Seven Lakes in 6A final; The Woodlands out
GARLAND — After losing the first set of the Class 6A semifinals, Seven Lakes made a decision not to panic. This was the Lady Spartans’ first trip to the state tournament, but that was also the case for the team standing on the other side of the net.
Seven Lakes rebounded from the opening-game defeat to capture a 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21 victory over Northside O’Connor on Friday evening at the Curtis Culwell Center.
“I think we just needed to kind of settle in,” Seven Lakes coach Amy Cataline said. “We just had to realize that we could control this game and not be so reactive.”
A chance for history
With the win, the Lady Spartans (27-7) clinched a spot in the state finals against two-time defending champion Hebron at 6:30 p.m. today. The Lady Hawks (40-7), making their sixth state tournament appearance, defeated The Woodlands (38-3) in straight sets in the first semifinal match of the day.
Seven Lakes has a chance to become just the third team from the Houston area to capture a state volleyball title since 2000. The Woodlands, champions in 2013 and 2014, has the other two.
“I’m excited,” Cataline said. “I didn’t get an opportunity to watch very much of (Hebron) before our match, but they’re a solid team, and they’re definitely experienced because they’ve been here before.”
Seven Lakes (27-7) was led by freshman Ally Batenhorst, who recorded a match-high 29 kills, just four short of the staterecord of 33 collected by Alyssa Enneking of Clear Falls back in 2013.
“She came through for us,” Cataline said. “She did a great job moving the ball around. When we needed to keep the ball away from their libero, both outsides did a fantastic job of finding other open spots on the court.”
Dani Batenhorst also had a strong match for the Lady Spartans with 17 kills and 15 digs. Morgan Janda collected 50 assists and 11 digs, and Natalie Winter and Olivia Hauck had 18 and 17 digs, respectively.
Aspen Thompson had a team-high 17 kills for O’Connor (45-5), and Alyssa Tatsch had 13.
In the earlier semifinal, The Woodlands saw its season come to a close with its 21-25, 21-25, 14-25 loss against Hebron.
Perspective in defeat
The Lady Highlanders, led by third-year coach Terri Wade, made the fourth state tournament appearance in the history of the program after capturing the Region II-6A title.
“I thought it was pretty special, especially for us seniors,” senior setter Sophie Walls said. “I think all of us were definitely taking it in before (the match). When we were on the line before we were shaking their hands, I was just looking up at the scoreboard and taking everything in because it’s a oncein-a-lifetime (experience). It’s so special, especially with your best friends.”
Adanna Rollins led the attack for Hebron with a match-high 11 kills and 14 digs, and Nicole Drewnick also had 11 kills.
The Woodlands got eight kills from Koele and six apiece from Courtney Heiser and Ally Haden. Skylar Scott had 11 digs to lead the team, and Walls collected 20 assists.