CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Four Coastal Bend teams advance to the Championship bracket at the annual Corpus Christi ISD Spikefest volleyball tournament, held across multiple locations including King kigh school: Calallen, London, Veterans Memorial and Carroll. Teams from across Texas competed to fine-tune their skills over the two-day tournament.
Calallen dominated San Antonio MacArthur in their second tournament game, winning both sets 25-16 and 25-19 to finish first in their pool. The Lady Cats have advanced to the championship bracket.
Senior captain Taylor Paredez was a standout performer, splitting the block to help Calallen pull ahead 21-13 in the first set. Madi Geis also contributed with a kill to the corner in the second set.
The Lady Cats lost three seniors from last year's squad, but the returning players and incoming freshmen have stepped up.
"We had three seniors graduate last year who were all big parts of our team, but the freshmen have come in and really stepped up their game," said Calallen junior middle blocker Madi Geis. "Especially just coming up from middle school. A lot of the returners have also stepped up their game, so I think we're all doing really well."
London defeated Ray in a three-set Coastal Bend matchup. London took the first set 25-19, Ray won the second 25-16, and the Lady Pirates closed it out with a 25-17 win in the third set.
Alana Williams recorded a kill to the corner to help London build a 15-6 lead in the decisive third set. Emily Richards set Gabriella Perez for a back-line kill that put the match away.
Despite returning only three varsity starters, London won their pool and advanced to the championship bracket.
"Our team chemistry is just really building," said London senior setter Emily Richards. "We played spring league a lot together at the Miller League, so I think that shift from then to now is just really impressive. I'm really proud of all of my girls, especially defensively. We've worked really hard just to keep it consistent."
Ray pushed London to three sets, a result the Lady Texans feel good about heading into the rest of the season. Destanee Hargis had a strong showing, recording a key dig in the third set. Six seniors lead the Ray volleyball program this year.
"I feel like this year our group is way better. We've improved a lot and we've just been more as a team, playing together and excited for this season," Hargis said.
King faced San Antonio Lee, falling in two sets, 25-17 and 25-16. Despite the losses, the Lady Mustangs finished third in their pool to qualify for the bronze division bracket. Standout moments included Janiya Heard anchoring a key rally and Karmyn Figueroa recording a kill on the outside in the second set.
The team is young, with only two seniors on the roster, and building chemistry remains a work in progress.
"Really been working on our serve receive passing," said King volleyball head coach Sherri Cain. "We got our serve receive passing looking pretty good today. Just being able to just get a good first pass, get a good set and putting the ball down. We did that a few times. I would have really liked it if we did it a little bit more, but we're growing. The only thing we can do is get better."
