Amarillo High stuns rival Tascosa with massive come-from-behind win 

Fans got their money worth and then some in the latest chapter of the Amarillo High-Tascosa volleyball rivalry.

At a jam-packed AHS Activity center Tuesday night, the Lady Rebels and Lady Sandies didn’t disappoint playing over two hours going all five sets with AHS making a furious comeback to stun Tascosa in this District 3-5A showdown, 25-27, 15-25, 25-16, 25-10, 15-13.

The Lady Sandies stay atop the 3-5A standings unbeaten at 6-0 and moved to 24-6 overall. The Lady Rebes (22-8) suffer their first loss in district dropping to 4-1.

Tascosa looked in total control after winning a hard-fought first set then cruising in the second set to go up 2-0. From that point, AHS regrouped behind a complete team effort on the offensive and defensive side to handle Tascosa in the next two sets before holding off the Lady Rebels in the fifth.

For first-year AHS head coach Haleigh Burns, she’s coached against the Lady Sandies during intense rivalry matchups at Randall, but this was her first experience coaching on the Lady Sandies sideline against bitter rival Tascosa.

“I love playing in these types of games,” These nights are my favorite. We know we’re going to get the best from everyone we face. We were on our heels for the first two sets, and that’s a credit to Tascosa. They played great. We were pushed but we never stopped believing and had players step up in big moments. I’m proud of this team for getting a win like this.”

AHS outside hitter Sienna Cavalier was one of those players to step up in a big way. The senior leader led the Lady Sandies with a double-double going for 23 digs with 21 kills.

Bennett Rea and Payton Cash handled set up the offense combining for 49 assists. Rea had a team-high 32 and Cash finishing with 17. Ellen Head was strong defensively with 21 digs and Leia Young showed up on defense with eight blocks.

“We didn’t give up,” Burns said. “We never stopped playing without energy. I think by the third set we had stopped the unforced errors and found a rhythm. That got us going and then the leaders came through. We also played great defense when it counted.”

Tascosa’s Saphina Stanley put together a great match with 18 kills. Teammate Libby Miller totaled 30 assists and Bennet Berryman had 28 digs on the back row.

Lubbock-Cooper was able to keep pace with AHS thanks to a sweep of Lubbock High 25-9, 25-20, 25-11. Kambel Johnston had 12 kills for LCP. The Lady Pirates (21-9) are also undefeated in District 3-5A at 5-0. LHS (11-19) falls to 0-5.

Caprock sweeps Palo Duro 

The Caprock Lady Longhorns snapped a four-game losing skid thanks to a sweep of crosstown rival Palo Duro, 25-7, 25-21, 25-18, at the PD Activity Center on Tuesday night.

The Lady Longhorns push their 3-5A record to 2-4 on the year while moving to 14-13 overall. Palo Duro (10-14) is still looking for its first league victory falling to 0-5.

Kendall Wilson was superb for Caprock with 10 digs, eight kills and five blocks. Savina Cabello played tough defense with 12 digs and added five aces.

The Lady Dons were led by Alyssa Castillo’s 14 digs.

In another District 3-5A matchup on Tuesday, Lubbock Coronado swept Plainview, 25-19, 25-20, 25-15. The Lady Mustangs (16-14) are now 3-2 in district. The Lady Bulldogs (11-13) drop to 1-5.

District 4-4A

Canyon takes down Hereford 

Canyon has looked very strong to open the early portion of the District 4-4A schedule as the Lady Eagles soared past Hereford 25-18, 25-14, 25-12, at home Tuesday night.

Sydnee Winfrey and Isabel Hunt provided the offense combining for 16 kills. Winfrey and Hunt went for eight kills apiece. London Gibson earned a double-double for Canyon with 14 assists and 11 digs while Alainna Bellino led the team with 18 assists.

Hereford’s Lilly Madrigal had a team-high 10 kills with Madi Madrigal finishing with 12 assists.

Canyon (15-10) is off to a 2-0 start to league play. Hereford (17-14) drops to 1-1.

Randall and West Plains win 

Randall and West Plains stayed up with their Canyon ISD counterpart, Canyon, by getting sweeps on Tuesday night.

The Lady Raiders beat Borger convincingly in three-sets, 25-12, 25-23, 25-17. The Lady Wolves were able to sweep Pampa at home, 25-11, 25-12, 25-17.

Randall (17-11) and West Plains (18-10) are tied for the early District 4-4A lead with Canyon at 2-0. Pampa (14-11) and Borger (10-13) are both 0-2.

Sidney Soria registered a double-double for Randall going for 28 assists and 10 kills. Piper Patterson for West Plains also had a double-double against Pampa with 16 digs and 10 kills.

Dumas puts down Perryton 

Dumas earned its first District 4-4A win on Tuesday night downing Perryton 25-16, 25-9, 25-12.

The Demonettes go to 16-15 on the year and 1-1 in league action. Perryton (6-17) is now 0-2.

Rylee Schacher continues her excellent season for Dumas putting together a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Schacher also added five blocks. Teammate Gabi Alvarez tallied 15 assists.

Tuesday’s quick hits 

• San Jacinto stayed perfect in district going on the road and downing Lubbock Kingdom Prep 25-13, 25-21, 25-13. The Lady Patriots (24-3) are now 3-0 in TAPPS District 1-2A.
• Holy Cross Catholic Academy picked up a district sweep of Ascension Academy, 25-13, 25-15, 25-12, on Tuesday night. The Lady Mustangs (14-8) are now 2-1 in TAPPS District 1-2A. Madison Valdez had 12 assists with seven kills and four aces. Teammate Lisbeth Vazquez added 11 assists and five kills while Mia Luna had a team-high eight kills.
• Bushland keeps on soaring through its non-district schedule by handling Abilene Wylie, 25-16, 25-10, 25-10, on Tuesday in Lubbock. Lilly Ann Shannon powered home a game-high 10 kills with Ambree tallying nine kills and six aces. Mackenzie Sims registered 16 assists followed by Ansley Tiffin with 15. The Lady Falcons improve to 29-4.
• The West Texas High Lady Comanches pulled off a big home sweep of River Road, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23, on Tuesday night. The Lady Comanches (16-8) had a team effort in the victory with Zoe Smith playing well in the back row with 17 digs to go with three aces. Scout Burris and Emorie McNabb were big at the net combining for 12 blocks. Despite the loss, Lady Wildcat (18-8) senior Reese DeHart had 29 assists.
• The Vega Lady Longhorns had no issues getting a sweep of Kelton 25-10, 25-13, 25-9, on Tuesday. Vega (22-4) was led by Tayson Schenk’s 13 kills and four aces. Teammate Raelyn Calhoun had 30 assists.
• Highland Park nabbed a pair of wins over Fort Elliott and Tulia on Tuesday. The Lady Hornets (16-12) defeated Fort Elliott 25-23, 25-22, 25-21. Highland Park then knocked off Tulia 18-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-19. Tulia rebounded to beat Fort Elliott in five-sets 18-25, 20-25, 26-24, 27-25, 15-10. The Lady Hornets are 10-11 on the year.