Tawa’s High School Volleyball Dots: Prestonwood gets revenge; Thunder clap back

This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in high school volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every Tuesday until the last high school state championship in November.

• Last Friday, four national powers played in a showcase event aired by ESPN. Cathedral Catholic of California, the defending national champions, faced off against host school Prestonwood Christian Academy of Plano, Texas, on ESPNU in one match. The other pitted St. James Academy of Lenexa, Kansas, a multi-time national champion; against Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio, the Nike Tournament of Champions – Southeast victor. The latter match aired on ESPN+.

I have mixed thoughts about this.

On the one hand, getting high school volleyball on cable television is HUGE for the sport.

On the other, it feels like a step backwards. Last year, the event had a major sponsor in GEICO and was a tournament of sorts, with semifinals and a final. This year it was just two matches, only one of which was available without streaming.

• Prestonwood (28-4) won the main event, toppling Cathedral Catholic in three straight sets. The win avenged a quarterfinal loss to the Dons, 2-0, at the Durango Fall Classic three weeks ago.

Cari Spears, who last week committed to Texas, was the statistical leader for the Lions with 17 kills and two blocks, but the big difference between the first matchup and this one, coach Ryan Mitchell said, was the play in the middle. Kennedy Washington hit .638 with seven kills and five blocks and freshman Nyla Livings hit .417 with six kills and five blocks. Libero Gillian Pitts also was a difference maker, passing a 2.67 and contributing 10 digs.

• St. James defeated Cornerstone in four sets in the other showcase match. The win came just four days after longtime St. James coach Nancy Dorsey lost her mother, Ellen, who was affectionately known as “Gaga.”

Dorsey made the difficult decision to “play on” in tribute to her mom and won a match most expected St. James to lose. This is what she posted to Facebook afterwards:

“What. A. Whirlwind. I’m tired. To say we are proud of this group is an understatement! They took on Texas and went to play in a nationally televised match against a top ten opponent in a game very few gave them a chance to win. Not only did they win…they did so in dramatic fashion. They played so well as a team and represented the HS game, their school and the KC VB community so well. It was an amazing and humbling experience. Thank you to ESPN for showcasing girls high school volleyball. I know a lot of people tuned in because when the game was over I had 189 unread texts. That was pretty cool.

While it was a sad and chaotic week in our home, the chaos allowed us to bring our five kids and they got to be distracted and loved on by our volleyball family. What a blessing that was to us all. And…our mom was there. Everyone said that was going to happen and it’s crazy how it does. A few of my favorites: because of our last minute add on travelers we were short a vehicle. And no vehicles could be found to rent. Anywhere. So a friend called in some favors and the person who helped her find us a car’s name was Cody Bell (Gaga’s last name).

The other moment was during the match. We had just lost set 2 and I was waiting to be interviewed. As I waited, Gaga’s favorite song (Old Time Rock N Roll) came on. I went back to the bench after my interview and said “We are gonna win.” Gaga was there and she made it known…in true Gaga fashion.

We arrived home very early today and spent the day in a gym or on a field. Tomorrow we face reality. A hard and sad reality of life without our Gaga. I’m hoping that knowing she’s at peace with a body that ‘works’ (her words) will make this hard day just a little easier. We miss her so much but know she is our very best guardian angel. I love you more mom.”

• On Oct. 3, Middleburg of Florida took on powerful Bishop Kenny, a team the Broncos had been 0-21 against all-time previously. Connor Rahn and Brooke Forkum teamed for 36 kills on the road as Middleburg swept to victory. The Broncos (18-5) have won eight of their past nine matches, including a Saturday win over Jensen Beach, the defending 5A state champions, at the Bishop Moore Tournament.

Gulliver Prep (21-3) swept the host school to win the event. Jackie Taylor, a 6-1 senior OH; had 12 kills and Sophia Wong, a 5-4 senior libero, contributed 14 digs for the victors.

What’s happening at Sultana is so exciting that even the school principal had to get in the pic!

• Sultana, of Hesperia, California, started play in the Mojave River League by dropping six of its first seven matches, continuing a recent trend of adversity in league play. Over the past 2-plus years, the Sultans had won just four league contests while losing 23. It did not appear that 2023 was going to be the year that Sultana snapped its four-year playoff drought.

Late in September, Sultana took on league rival Serrano, a team it lost to, 3-0, the first time around. The match went five sets, with Sultana pulling out the win, 15-13 in the third, on an ace from Mishelle Dominguez, who had a team-high 14 kills and 35 digs. It was Dominguez’ only ace of the match. Indeed, seven times during the match she had erred on her serve, a career high! She picked the right time to come through!

