa’s swept Saturday’s contest, 25-23, 25-21. It won’t be the only time this season Mira Costa, Cornerstone and Sierra Canyon are at the same tournament. All three are set to participate in the 64-team Durango Fall Classic next month in Las Vegas, as well as sixth-place finisher Huntington Beach CA.