Varsity (28-6, 5-0 in District) started the week:

• No. 3 among Houston area 6A teams by VYPE
• No. 4 in the Houston Chronicle ranking among all local 6A public schools, and
• A perfect 15-0 record in sets in District play.
•  

• vs. Memorial

First up on Tuesday, Varsity hosted Memorial. Spartan Nation did not disappoint, as the stands were full and loud.

Varsity started out battling back and forth for the lead in the opening set, with multiple kills by Emma Dunwoody, Chloe Popkin, and Sophie Corbeil. Kills by Sarah Hickman and Hailey Tacker made it 14-12. Kills by Sophie Corbeil and Avery Kent and an ace by Jaelyn Chen extended the margin to 19-14. The Mustangs battled back until the score was tied 24-24. Kills by Sophie Corbeil and Ashley Jones and a combo block by Chloe Popkin and Emma Dunwoody clinched a narrow 28-26 first-set win for the Spartans.

Varsity opened up a 10-3 lead in the second, first with a slew of kills by Sarah Hickman and Sophie Corbeil and punctuated by an Ashley Jones kill, made possible by an acrobatic Jaelyn Chen save. A pair of Emma Dunwoody aces and a Chloe Popkin kill forced a timeout at 15-9. Stratford closed out the set at 25-17 on the strength of an Izzy Rodriguez ace and kills by Emma Dunwoody, Sophie Corbeil, and Chloe Popkin.

A pair of Sarah Hickman kills, a Sophie Corbeil/Hailey Tacker combo block, and a Chloe Popkin back-row kill had Stratford up early in the third. The Mustangs came back on 4 occasions to tie it, the last of which occurred at 20-20. Kills by Sophie Corbeil, Chloe Popkin, and Emma Dunwoody brought the Spartans to match point, and Ariel Robles sealed a sweet win with an ace.

vs. Jersey Village

To close out the first half of District play, Varsity traveled to Jersey Village on Friday. The Falcons sat tied for 2nd in the District coming into the match. Stratford played the match without Sarah Hickman, who was selected to participate in USA Volleyball's National Team Development Program Fall Training Series, an honor given to the top 25-30 players in each class year to experience elite training at the highest level. Congrats to Sarah on this awesome opportunity.

The first set started with kills by Chloe Popkin and Ashley Jones to give the Spartans an early lead. Two kills and a block by Emma Dunwoody forced a Jersey Village timeout at 11-6. Stratford extended the lead to 15-8 with an Emma Dunwoody ace, an Avery Kent kill, and an Ashley Jones kill made possible by diving saves from Hailey Tacker and Audrey Cook. Varsity closed out the set 25-16 on a Sophie Corbeil kill made possible by a quick-reaction Hailey Tacker save.

Varsity started down big in the second set despite multiple kills by Sophie Corbeil and Emma Dunwoody. Down by six points, Stratford clawed back to tie things at 12 apiece on the strength of two aces and a nifty dump set by Audrey Cook and again at 15-15 on an Addy Lanning/Emma Dunwoody combo block. The score would be tied 6 more times in the set until an Emma Dunwoody slam and an opponent error helped the Spartans escape with a 26-24 set win

Kills by Ashley Jones and Emma Dunwoody and multiple points by Chloe Popkin and Sophie Corbeil had Stratford up big early in the third set, and the Spartans never trailed again. A Sophie Corbeil/Hailey Tacker combo block made it 19-10, and Varsity closed out a big win at 25-14 on a pair of Emma Dunwoody kills, a Jaelyn Chen ace, and an Addy Lanning tip on match point.

This coming week Varsity (30-6, 7-0 in District) hosts Cy Fair on Tuesday and travels to Cy Creek on Friday. Both games start at 5:30 pm. Tuesday's game will not only be against the 2nd place team in the District, but will also be Teacher Appreciation Night, where we will be able to honor the many people who have dedicated their time, energy, resources, and creativity to preparing our students for their journeys in life.

TUESDAY - FREE ADMISSION - FREE CHIK FIL A

The first 60 students with student ID to the Cy Fair game will receive free admission AND a gift card good for a free breakfast item at the Dairy Ashford Chick-Fil-A, starting with the JV game at 4:30 pm. First Come, First Served!! We are also having a NEON NIGHT theme to bring the energy!!

Thanks to the Varsity parents and to Greg Kabala for supporting our program. Get this gym rocking!!

This week’s stats include:

Sophie Corbeil – 27 kills, 10 digs, 3 blocks

Chloe Popkin – 18 kills, 15 digs, 5 blocks

Emma Dunwoody – 14 kills, 4 blocks, 6 digs, 2 aces

Audrey Cook – 41 assists, 13 digs, 5 aces

Jaelyn Chen – 33 assists, 10 digs, 2 aces

Izzy Rodriguez – 36 digs

Rachel Ashby – 17 digs