Teams come and go through the years at the UIL state volleyball tournament, but a mainstay that has reserved a seat at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland going on more than a half decade has been the Bushland Lady Falcons.
Bushland has created a volleyball dynasty from the minute the high school doors opened in 2006. However, it’s easy to say that this Lady Falcon juggernaut has been on an elite level since 2019.
What Bushland has done the past six years is mind blowing to anyone following the program. Bushland (40-8) will make its unprecedented sixth straight UIL state championship appearance when they battle Goliad (43-3) at 11 a.m. Friday.
The Lady Falcons will be playing for the program’s ninth state championship, their first ever three-peat, and their fifth state title over the past six years.
After leaving Randall seven years ago, head coach Jason Culpepper took an already established program and catapulted Bushland into storybook status.
“Tradition has a lot to do with it,” said Jason Culpepper, who is 872-190 in 26 years as a head volleyball coach. “Bushland has had a great tradition from the start. This team knows that and has seen from the past, that if you have a goal and work toward that goal, then the work and dreams pay off.”
When Bushland swept Goliad last season, Culpepper had to say goodbye to a loaded senior class. With an almost entirely new group, Culpepper knew there was going to be work to do, but he knew the talent was there. This young team didn’t flinch, carrying on an impressive district win streak that has reached 105 straight games. Bushland is now riding a 12-game win streak overall and has won 17 straight postseason games, heading into the state championship match.
“There has been a lot of learning,” Culpepper said. “I think this young team has done a great job, though. There have been mistakes, but as the year has gone on — I think we’ve done better at eliminating those mistakes and matured. There is now a better volleyball IQ. They make plays now at the net and they are more aggressive where they may have been more timid early in the year.”
Bushland faced its first major test in the state semifinals last Saturday, rallying to beat Ponder in five-sets. That’s when Culpepper knew this team was state ready.
“That Ponder win said a lot for us,” Culpepper said. “We don’t play five-sets often, so a win like that can carry on for a longtime. We might have to have another match like that against Goliad. We’ll be ready.”
One of the rare seniors, and an impactful player that returned from last year, is libero Ava Permenter. Permenter, who followed in the footsteps of her older sister, Jada — who was on the 2022 state championship team — has been a leader all season and a mentor for the youth.
“It’s been cool to see this team grow,” said Permenter, who collected a team-best 1,163 digs this year. “With all the seniors graduating, we’ve all had to step up. The young players have been learning and we all know the tradition. We have seen the past teams and what they overcame to make a state championship happen. We see that, and want to make our own name.”
Junior outside hitter Laynee Adams is another, who is well aware of what Lady Falcon volleyball is all about. Laynee’s oldest sister, Jaycee won two state championships for the Lady Falcons. Now, Jaycee is an assistant coach for Bushland volleyball.
Laynee’s middle sister, Brylee, was a standout pitcher for the Bushland softball team and is now pitching at UT Tyler.
“It’s awesome to be doing this now and following what my sisters did,” said Laynee, who has totaled 424 kills on the year. “I was always little and in the stands watching Jaycee and Brylee. I wanted to be where they were at and now, I’m here. It’s been so much with this team. We have a blast together.”
Berklee Billington has been the glue to this team. Culpepper has been extremely high on the outside hitter since the start of the year, and for good reason. Billington has been lights out since August, leading the team with 500 kills and has been equally impressive throughout the postseason.
“I think we have come a long way,” Billington said. “The chemistry has grown through the year and we’ve built as a team. The offense has gotten so much better. Winning a game (like the state semifinal win over Ponder) was huge for us. We’ve played five-sets with West Plains, but we haven’t done that in a while and that gave us even more confidence.”
Culpepper echoed Billington’s comment.
“We have great balance,” Culpepper said. “Berklee and Laynee do a great job giving us balance on the outside, and now Jori (Clark) has come on to give us even more of a threat. Ava is doing a great job of anchoring the back row and she’s a leader. We also have great setters, helping get the hitters the ball.”
About Goliad
The Goliad Lady Tigers are back in the UIL Class 3A Division I state title game, after falling to Bushland in four-sets a year ago.
The Tigerettes, who won the UIL state championship in 2016-2017, are making their seventh appearance at the state volleyball tournament.
Goliad has put together a tremendous year at 43-3 overall, and have won 36-straight matches heading into this state championship game with Bushland. Like the Lady Falcons, the Tigerettes are carrying on quite the district win streak. Goliad has won 11 straight district championships and have put together 125 straight district wins.
The Tigerettes are led by veteran head coach Jess Odem, and have a very talented hitter in Addison Yendrey and middle blocker Maevyn Wunsch.
“Goliad is really talented,” Culpepper said. “They have an outstanding hitter we’ll have to go against, and other players that can do damage. They have a setter that is really good and works their offense to perfection. It will be a great match between two great teams.”
