6A crown on line for Oak Ridge, Fort Bend Austin

A breakthrough by Oak Ridge’s biggest rival helped the War Eagles with a breakthrough of their own.

Now volleyball teams in the Houston area might be on the verge of tearing down an obstacle that has stood in their way for a decade.

Oak Ridge faces Fort Bend Austin in the Class 6A state semifinals at Garland on Friday, meaning the Houston area will have a team in the state championship match for the third consecutive year.

Before The Woodlands won the first of back-toback state titles in 2013, the Houston area had not produced a champion in the state’s largest two classifications since 2000. Six times, area teams lost in the championship match.

From 2003-06, teams from the Houston area did not win a match in the top two classes.

The War Eagles are making their first state appearance since 1999 after clinching the Region III title with a sweep of The Woodlands. Coach Tommi Lynn Sledge said it was significant the victory came against one of the teams Oak Ridge respects the most.

“We played some tough teams this year,” Sledge said. “(The players) have built more and more confidence. They truly believe they are as good as any team we might play.”

Highlanders raise bar

In addition to the 2013 state title, the Highlanders were crowned national champions by MaxPreps. com and went a combined 174-0 from the varsity down to the seventh grade. The Woodlands lost seven players to graduation — five went on to play in college — but won the state title again in 2014, beating Clear Falls in an all-Houston 6A final.

Before that came consecutive state titles by Coppell and Amarillo. San Antonio and Austin teams have made a handful of state finals appearances, too. After Stratford made back-to-back 5A finals in 2001 and 2002, the Houston area went nearly a decade before getting back.

Pearland coach John Turner, executive director of the Greater Houston Volleyball Coaches Association, constantly touts how great other programs in the Houston area are. He sees how good area teams are each year when he hosts the Texas Volleyball Invitational, which boasts the largest and most elite field in the nation.

The Houston area’s title drought might have been as simple as Dallas or Austin having the better players, Turner said.

“It’s strange how it has worked,” he said. “I don’t know if there was a little jinx on us, but I felt the difference was more in the talent area. Now the talent has turned. We’re even now if not even more so in Houston.”

Area boasts top talent

The depth of talent in the Houston area showed when the playoffs began. Seven of the state’s top 10 teams in 6A were from the area.

Many of the Houston area’s best players participate with Absolute Volleyball Academy in Dickinson. Last summer, AVA won two national championships.

Talent, chemistry and experience have been integral parts of Fort Bend Austin’s formula. Five seniors have been on the varsity since they were sophomores. Their breakthrough came when they beat Clear Creek during the regular season after losing to the Wildcats in the playoffs each of the last two years.

While advancing to the state tournament is the program’s greatest accomplishment, the Bulldogs won’t be satisfied unless they win it all.

“We want to take out the euphoria of it being a state trip,” Austin coach Amy Cataline said. “We’re just going to think about it being us traveling to play some matches. I expect these girls to be focused.”