With the final week of the regular season approaching, district play got very interesting over the weekend with teams across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. Take a look at a recap including West Plains win against Randall, Shallowater’s victory over Childress and Wildorado’s key win at home against Shamrock.
District 4-4A
In the span of a week, the Randall Lady Raiders went from being in control of District 4-4A to now finding themsevles in a three-way to for the district lead after dropping a second match in four days.
West Plains avenged a loss in the first half of league play to Randall nabbing a 25-11, 25-21, 25-18 sweep of Randall at the Wolves Gym on Saturday.
The victory pulls the Lady Wolves (28-11 overall) into a first-place tie with Randall (24-14) in the district at 11-2 with only two games remaining.
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“This was a very big win for us,” said West Plains assistant coach Madison Jones, who has done a tremendous job filling in for head coach Kaitlyn Cornelius why she is on maternity leave. “We knew a district championship was on the line for us and we were able to gain momentum and confidence. We played with composure, and we were super gritty. Playing like that paid off and we showed our mental toughness. We have to continue to show that scrappiness everyday and stay tough heading into the playoffs.”
West Plains controlled the match through all the sets paced by strong front row play of Aaniyah Kitchen. Kitchen led the team with 10 kills and three blocks. Teammate Teagan Hudson followed with eight kills and Cecilia Murillo was solid on offense with 13 assists and big on defense with 13 digs for a double-double.
Randall’s Amber Matthews had a team-high seven kills and Nevaeh Conner added six. Jaynelyn Chavarria registered a team-high 11 digs.
Canyon is also in the conversation for the district championship, following up a win against Randall on Tuesday with a sweep of Dumas on Saturday, 25-16, 25-16, 25-13. The Lady Eagles were able to even the season series against the Demonettes after a loss earlier in the year.
Canyon (20-14) now sits at 11-2 tied with both Randall and Canyon atop the standings with only two games left on the regular season docket.
Dumas (20-18 overall, 7-5 in district) needs one more win or a Hereford loss to clinch the fourth and final playoff berth out of the district.
Laney Jones was great at the net hammering down 16 kills for Canyon and did her job on the back row with 12 digs for a double-double. Klaire Stone came through as well for the Lady Eagles with 14 digs and eight kills.
Hereford kept its playoff hopes alive with a three-set sweep of Borger 25-10, 25-21, 25-11.
The Lady Whitefaces (17-18) need help for the fourth and final playoff spot but are sitting at 5-7 in District 4-4A. Lilly Madrigal passed out a game-best 24 assists in the victory with Lexi Vallejo knocking down nine kills.
In one other district matchup, Pampa swept Perryton, 25-19, 25-21, 25-20.
District 5-4A
Lubbock-Cooper Liberty clinched the outright District 5-4A title easing past San Angelo Lake View, 25-8, 25-6, 25-9, during Friday’s Senior Night. The Lady Patriots move to an impressive 38-2 overall and 11-0 in the league.
Frenship Memorial will be outright second place making sure of that with a sweep of Big Spring 25-19, 25-14, 25-19, on Friday night. The Lady Panthers, who are in their first year as a program, are now 8-2 in district and 24-8 overall. Bradleigh Wicks hit the floor for eight digs giving her 350 digs for her career. Teammate Olivia Villegas tallied eight kills celebrating 200 career kills during the victory.
In one other score Friday, Snyder pulled off a sweep of Lubbock Estacado, 25-13, 25-16, 25-14.
District 3-5A
The Amarillo High Lady Sandies captured their sixth straight outright district championship during a sweep of Lubbock Monterey Friday in a 3-5A matchup, 25-11, 25-7, 25-13.
The Lady Sandies, who have won 66 straight district matches dating back to 2020, improve to eye-popping 15-0 in the league and 29-8 overall. Harper Vaughn slammed down a team-high 13 kills with Bennett Rea handed out 15 assists and added seven digs.
Tascosa was able to handle Lubbock-Cooper getting a 25-17, 25-13, 25-13 sweep on Friday. The Lady Rebels (25-10) remain in second place in District 3-5A at 12-2. Lubbock-Cooper (22-11) is now in a third place tie with Lubbock Coronado at 10-4 in the district. Ellen Daniel was in control of the offense for the Lady Rebels with 19 assists. Bennet Berryman was strong on the back row with 16 digs. Lubbock-Cooper’s Hallie McCallick went for six kills and three digs.
