Cougarettes keep cruising with 19th straight victory

The move from Class 6A to 5A has paid instant dividends for New Braunfels Canyon.

Coach Heather Sanders’ Cougarettes continued their stellar run during the 2020 campaign Tuesday night after easily sweeping aside Harlandale 3-0 at Steele High School in an area-round playoff contest.

Canyon swept the match by scores of 25-8, 25-12 and 25-9 to improve to 22-1 overall.

The Cougarettes, who breezed through District 26-5A with an immaculate 16-0 mark, have won 19 consecutive matches dating to Sept. 25.

“I think our energy is still the same,” Canyon senior libero Addison Evans said of the winning streak. “We’re still really excited to be at practice. We’re still excited to show up to games.”

The Indians (11-5) were clearly overmatched against the Cougarettes’ formidable front line and fell into a 9-0 deficit in the opening game. Canyon’s Kyla Malone,

Courtney Pope and Maya Jones blocked or altered countless Harlandale shots, which began to result in unforced errors by the Indians.

After Canyon cruised to a quick win in the first set, it made a few lineup changes in the second but continued to roll. The Cougarettes’ Alli Paveglio, Haley Therien and Danielle Classy received their opportunity to shine and helped their team end the game on a13-4 run to send Harlandale to the brink of elimination.

Canyon wrapped up a clinical sweep minutes later after adding one final triumph in the third set. Pope provided an early boost by slamming home three of the first four points to fuel an 8-0 surge that included a pair of kills from Malone and a service ace from Victoria Fontenot.

The Cougarettes kept their foot on the gas from there and closed the match in style after Jones rose for one final kill.

“We’re bigger than they are, and we executed,” Sanders said. “The other night we made 20 hitting errors when we played against Leander, so much better execution tonight.”

Canyon advances to the Region IV-5A quarterfinals, where a match against District 25-5A champion Leander Rouse awaits. The Raiders (18-6) swept Highlands 3-0 in their second-round match Monday night.

“We’re so ready for this,” Evans said. “We’ve been dreaming about this since the very beginning of the season, and it’s been one of our top goals to make it to the state tournament. I really think we can do it.”