Westlake volleyball won seven matches to finish fourth in the 68-team LISD Volleypalooza tournament last weekend, losing only to a pair of nationally-ranked top 20 opponents.
The Chaps opened gold bracket play Saturday morning by avenging two losses from the previous weekend to Antonian Prep Academy, winning decisively 25-19, 25-20. "We got a couple of players back and our defense played very well, it was a good win," Westlake coach Miguel Saenz said.
That win advanced the Chaps into the semifinals where they lost to Plano Prestonwood Christian - the No. 6 team in the country. They bounced back against 14th-ranked Duncanville in the third-place match, falling in three hard-fought sets 17-25, 25-27, 14-25.
The Westlake team gather to hear Head Coach Miguel Saenz talks about the game after beating the Austin Maroons at Austin High School, Sept. 17, 2023. Westlake won the match-up 3-1. (Sara Diggins/American-Statesman)Westlake placed two players on the all-tournament team: Geralynn Byers-Veal and Clayton Kelly. The Chaps finished 7-2 overall and were the only Central Texas team to advance to the gold bracket. Two other area players were honored, too: Georgetown's Amelia Albright was named most outstanding setter while Lake Travis six-rotation standout Gentry Barker was selected all tournament.
Lewisville Hebron won the championship, beating Preston Christian 25-16, 25-22.
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In other local team results, Round Rock won the Silver A bracket by defeating Liberty Hill in the semifinals and then Tomball 25-14, 25-20. Lake Travis won the Silver B crown by beating Argyle 25-21, 25-20 and Georgetown beat Clear Springs 25-14, 25-21 for third place in the Silver B bracket.
Other local teams with their tournament records: Liberty Hill 6-3, Rouse 4-4, Dripping Springs 3-5, Cedar Park 4-4, Austin High 4-4, Vandegrift 3-5, Glenn 3-5, Stony Point 3-5, Vista Ridge 2-7 and Westwood 2-7.
The Panthers celebrate a point as Weiss and Liberty Hill face off at Weiss High School in Austin on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. The Panthers defeated the Wolves in three sets. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)Around Central Texas
• Wimberley won eight of nine matches at the Seguin Matador Invitational. The Texans were 3-0 the first two days, but lost in the gold quarterfinals to Cibolo Steele 25-13, 25-23 despite seven kills each from Trinity Laney and Ellen Watson. Bianca Mohr had 13 assists while Kara Thames had 12 digs and two blocks. Wimberley rebounded to win the consolation title, beating San Antonio Churchill 25-22, 25-18. Laney had nine kills, Mohr had 12 assists, Watson had 15 digs and Victoria Jones added five blocks. Thames was selected to the all-tournament team.
• Johnson and several other local teams played in the Texas Showdown in Smithson Valley. The Jaguars advanced to the gold round with a 5-1 two-day record, but finished 5-3. St. Andrew' had a great run, finishing second in the silver bracket while Hendrickson was third. Weiss won bronze by beating Medina Valley 23-25, 25-17, 25-23.
Last week: a big rally for Anderson• Anderson did not play in a weekend tournament, but had an epic reverse sweep last Tuesday at Class 6A Cedar Ridge. The host Raiders won the first two sets 25-23, 25-22, but the Trojans won the next three 26-24, 25-14 and 15-11. Elsewhere last Tuesday, Bowie outlasted McCallum in five sets behind Addison Fey's 13 kills and Mya Adkins' 17 assists and six aces. Lyla Rosas had 25 digs.
• Glenn got 14 kills, 20 digs and six aces from Jennah Lee to sweep Legacy Ranch 25-10, 27-25, 25-20. Daisy Robers added 12 kills for Glenn while Milan Benavides checked in with 18 digs. The setter tandem of Briley Camp (19 assists) and Brooklyn Upton (16) had a strong match.
• Vandegrift outlasted Westwood after a tough first set as the Vipers beat the Warriors 26-28, 25-17, 25-9, 25-22.-25. Sophia Buchanan led the offense with 18 kills as both Olivia Gorakhpurwalla and Carson Knaak added four blocks each. Harper Cihal led the defense with 21 digs while Whitney Wiemann had 44 assists. For Westwood, Piper Evans had 11 kills, Evans and Emma Waghorne had two blocks each, and both Izzy Call and Claire Toupin had 11 digs.
This week's top matchesTuesday
Thorndale at Thrall, 6 p.m.
Westwood at Lago Vista, 6 p.m.
Anderson at Buda Johnson, 6:30 p.m.
Georgetown at Liberty Hill, 6:30 p.m.
Westlake at Dripping Springs, 6:30 p.m.
Sign up for the Daily Briefing from the Austin American-Statesman. Start your day with the must-read headlines from Austin's most trusted news source.This article originally published at Only nationally ranked teams could halt Westlake at LISD Volleypalooza tournament.