High School Volleyball
Party like it’s ’98: Episcopal volleyball ends SPC title drought
Thomas Bingham
Nov 13, 2017, 12:00 pm
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
On Saturday, Episcopal volleyball (29-6) reached the mountain top for the first time in nearly two decades. The Lady Knights wrapped up the season with a 3-1 victory against Houston Christian in the SPC Championship. It earned their ninth championship overall, and first since their seven consecutive titles between 1992 and 1998.
“Because it was such a long time, it made it even more special to get that title back,” said Brennan Howell.
None of the Knights’ players were born the last time the program finished first, but they had a coach who had won before. Amanda Watts ended the 90’s dynasty with a pair of Fort Worth Trinity Valley crowns in 1999 and 2000. Her experience from those seasons, combined with this year’s talent, guided the group through a 2-4 start, as well as a 17-game win streak to end the year.
“I told them around Harvey time that they had the talent to win it,” said Watts. “And, if they kept pushing through it, they could win it.”
Alabama-commit Mylana Byrd was the main piece to the puzzle, but team depth was needed to finish it. That included fellow senior Kansas Watts, junior transfer Kathleen Johnson, sophomores Howell and Trinity Watts, and freshmen Sania Petties and Camille Hanna.
“We were so deep that no one could stop us,” said Byrd.
That was definitely the case in SPC because her team won the South Zone with a 6-0 record, and beat its three tournament opponents (Fort Worth Country Day, The Episcopal School of Dallas, and Houston Christian) in a combined 10 sets.
Mylana and Kansas finished their high school careers as champions. Both know the team’s depth was the difference in this year’s run, and will keep the program in contention for years to come.
“It feels awesome,” Kansas said of finishing her career on top. “I’m excited to see how this team is going to do next year.”
If you enjoyed the feature, follow Thomas (@Texan8thGen) and VYPE (@VYPEPrivates).
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!