High School Volleyball
Texas power programs do battle in state semis
Matt Malatesta
Nov 16, 2017, 3:42 pm
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
So, can the Hebron Hawks be knocked off their perch a top Class 6A volleyball?
The Hawks have won back-to-back state titles. The last team to do that was… The Woodlands. The Woodlands and Hebron do battle Friday night in the UIL State Semis in Garland, Texas, and one of these power programs will be the odd-on favorites to win the Class 6A title.
The Highlanders and Hawks faced off in the John Turner Classic earlier this season and battle it out in a best of three sets, where the Hawks won.
“It was a crazy competitive match,” The Woodlands Terri Wade said. “When we watch the film over, it was a battle of great players. This is going to be about who is going to make the least amount of errors.”
The Woodlands is led by setter Sophie Walls (Miami-signee) and hitters Courtney Heiser (Texas State), Dylan Maberry (LSU) and AJ Koele (Mississippi State). The defensive star is Georgia Murphy (Oregon) along with Skylar Scott.
“We have three hitters with over 400 kills a piece,” she said. “We run a fast offense and Sophie never comes off the floor. She runs the offense and is aggressive. No one compete like her. She’s a vocal leader and has improved so much over the past three years.”
This is Wade’s first state final appearance at The Woodlands and is trying to quell her excitement.
“Just the anxiety of being competitive is what fuels me,” she said. “We aren’t going to talk about what Hebron does. We just worry about what we can control. We have faced some great teams this season, so we are ready.”
Hebron counters with Minnesota-commit Adanna Rollins (469 kills) and Emma Clothier (351 kills) up front and San Diego-signee Annie Benbow on defense. The Hawks have a lofty No. 2 ranking in the state of Texas and have won four title over the past 12 years.
Cam Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
CAM SMITH COMES THROUGH! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/Y6dtPpXF9J
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
The rookie's second hit of the game came off Orion Kerkering (5-3) and gave the Astros their fourth straight win.
Brandon Marsh tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning to end the Phillies' 26-inning scoreless streak.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead on Yainer Diaz’s RBI single in the second inning. They only managed three more hits off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 with zero walks over six innings. Sanchez has not issued a walk in three straight starts.
Hunter Brown lowered his league best ERA to 1.74 by scattering three singles over seven shutout innings, with nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach second base.
FULL THROTTLE.
Hunter Brown now leads the MLB in lowest ERA (1.74). #BuiltForFuel pic.twitter.com/nkwT2MpgJQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Bryan Abreu (3-3) struck out Trea Turner to end the eighth, and then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos in the ninth.
Abreu joined Julia Morales after the game and talked about his impressive performance!
🧹🧹🧹
After the @Astros completed their sweep of the Phillies, @JuliaMorales visited with Bryan Abreu!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/UeOOSNDKwW
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 26, 2025
Rafael Marchán had two of the Phillies' four hits. Bryson Stott reached base twice and scored the Phillies' lone run.
Smith’s RBI.
Brown’s 1.74 ERA is the fourth best in Astros history through 16 starts and the best since Justin Verlander posted a 1.60 ERA through 16 starts in 2018.
The Astros open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday with LHP Brandon Walter (0-1 3.80 ERA) on the mound.
The Phillies open a three-game series at the Braves on Friday with RHP Mick Abel (2-1 3.47 ERA) against Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder (2-4 4.77).