Katy wraps up clutch week with win over Cinco Ranch, takes hold of 2nd in 19-6A
Oct 19, 2018
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Katy senior captains Autumn Gentry and Amanda Meuth were big in Friday's win over Cinco Ranch on the road.
The District 19-6A schedule is unfavorable for Katy. It starts light, but the heat of the slate consists of back-to-back-to-back matches against the best the region, let alone the district, has to offer.
Still, the Tigers have thrived despite that luckless draw that has them starting with Taylor and Morton Ranch before hitting the power trio of Seven Lakes, Tompkins and Cinco Ranch. On Friday, Katy finished off a pivotal week with a second straight five-set win against a top-tier foe, dismissing Cinco Ranch 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11) to secure an outright grasp on second place in 19-6A at Cinco Ranch High.
“We wanted this game so bad, because we haven’t beat them in their home gym since my sophomore year,” said senior setter Austin Gentry, who had 11 kills and was especially powerful in the fifth set. “That, plus getting second place and all the seeding stuff … huge win.”
The win, which followed Tuesday’s 3-2 Tigers win over Tompkins at home, allows Katy (29-14 overall, 8-3 19-6A) the driver’s seat to finishing with a high seed in 19-6A en route to going up against a lower seed in 20-6A in the first round of the playoffs.
With the loss, Cinco Ranch (28-7, 7-4) dropped into a tie with Tompkins (28-12, 7-4) for third place in the district with one game remaining in district play; Cinco Ranch, which received starring performances from Madalyn O'Brien, Danyle Courtley and Laura Ehieze during an admirable effort against Katy, holds the tiebreaker after sweeping Tompkins in the district season.
.@MadalynRose12 has been a thorn in Katy's side all night. This play puts Cinco Ranch up 14-10 in the fourth set.
.@CourtleyDanyle sends us to a fifth set. Cinco Ranch takes a thriller in the fourth, 25-23. Match tied 2-2.
Either way, the playoff field is set for 19-6A: Seven Lakes, winner of 10 games in a row, is the district champ at 11-1. Katy, Cinco Ranch and Tompkins will also be playing in the postseason.
“It’s a big deal,” Katy coach Karen Paxton said of her team’s lone hold on second place. “Our district is so competitive, and any given night we’re in a good position to play some of the best volleyball with teams like Seven (Lakes), Cinco, Tompkins, Taylor. Cinco challenged us tonight and we had to play our best. I’m proud of the way we finished. I’m proud of the fight we had through the whole match, which was something we struggled with in bigger games this year.”
Katy has won seven of its last eight games. The usual suspects stood out. Big hitters and senior captains Gentry and Amanda Meuth were dominant, and senior middle blocker Allison Parks was a consistent spark with her hitting and blocking.
“For us seniors, it’s our last time playing Cinco and we wanted to go out strong,” Gentry said. “We broke down what they do and stuck to what we know.”
Meuth set an early tone with her power arm and drew Cinco Ranch’s blockers away to open opportunities for Gentry, Parks and Maddie Waak.
Oh, yeah. Waak. The freshman and LSU verbal commit played beyond her years throughout the game, particularly in the fifth set when she had three early kills to boost Katy to an early 9-6 lead.
Waak did well reading Cinco Ranch’s defense and finding the holes down the lines.
This big ace decided the third set win for Katy.
“I was just excited,” Waak said. “I’ve never played here before, so for me it was different. But for the other girls, you could just see how much they wanted it and how much they needed it.”
Waak had nine kills and two aces, and continues to grow into a significant offensive presence. Coming into the game, she averaged 2.3 kills per set and led the team in aces with 52.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Waak said. “Being a freshman, I didn’t know what to expect coming in. But these girls are great. These games are great. It’s the most fun game of the whole season for me, back and forth the whole time.”
Katy freshman Maddie Waak.
Paxton commended the chemistry between Gentry, the setter, and Waak. The senior-freshman duo had a hand in almost every single point during the fifth set.
“She’s a great player. She’s really coachable,” Gentry said. “She’s someone who’s just so happy to be on the team. She’s able to take coaching, do different things, and just be crafty out there. Her being so young, it’s refreshing. It’s fun to be able to play with her.”
Katy closes the district season Tuesday versus Morton Ranch, which is winless in 19-6A. Tompkins closes its district season Tuesday at Mayde Creek (2-9 19-6A). Cinco Ranch is at Taylor (4-7) to close its district season Tuesday.
