A Jill-of-all-trades, the 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter’s versatility was instrumental in the Chaparrals’ success
By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com
The list of names among Westlake volleyball’s all-time greats is long and distinguished. It includes names such as Holly Campbell, Sarah Shaw and Claire Hahn.
When it’s all said and done, Lily Davis will likely also be on that list.
Head coach Michael Saenz said Davis’ determination has transformed her into a leader who can do it all.
“From last year to this year, Lily’s maturity and growth as a person and a teammate has been night and day,” he said. “She’s one of those players that really does it all. She was our best server, a great defender, and our best passer. She was just as good of a defender as a Texas-signee (Resse Emerick) on the back row and she’s a 6-2 outside hitter.”
The numbers don’t lie.
Davis was instrumental in the Chaparrals’ run to the Class 6A, Region IV quarterfinals and a 36-12 overall record.
The University of Texas beach volleyball-commit led Westlake in kills with 634 and had a .285 hitting percentage. In fact, Davis’ 634 kills rank her 20th in the state of Texas and 50th in the nation among high school players.
When she was not terrorizing opponents at the net, Davis also led the team in service aces with 62, was second in digs behind Emerick with 535 and received the most serves with 702 with just 31 receiving errors.
Saenz said Davis was overwhelmingly the top choice for District 26-6A’s most valuable player.
“On the court, the girl really does it all,” he said. “Lily is a talented player. While she does have some natural athletic ability, she eats and breathes volleyball, and she has earned all of the recognition she gets.”
Maturity leads to leadership
Davis began the season with a goal to become a captain for the Chaparrals. Saenz said the team votes on captains, and in order to become captain, you have to earn the trust and respect of your teammates to view you as a leader.
“She was determined to be a leader on this team,” he said. “Lily started the season being a good teammate and being a good leader. She worked hard to gain the trust of her teammates.
“One thing I noticed, when Lily puts her mind to something, she doesn’t just hope for it, she goes out and earns it. Having the work ethic and integrity to pursue it, that’s somewhat unusual.”
Three weeks into the season, Davis was voted captain, along with Emerick and senior Claire Wemli. She also became a mentor for Westlake’s two freshmen, setter Emerson Butler and outside hitter Allie Hudgins.
Having been a freshman starter for Westlake herself, Davis said she understood what that means and valued the ability to be a mentor.
“My freshman year, I got really close with Al (Bennett),” she said. “He made me realize how big of a deal it is to play volleyball at Westlake as a freshman, and I want to pass that down and help the younger players understand that.”
From the hardwood to sand
Now that the high school season is over, Davis said she’s focusing on beach volleyball in the offseason. After all, she’s joining the University of Texas beach volleyball team in 2025.
During the Covid pandemic, Davis got a beach court in her backyard. She said she played every day throughout the pandemic.
“Some of my older club teammates used to play, and that’s what really got me into it. “I was out playing 3 to 4 hours a day most days during Covid.”
Transitioning from court to beach volleyball requires a different regimen of training, she said. From the play calling to jumping, to conditioning, beach is vastly different.
“It’s more complex,” Davis said. “Not only are you playing all the positions, but the play calls are also much different from where you block, when you pull and where you pull.
”Jumping is really different, You can’t broad jump like you can in indoor, you really have to gather your feet before you jump. That used to be a hard transition between indoor and beach, but now it’s just natural.”
Family inspiration
One would think that her inspiration may come from other volleyball players. However, Davis said her inspiration is her brother, Braden Davis.
Braden was a standout baseball and football player for Westlake. He is now a pitcher for the University of Texas-San Antonio. Like his sister, Branden was selected as the District 26-6A most valuable player as a senior in 2021.
“Watching him really inspired me as an athlete,” Lily said. “There wasn’t a volleyball player I really looked up to, just my brother. He was such a hard-working athlete.”
Lilly’s family connection was also a big reason she chose to go to Texas. When former UCLA coach and Olympic beach volleyball player Stein Metzger was named head coach at Texas in May, She knew that was where she belonged.
“Staying close to home has been something I’ve always wanted,” Lily said. “I’m really close with my family, so with him coming to Texas, it was the ideal situation for me. He’s one of the best coaches in the country.”
Looking ahead
The University Interscholastic League’s biannual redistricting will be announced in February, so it’s still unknown whether Westlake will be in the district of doom with Dripping Springs, Austin High and Lake Travis again. Although, it’s probably a safe bet.
Regardless, Lily will be part of a Westlake team that returns four starters and 11 lettermen from this year’s team.
While a state championship or a deep run in the playoffs would be ideal, Lily said that success in her senior season will be building a positive team culture. Because “with a good culture, the rest will take care of itself.”
“You remember how you bonded with the team,” she said. “You can have the big games and play out of your mind, but you remember more about how it felt with the team than the numbers on the stat sheet.”