Five days later, Sultana played another five-set league thriller versus Hesperia, winning behind Maggie Warden’s 12 kills.

The Sultans then finished off a three-match league winning streak on Senior Night two days later with a sweep of Apple Valley, a match that showcased the team’s depth, as all 16 players contributed.

The three-match winning streak put Sultana in the running for the final league playoff berth, but the Sultans needed help. They got it when both Serrano and Hesperia lost again, forcing a three-way tie for third place. The tie breaker was best record over the second half of league, which went to Sultana and created a huge moment for the program!

• Skyline, of Sammamish, Washington, is 7-0 in 4A KingCo play. The Spartans have continued to win tough matches even after losing 6-3 sophomore middle Emma Gutke, the team’s blocks leader, for an extended time due to an ankle injury suffered Sept. 14. The team started 1-3 but has since reeled off 10 wins in a row, paced by senior OH Rachel McGinnis, her sister, Carly McGinnis, a freshman OH, and senior setter Savannah Fisher.

Grosse Pointe South is on a roll after a tough start

• Michigan’s Grosse Pointe South had had an interesting year. The Blue Devils started out 2-0 then dropped eight matches in a row, many to state-ranked teams. Since then, the team has gone 13-0-3 and is riding its young team (five sophomores; three juniors; four seniors) to an 11-match winning streak, all sweeps, including 8-0 in conference play. Two of the conference wins came versus cross-town rival Grosse Pointe North. Sophomore OH Gabby DiVita and seniors Elizabeth Davey and Eleni Melhem sparked those wins.

• Crete HS (Nebraska) defeated Ogallala on Saturday to cap a 6-0 run through the Scottsbluff/Gering Twin City Invite. The win was No. 17 on the season for the Cardinals, matching their total from all of last year.

Crete is eight matches over .500 in 2023 after finishing 17-19 a year ago

When coaches Makayla Tepe and Annie Gardiner took over the program five years ago, Crete was averaging no more than four wins per season. The turnaround is almost complete, behind libero Hadley Swiercinsky, setter Reagan Bessler, 6-2 senior MB Marin Rasgorshek and 5-10 junior OH Sierra Crist. Crete didn’t just beat pushovers to win the tournament; the Cardinals won semifinal and final matches against opponents with a combined record of 37-14.

“This was the first weekend we really saw consistent grit and effort, “ said Tepe. “The team faced many set points, but somehow was able to build trust under pressure moments and overcome together.”

• Look for VolleyballMag.com’s state-by-state Player of the Year Watch List on Monday and Tuesday of next week. I’ve been spending all my free time the best week surveying coaches and club directors to come up with the top 5-15 (depending on state size) players.

One interesting thing: there may be as many as five or more freshmen who make the cut. Last year there were only two.

The freshmen we are considering, and it’s not final until published, include Carson Caraway of Mississippi, Malorie Boesiger of Nebraska, Lydia Chinchar of Florida, Josie Imes of Indiana and Ellyson Randolph of North Carolina. Heck, I’m only halfway through the undertaking. There may be even more youngsters who find their way onto my radar!

• At Dots, we’re on the lookout for players who put up outrageous single-match stat lines. We are asking coaches on our list to let us know if any of their players achieved any of these benchmarks:

55 assists in a match
35 kills in a match
35 digs in a match
10 blocks in a match
15 aces in a match

Here’s what we have so far:

55 assists or more in a match
58 – Reagan Bessler, 5-8 Sr. S, Crete (Nebraska) – Oct. 5 v. Columbus Lakeview
56– Sophie Mies, 5-8 Jr. S, Palo Alto (California) – Aug. 29 v. Mercy (Burlingame)
56 – Lindsay Hopkins, 5-10 Jr. S, Creekside (St. Johns, Florida) – Sept. 21 v. Christi’s Church Academy

35 or more kills in a match
48 – Kameron Stover, 5-9 Jr., Highland (Marengo, Ohio) – Aug. 26 v. Jonathan Alder
40 – Julia Hunt, 6-2 Sr. MB, Holy Cross (Covington, Kentucky) – Sept. 5 v. Scott
39 – Charlotte Vinson, 6-2 Jr. OH, Yorktown (Indiana) – Sept. 23 v. Noblesville
35 – Charlotte Vinson, 6-2 Jr. OH, Yorktown (Indiana) – Sept. 23 v. Carroll

35 or more digs in a match
48 – Sydney Little, 5-4 Sr. libero, Ridgeview – Oct. 5 v. Trinity Christian

Impressive!

Do you have any players who have met these benchmarks? Let me know at jtawa@volleyballmag.com.

Until next time …

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