Lubbock Coronado is postseason bound surviving an upset bid from Caprock with a five-set win, 25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9. The Lady Mustangs (21-16) pull into a third-place tie with Lubbock-Cooper at 10-4 in District 3-5A with two games remaining. Addison Brown was flying all over the court getting 27 digs for Coronado. Hailee Parrott Curtis had 16 digs with 14 kills for a double-double.
In one other district matchup, Palo Duro defeated Lubbock High 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 16-25, 15-13.
District 2-3A
The wins go on for the Shallowater as the Fillies were able to clinch a share of the District 2-3A championship downing Childress 25-10, 25-16, 25-8, on Saturday.
Shallowater standout Emma Clawson hammered home 11 kills and had seven digs. Teammate Carli Buckley knocked down eight kills with three digs. The Fillies push their overall record to 30-9 overall and a perfect 8-0 in district. Childress (17-19) drops to third place in the league at 5-3.
In two other Saturday scores, Idalou swept Lubbock Talkington 25-11, 25-14, 25-5, and Lubbock Talkington defeated Tulia 25-14, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17.
District 1-3A
It was a big afternoon for the River Road as the Lady Wildcats sealed up a playoff spot out of District 1-3A by downing Dimmitt at home, 25-12, 25-13, 25-19. The Lady Wildcats (21-11) move to 2-4 in the district. Sophomore Gracie Froneman did a little bit of everything in the win handing out eight assists, finishing with seven kills and seven digs. Teammate Molly Mayes added 10 assists and five aces.
District 1-1A
Wildorado was able to defend home court and keep in the playoff race with a big sweep of Shamrock on Saturday, 25-10, 25-21, 25-15. The Lady Mustangs (10-19) pull into a third-place tie with Kelton for the final postseason berth in the district at 7-5 with two games remaining. Wildorado will host Kelton at 6 p.m. Tuesday with the winner getting that third spot. Jami Perkins was a force for the Lady Mustangs against the Lady Irish with 12 assists, eight kills and seven digs. Teammate Pilar Abalos added 13 kills and six assists.
Fort Elliott kept on cruising sweeping Kelton on Friday, 25-10, 25-7, 25-7. The Lady Cougars (26-6) are the District 1-1A champions with the win moving to 12-0. Kelton (14-5) falls to 7-5 and will face Wildorado on Tuesday for the third and final playoff spot out of the league. Jaycee Sewell had a game-high 26 assists with Brylie Hand hitting the floor for 20 digs. Jaylie Dickey, Jayla Dickey, Aliyah McCarter and Ali Mahler combined for 28 of the teams 34 kills.
Miami is going to be the second place team out of District 1-1A thanks to a three-set sweep of Darrouzett 25-3, 25-11, 25-3. Bentley Brooks finished with a double-double getting 13 digs and 25 assists. Brylee Thompson led the team with 13 kills. Miami (18-7) is now 10-2 in district action.
In one other league matchup, White Deer knocked off Channing, 25-7, 25-6, 25-6.
District 2-6A
It was a tough Friday for Frenship against Midland Legacy. The Lady Rebels took control down the stretch to pull away for a four-set 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23, victory during a District 2-6A match Friday. The Lady Tigers (25-15) are sitting in third place in the district at 5-3. Despite the loss, Hana Hutchenson put together a double-double for Frenship with 29 assists and 11 digs. Bliss Dane had 24 digs and eight kills and Taylor Loyd led the team with 13 kills.
TAPPS District 1-2A
The San Jacinto Christian Academy Lady Patriots remain one game back of first place in TAPPS District 1-2A beating Christ the King 25-7, 25-14, 25-12 on Friday. The Lady Patriots (30-5) are 12-1 in district and sit a game behind Lubbock All Saints, which is 12-0, for first place. SJCA will host All Saints on Tuesday with first place on the line. In the win against CTK, Blayne Robison quarterbacked the offense with 27 assists which benefited Alayna Daniels who knocked down 19 kills and served up eight aces.
In two other scores from Friday, Midland Holy Cross defeated Ascension Academy 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18, and Southcrest Christian beat Holy Cross Catholic Academy 25-6, 25-6, 25-11.