By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal
After three years of dominance by Dripping Springs, it appears there’s a new top dog in District 26-6A.
Austin High senior Riley Malloy put on a clinic Tuesday with 17 kills as the Maroons defeated defending district champion Dripping Springs, 25-19, 19-25, 25-18, 25-18.
In front of a rowdy Austin High home crowd, Malloy and Austin High (26-3, 1-0) put on a dominant display to signify that there’s potentially new royalty in one of Texas’ top high school volleyball districts.
Tuesday’s district opener featured an array of Division I talent, including Malloy (USC), Austin High middle blocker Camille Presley (Texas), Austin High setter Maggie McCarroll (Arkansas), Austin High libero Laven Blumoff (Denver) and Dripping Springs outside hitter Henley Anderson (Texas).
Anderson, the nation’s top recruit for the Class of 2026, missed the early part of the season playing with the U18 U.S. Volleyball team overseas. Against the Maroons, she proved why she was regarded as one of the top high school players in the country with 17 kills and a .378 hitting percentage.
The Tigers (18-14) also got 11 kills from junior Madison Sestak.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s game:
Around the Austin area
In the upset of the night, Stony Point got 20 kills and five blocks from Taliah Angwekwe to defeat 2024 Class 6A state semifinalist Vandegrift 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 14-25, 15-10 Tuesday night at Vandegrift high school. … Fallon Stroup and Hanna Griffin combined for 20 kills as Liberty Hill kept rolling Tuesday with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of Rouse. Avery Ralston led the Raiders with 11 kills. … Parker Featherstone and Kerrington Thornton combined for 26 kills to lift Round Rock past Vista Ridge in a battle of unbeatens in District 25-6A. Jennavee Jenson led all players with 17 kills, while Ella Prewitt and Abby Norling had 10 and 11, respectively. …
Kingsley Minus put down 11 kills to go with 19 assists, seven digs and two aces to lift New Braunfels to a 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 win over Kerrville Tivy on Tuesday. Shaylie Schaefer slammed a team-high 14 kills for the Unicorns. … Mya Cheatum had seven kills and Katelyn Hughes had 13 assists as Cedar Park defeated Lockhart 25-6, 25-11, 25-17. … Elaine Harrison had 26 assists, seven digs, six kills and a block to lead Anderson to a 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-9 win over LASA. Kate Leakey led the Trojans with 11 kills. … Deja Carroll slammed 11 kills and Rihanna Bryant added 10 as Weiss defeated East View 25-11, 25-19, 25-14 in the District 23-5A opener. … St. Andrews setter Tilly Streeter notched her 1,000th career assist Tuesday as the Highlanders defeated Texas Lions Academy 25-8, 25-4, 25-19. … In a battle of Class 2A state champions, Johnson City defeated Crawford, the Division II state champion, 25-23, 13-25, 26-24, 25-23 at Johnson City High School. The Eagles moved to 21-8 for the season.
College roundup
No. 2 Texas defeats No. 4 Louisville: Torrey Stafford put down 20 kills, while freshmen Cari Spears (16 kills) and Anby Vander Wal (14) continued to shine as the No. 2 Texas Longhorns defeated No. 4 Louisville in five sets, 23-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22, 16-14 Wednesday in Fort Worth to improve to 5-0. Junior setter Ella Swindle surpassed 1,500 career assists after registering 37 on the night, Stafford now has over 500 career digs and Emma Halter reached over 300 assists in her career.
Texas State goes 2-1 in Southwest Showdown: The Bobcats defeated host UTRGV and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, while falling to unbeaten UTEP over last weekend. Anna Blaine was named Sun Belt setter of the week for week 2. The sophomore played a large part in the Bobcats two wins with 113 assists through 11 sets were enough for 10.27 per set, one of the top marks in the Sun Belt this weekend. Texas State will have its home opener Thursday against Arizona State on Sept. 11. It’s the first of the Bobcats’ three matches in the Texas State Invitational. All three of the Bobcats’ home matches next week will be streamed on ESPN+
UTSA goes 2-1 in Dr. May Jo Wynn Invitational: The Roadrunners (2-3) picked up their first two wins of the season last weekend in Springfield, Missouri. UTSA beat Depaul and Lindenwood, while falling to Missouri State in the tournament. Caroline Tredwell led the Roadrunners while former Liberty Hill standout GiGi Mason, a Vanderbilt transfer, was named to the all-tournament team. UTSA travels to North Dakota this weekend for the NDSU/UND Tournament.
This week’s Power 5s
College
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | LW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 5-0 | – |
| 2 | SMU | 6-0 | – |
| 3 | TCU | 4-1 | – |
| 4 | UTEP | 6-0 | – |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 5-2 | – |
Others: Texas Tech (4-2), North Texas (4-2), Stephen F. Austin (4-1), Texas State (3-2)
Class 6A
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | LW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin High | 26-3 | 1 |
| 2 | Lake Travis | 24-8 | 2 |
| 3 | Round Rock | 25-8 | 3 |
| 4 | Buda Johnson | 24-6 | 4 |
| 5 | Westlake | 21-10 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Bowie (20-12), Comal Canyon (19-12), Vista Ridge (17-16)
Dropped out: Comal Canyon
Class 5A
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | LW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Braunfels | 29-5 | 1 |
| 2 | Weiss | 26-6 | 2 |
| 3 | Liberty Hill | 23-8 | 3 |
| 4 | Comal Pieper | 21-9 | 5 |
| 5 | Cedar Park | 20-12 | 4 |
Others receiving votes: Smithson Valley (20-9), Bastrop (20-9), McCallum (18-8), Georgetown (18-11)
Dropped out: None
Class 4A
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | LW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wimberley | 28-5 | 2 |
| 2 | Comal Davenport | 23-6 | 1 |
| 3 | Salado | 19-12 | 3 |
| 4 | Burnet | 16-5 | 5 |
| 5 | La Grange | 17-11 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Gateway Prep (15-5), Canyon Lake (15-10), Fredericksburg (11-13)
Dropped out: Gateway Prep
Sub-4A
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | Lw |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Andrew’s | 18-6 | 1 |
| 2 | Johnson City | 21-8 | 3 |
| 3 | Lexington | 17-9 | 2 |
| 4 | Fayetteville | 18-9 | 4 |
| 5 | Round Rock Christian | 17-9 | 5 |
Others receiving votes: St. Michael’s (16-7-1), Regents (7-3-1), Rockdale (14-12), Thrall (13-13)
Dropped out: None
