Mission Accomplished

Kingwood Park punches ticket to state

Seth Livingston
Joshua Koch
Nov 15, 2018, 5:00 am
Kingwood Park (38-11) is heading to its first-ever state tournament Vype

Originally appeared on Vype 

HOUSTON – It was a moment they’ve been all working for.

Kingwood Park coach Kelly Miser, pacing the sidelines in a dark green dress with white polka-dotted dress, watched as junior Alia Williams – who had 11 kills – flew through the air, swung her right arm and sent the ball where no Friendswood defender could get it.

The players collapsed to the court into a dog-pile as their teammates rushed the court, Miser in the midst of the madness dropped to her knees and screamed in joy.

Kingwood Park, after falling in the 2017 Region III-5A Final, had come back to the very place they lost last year and punched its ticket to the UIL State Volleyball Tournament with a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 25-17) victory against Friendswood on Saturday.

“That was the coolest moment of my career,” Miser said about watching her players celebrate on the court. “That made all the long hours, the work, everything they’ve put it; it just made it all worth while.”

 

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Flying Through Familiar Territory

Tompkins feeling déjà vu en route to strong start to 2019

The Falcons are steep in quality depth. Via Vype

Originally Appeared on Vype

This new year 2019 feels a lot like 2017 for Tompkins.

That year, the Falcons were Class 6A state finalists, and seemed to be bound for Georgetown every season thereafter for a while due to the talented freshmen on the roster. But while last year was far from shabby, a regional finalist finish felt like a letdown.

"What we took from last year is we weren't that much of a team, and we needed to be more connected," junior forward Barbara Olivieri said. "This year, every girl is giving their all and we're all working together. When you have that type of bond, it doesn't matter who's out there, you can still look really good."

Indeed, the Falcons are feeling a bit of déjà vu after topping 2018 state semifinalist McAllen, 4-0, in the Falcon Bracket championship of the 64-team I-10 Shootout at Legacy Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Tompkins (6-0) routed the Bulldogs even with starters Lauryn Wild, Jullietta Haro, Avery Burchett and Sofie Wolf out of action.

The Falcons are steep in quality depth. While Olivieri and junior forward Skylar Parker, who admirably played well moving to the defensive midfield, starred, as per their ways, others like senior Carrie Gerdes and sophomores Kayla Eshbaugh and Jennifer Pham filled in nicely.

Oh, and sophomore forward Felicia Hernandez. It was Hernandez, after all, who tallied a hat trick with three goals against McAllen, emerging as yet another prominent playmaking threat for coach Jarrett Shipman alongside Parker and Olivieri.


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