Young Mustangs gear up for 16-6A opener

The Kingwood volleyball team opens district play this week.

The Mustangs were 1314 going into Tuesday’s final non-district match, but coach Ashley Earhart said they’re starting to come around just in time for Friday’s District 16-6A showdown with Oak Ridge.

They open district at 5:30 p.m. Friday on the War Eagles’ court.

“We’re super young, so I’m not surprised by our record, but a lot of those matches have been very close,” Earhart said.

“It’s not like we’re getting blown out.”

Kingwood starts two talented freshmen in its front court and uses as many as three sophomores in its rotation.

They struggled at times in tough trips to tournaments in Pearland and New Braunfels.

But those experience are starting to pay off.

“We’re passing serve really well and our defense is finally starting to come along,” Earhart said. “We were struggling big-time defensively earlier in the season, and we were also struggling putting the ball away, and both of those areas have gotten much better in the past week and a half.”

The freshmen starters, who Earhart said are playing like juniors, are outside hitter Peyton Shamp and middle blocker Camden Gray.

“They’re the first two freshmen we’ve had on varsity since 1990, and if you watch them in the gym you would never know they’re the freshmen,” Earhart said.

“Camden is 6 foot. She’s an incredible blocker, she sees the court really well, and it’s like she has a sixth sense for blocking. And then Peyton is just such a competitor. She puts the ball away for us on the outside, she’s very calm on defense and very calm on serve-receive.

“They’re very composed players for their age and they’ve stepped in and done a great job.”

Earhart’s looking for district play.

The War Eagles won 30 games last year and is playing well again, taking a 20-3 record into this week.

“We’re playing at Oak Ridge, which is a really tough place to play, and they are playing well,” Earhart said.

“The good news is that we’re playing much better than we have been.

... I’m expecting for it to be a really competitive match, but our goal is still to start district 1-0.”