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Varsity Volleyball started the week 24-2 overall, 1-0 in District play. Stratford was ranked 3rd among state 6A teams by Texas Volleyball Insiders (TVI) and 6th among state 6A teams by MaxPreps. The team had a pair of District matchups this week.
vs. Northbrook
On Tuesday, heavily favored Stratford hosted Northbrook. Defensively, the Raiders dug some strong Spartan shots. But offensively the Raiders had no luck scoring in the face of lock-down defense by the back-row trio of Audrey Cook, Logan Sykes, and Rachel Ashby. Meanwhile, Gwen Koss peppered the Raider defense with seven scores. Lauren Dunwoody and Avery Kent joined in with four and three scores respectively, and Jenna Rae James and Sydney Pera scored to help close out the set 25-1.
The second set saw more of the same, including a 17-point service run by Ashby and numerous scores by Koss, Kent, and James. Caroline White closed out the set at 25-2 on the strength of two powerful aces.
Pera led the way in the third set with four scores, and a host of others joined in, including Koss, Kent, Brooke McAfee, and Tess Stephenson. James ended the set 25-6 to sweep Northbrook.
vs. Jersey Village
On Friday, Stratford traveled to Jersey Village, a team with an early eye on one of the four 17-6A playoff spots. Varsity dug themselves a big hole to start the first set and spent the rest of the set clawing themselves back out of it. A Sykes ace and a string of four Koss scores finally got the Spartans to within one at 11-12. A pair of consecutive kills by Dunwoody and Kent helped tie things at 14 and again at 17. Stratford finally pushed through to win the set with a Cook ace and FOUR Milena Miladinovic blocks to prevail 25-23.
Varsity wasted no time grabbing the lead in the second set. Koss, Kent, and Stephenson totaled scores early on. McAfee played lights-out defense, contorting to save an impossible ball to set up a Koss kill. A combo block by Koss and Stephenson forced a Falcon time out at 8-4 in the second. The timeout didn’t help Jersey Village, as a block by Stephenson and Cook and a pair of Koss scores kept the momentum running. A Miladinovic slam made it 16-7, and a Dunwoody push shot to the corner forced another time out at 20-10. A McAfee ace, a Stephenson kill, and a Stephenson - Kent combo block helped close out the set 25-12.
The third set opened with a Koss kill, set up by great saves from Ashby and Sykes. The teams traded leads until a thunderous shot from Stephenson made it 9-7 Stratford. A furious rally led to a laser-shot kill by Cook to make it 11-8. A Falcon rally tied things again at 12 apiece, but it would be their last hurrah. Miladinovic and Kent had a pair of scores each, and a McAfee ace made it 18-14, forcing a Jersey Village time out. Out of the break, McAfee had another acrobatic save to set up a Koss kill, and Stratford raced onward to finish the set. A Miladinovic score ended the set and match at 25-19.
During the week, the team was honored by Texas Volleyball Insiders as their Team of the Week coming off their thrilling road win against the State 6A Top 5 Fulshear Chargers. Congrats to everyone on this prestigious recognition!
This coming week, Varsity (26-2, 3-0 in District) travels to Cy Fair on Tuesday and hosts Cy Falls on Friday. Both are 5:30 pm start times. Friday’s Cy Falls game is also Future Spartans / SBMSA Night where the program will celebrate our middle school athletes and the newly created SBMSA volleyball league. The program is looking forward to seeing these young faces in the stands supporting them!
This week’s stats include: