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    Junior Paige Crawford sets the ball for the Texans on the way to another playoff victory. PHOTO BY PAUL MAYHEW/WWW.PAULMAYHEWPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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    Holly Hardwood skies for a power serve. PHOTO BY PAUL MAYHEW
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    Wimberley won the Regional Quarterfinals over La Vernia. PHOTO BY PAUL MAYHEW/WWW.PAULMAYHEWPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Texans set for playoff success

For the first time since 2013, the Wimberley Texan volleyball team has advanced to the regional tournament. The incredible playoff run might come as a surprise to teams that faced the Texans early in the year. The team started the season losing the first three games.

“We had a really shaky start,” Head Coach Stephanie Barthels said. “We had all the tools, but we weren’t where we needed to be... So it shows the team’s perseverance and hard work. We worked hard every day, and the team gelled. Now we have taken off. It has been phenomenal.”

One of those teams that saw Wimberley early in the season was La Vernia.

Following the Texans’ Area round win over the Rockport-Fulton Pirates, the Texans avenged their season-opening loss against La Verina by sweeping the Bears 3-0 to advance to the regional tournament.

“They came up to me after the game and said how much better we have gotten,” Barthels said.

Now the Texans set their sights on making the State Tournament.

The Area round matchup against Rockport-Fulton saw an intense battle in the first set which saw the Texans and the Pirates all tied up at 15-15 all at one point.

But Wimberley finished out the first set on a 10-2 run winning the first set at 25-17.

The second set saw the Texans blow past the Pirates early taking a 13-2 lead. The lead soon extended to 22-8 as Wimberley continued to put on the heat.

The Pirates made a run late in the second set but couldn’t overcome Wimberley’s hot start as the Texans won 25-16.

The third was another heated battle as the Pirates looked to avoid the sweep. Despite the valiant effort by the Texans, Rockport-Fulton won the third set and avoided the sweep winning 25-22.

The fourth set turned in the Texans’ favor as they come out to a furious start at 16-4. Wimberley continued to push the Pirates to the brink as the Texans took a 23-12. Two points later the Wimberley Texans finished off Rockport-Fulton 25-14 to win the Area Championship at 3-1.

Paige Crawford led the team in kills with 14 while also leading the team in aces with four. The trio of Briana Jones, Holly Harwood and Layla Dubuisson held the net while leading the team in blocks with two apiece.

In the Regional Quarterfinal game, the Texans knocked off the La Vernia Bears in the first set in a hard-fought 25-17 win.

The second set turned into a blowout as Wimberley blew past La Vernia in a 25-13 victory to take a commanding 2-0.

Not going down without a fight, La Vernia fought tooth and nail to avoid the sweep. But the Texans came through in the end and swept the Bears 3-0 winning the third set at 25-21.

“We played the best volleyball we have played all year, and this is the time of the year to do that,” Barthels said.

Crawford again led the team in kills with 19 while Jones led the team in aces and blocks with four and two apiece.

Due to COVID-19 procedures, there will be no Regional Tournament being held at one site. Instead, Regionals will be broken up across the week with Regional Semifinals being played on Monday or Tuesday and the Regional Finals being played through Thursday-Saturday.

The Texans will play the Tuloso-Midway Cherokees at 7:00 pm Tuesday Night at Cuero High School.

Wimberley View

P.O. Box 49
Wimberley, TX 78676
Phone: 512-847-2202
Fax: 512-847-9054