THE WOODLANDS — Grand Oaks’ volleyball team warmed up to impassioned chants of “Overrated!” from The Woodlands’ student section prior to its game Tuesday.
And then the Grizzlies went out and showed they’re anything but.
Grand Oaks had its way with The Woodlands on the latter’s court, sweeping the Highlanders 25-19, 25-20, 25-17 in the first meeting this season between the two rivals.
The two teams shared the District 13-6A title last year. The Grizzlies delivered the first hit in this year’s race.
“Our mindset was just to make a statement,” said sophomore outside hitter Halle Thompson, who led Grand Oaks with 16 kills and two aces. “We walked in and they’re already cheering “Overrated!” and stuff like that. That fuels us. We want to show what we’re about.”
Grand Oaks is 31-1 overall, 4-0 in 13-6A. The Grizzlies are ranked No. 6 nationally by MaxPreps and have lost only three sets out of 75 played.
“I try not to put a lot of emphasis on those things,” coach Morgan Rogers said. “For us, we want to have the record and rankings at the end of the season. It’s awesome to acknowledge what we’ve accomplished but not to emphasize it too much. Our focus is how we play.”
The Grizzlies starred early and often against The Woodlands (18-12, 2-1).
Grand Oaks had a 16-9 lead early in the first set, taking advantage of a slew of serving and attacking errors by The Woodlands. The Grizzlies jumped out to 12-4 start and survived a late push from the Highlanders in the second set thanks to their own rash of errors.
Thompson and senior outside hitter Caelyn Emmerling were terrific late, combining for four points, as Grand Oaks held on.
The Woodlands led 10-9 in the third set before Grand Oaks pulled away for good with an explosive 11-2 run. Thompson was dominant with six kills. Emmerling scored three straight Grizzly points during one stretch. Senior Brookelynn Anderson was big at the pins.
Grand Oaks seemingly played well in all aspects. Senior setter Audrey Terry was exceptional running the attack and finding different hitters on the floor. Sophomore libero Cali Reece was praised for how she directed hitters to open spots on the floor.
Senior middle Jaela Auguste had seven kills and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Samara Coleman had six kills and an ace. Emmerling had seven kills.
However, Rogers was not entirely satisfied. Play that might have been acceptable a few weeks ago is no longer seen in the same light because of the standard Grand Oaks has established for itself.
“Some girls had an off night, by their and our standard,” Rogers said. “Our block wasn’t as effective as usual. But we kept working through it, were pretty good about siding-out first ball and then going on three-, four-point runs to separate ourselves. I’d like our offense to be clicking better and our blocks to be more effective but, in the end, I think we did fine.”
Thompson said sharing the district title last year left a bitter taste for the Grizzlies. An outright championship is the current goal.
“Keep our eyes on the prize,” Thompson said.
If Grand Oaks keeps it up, it could be threatening for a much bigger prize at the state tournament in November.
“It’s been surreal,” Thompson said. “I would never think that we would be here. Everyone is doing great, and we do it as a team. Our team chemistry is unmatched and that’s what brings us this far. We’re a good team, obviously. We have good players. But the chemistry is something you can’t teach. You have to have it.”
