Kingwood Park steals headlines for 2018 volleyball

VYPE Staff
May 6, 2019, 3:20 pm
Kingwood Park falls under that special category and used the 2018 season to buck history. VYPE

Originally Appeared on VYPE

THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE A FIRST.

A team who overcomes the odds stacked against them because they have never been there or done that.

Kingwood Park falls under that special category and used the 2018 season to buck history.

The Panthers had to face Lucas Lovejoy for the title, a team that was making its eighth state tournament appearance, compared to this being Park's inaugural trip. Kingwood Park didn't back down and instead shocked the Texas high school volleyball world by sweeping Lovejoy, 3-0.

Libby Overmyer (VYPE Public School Player of the Year) was a key piece to Kingwood Park's success. Just a junior, she sacrificed everything for her team on a per-play basis. Overmyer exemplified what being a great leader on and off the court is. Expect the same as she will be back for her senior season.

…

St. John's is a storied volleyball program in the private school realm, winning 14 state championships heading into this year. But the Mavericks hadn't claimed one since the 2009 season.

The Mavericks ended the drought this fall by winning another Southwestern Preparatory Conference State Championship.

Led by Celia Adams, Alexandra Lewis, Siena Zerr and Nova Manning, St. John's was able to claim the program's 15th state title.

…

Ridge Point also turned in a year for the record books, reaching the state championship game before falling short to Flower Mound.

The Panthers were led by future Longhorn – Skylar Fields, who finished the year with 471 kills. Ridge Point was a junior-heavy team, meaning 2019 will again be a year to watch this crew. Claire Jeter had a breakout season, recording 490 kills, while Reagan Rutherford, Randee Hennings and Lindsey Ogle also had nice years.

This team nearly won it all this year and with the experience they have now, expect them to be a force next fall again.

Another player who stood out this year was Concordia Lutheran's Isabel Zelaya (Pepperdine-signee).

Zelaya capped off a great high school career with an amazing senior year. The future Pepperdine star had 900 assists, 512 kills, 368 digs, 90 aces and 59 blocks, which all led the team.

Phenomenal players and teams! Cannot wait to see what 2019 brings us.


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Houston's magic number stays at 2

Astros drop series finale to Mariners after rough start by Greinke

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

With their magic number at 2 to secure their spot in the 2020 MLB postseason, the Astros returned to T-Mobile Park in Seattle for this three-game series' finale and rubber game. Here are the highlights from the game:

Final Score: Mariners 3, Astros 2.

Record: 28-28, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Nick Margevicius (2-3, 4.57 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA).

Greinke unable to complete five innings

While the Astros were being held scoreless, the Mariners were putting up runs on Zack Greinke. They took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles followed by an RBI-double with one out. Greinke would stop the damage there, then looked to settle in over the next few frames.

He allowed just one baserunner in the second through fourth innings, a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth. Then, in the fifth, the Mariners would knock him out of the game by getting a one-out single that would come around to score on a two-out RBI-double, followed by an RBI-single to extend the lead to 3-0. Greinke faced one more batter, allowing a single before Dusty Baker would take the ball and move to the bullpen. His final line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 92 P.

Astros try a late rally, come up short

On the other end, the Astros were unable to break through against Nick Margevicius, getting just one hit and two walks through the first four innings. They had a chance to get on the board in the top of the fifth, starting the inning with back-to-back singles before a walk loaded the bases with one out to turn the lineup over. They'd come up empty, though, with George Springer striking out before a long flyball to center by Jose Altuve to end the inning.

After finishing the fifth for Greinke, Andre Scrubb returned for a scoreless sixth, working around a one-out walk. Still 3-0, Blake Taylor took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, erasing a leadoff single and two-out walk to keep Seattle from extending their lead. Houston had another chance to score in the top of the eighth, getting two runners in scoring position, but again would strand them.

Cy Sneed was the next reliever out for the Astros, working around a two-out walk to send the game on to the ninth. The Astros would avoid the shutout, getting a two-RBI single by pinch-hitting Josh Reddick in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game at 3-2. That's as close as they'd come, though, as the Mariners would eventually get the final out to take the series and keep the Astros' magic number stagnant at 2.


Up Next: There is one series left in the regular season for Houston, and it awaits them in Arlington with a four-game series against the Rangers, who are well eliminated from playoff contention. The first of the four games will start at 7:05 PM Central on Thursday with a pitching matchup of Lance Lynn (6-2, 2.53 ERA) for Texas and Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.33 ERA) for the Astros.

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