Varsity (24-6, 1-0 in District) started the week ranked by VYPE No. 3 among Houston area 6A teams, with two District matches on tap.

vs. Cy Creek

First up was a home contest against Cy Creek, a team that has qualified for the playoffs each year since 2018. Stratford dominated play for much of the match. The Spartans built up a lead taking advantage of opponent errors and multiple kills by Sarah Hickman, Sophie Corbeil, Emma Dunwoody, and Gwen Koss. Varsity closed out the first set at 25-8 on an Avery Kent kill, a Hailey Tacker/Sarah Hickman block, and a Gwen Koss kill.

The second set saw a closer score but still comfortable Spartan advantage. Stratford again relied an early run of kills by Sarah Hickman, Gwen Koss, and Sophie Corbeil. Although Creek held tough, Varsity closed out the second set 25-18 on a pair of Rachel Ashby aces and a kill by Gwen Koss.

After being tied early in the third set, the Spartans took command. As has been the case during the season, no one player was responsible. In a true team effort, 7 different Spartan players scored points in the set, including Gwen Koss, Sarah Hickman, Rachel Ashby, Izzy Rodriguez, Ashley Jones, Emma Dunwoody, and Chloe Popkin. They in turn were often supported by strong digs by Izzy Rodriguez, Ariel Robles, and Rachel Ashby and precision sets by Audrey Cook and Kiki Sykes to allow Stratford to run away with the final set 25-11.

vs. Northbrook

The victory kept Varsity undefeated in District headed into a road matchup against Northbrook. The first set was brutal … for Northbrook. Stratford opened up a 17-0 lead on the strength of a barrage of Sophie Corbeil and Sarah Hickman kills, each set up by Audrey Cook, as well as service aces by Chloe Nguyen and blocks by Hailey Tacker. A Rachel Ashby ace made it 20-1, and the set was over in short order at 25-4 on an Emma Dunwoody kill.

Jaelyn Chen started the second set off right with an ace, and a Chloe Popkin strong kill added to the early scoring. A lengthy Kiki Sykes service run, supported by a string of kills by Avery Kent and Gwen Koss, brought the score to 17-7. An Audrey Hilberth ace took the set to 22-10, and an Avery Kent kill finished it off at 25-11.

The final set started off on an 8-2 Spartan run, fueled by kills by Addy Lanning and Gwen Koss and an ace by Hailey Tacker. Kills by Hailey Tacker, Audrey Hilberth, and Gwen Koss, and a Chloe Nguyen ace forced a timeout at 14-4. A series of Ariel Robles digs kept the Raiders from scoring, and Rachel Ashby hit a service ace to make it 22-5. Audrey Hilberth closed things out at 25-5 with an ace.

This coming week Varsity (26-6, 3-0 in District) hosts Spring Woods on Tuesday and Cy Ridge on Friday. Both games start at 5:30 pm.

BE THERE. BE LOUD.

Finally on Saturday Stratford Volleyball joined as one for its annual cookout, a great opportunity for everyone to get to know coaches, players, and families away from the pressure cooker of the volleyball court. A good time was had by all.

This week’s stats include:

Gwen Koss – 18 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces

Sophie Corbeil – 15 kills, 4 digs

Sarah Hickman – 12 kills, 6 blocks, 2 digs

Emma Dunwoody – 9 kills, 7 blocks, 3 digs, 1 ace

Audrey Hilberth – 5 blocks, 3 aces, 2 kills

Chloe Popkin – 5 kills, 3 digs, 2 assists

Izzy Rodrigeuz – 17 digs, 2 assists, 1 ace

Audrey Cook – 25 assists, 13 digs

Rachel Ashby – 11 digs, 4 aces

Jaelyn Chen – 15 assists