2023 Houston Area HS Previews: 5A – District 17 - Prep Dig

[Steven Avery]

Division 5A – District 17

Barbers Hill

Barbers Hill from Mt. Belvieu were dominant in the district last season, finishing in first place with 13 wins and just one loss, and made a solid playoff run, stopping only in the regional quarterfinals. The Lady Eagles lost their two main scorers from last season, middle Avery Wilks and outside hitter Jacie Meredith, who graduated, but still have more than enough senior talent to be a force in the division again with setter Peyton Fadal

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 calling the shots, middles Chloe Morgan

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 and Asia Menard

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 dominating the net, right site Peyton Spahn

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 scoring points, pin hitters Malia Martinez and Aemilie Broussard getting the job done and libero Mia Rivers

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 handling the backcourt duties.

Crosby

Crosby made it to the playoffs last season after they got fourth place in the district with a campaign of eight wins and six losses, but couldn’t get past the bi-district round. The team will certainly miss the absence of the graduating Ashley Anderson (setter), Victoria Grace (middle), Carli Brogan (libero) and Shyla White (outside hitter), but there’s still some interesting talent in the Lady Cougars roster, most notably with junior outside hitter Kate Valt

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 , sophomore middle blocker/right side Kylie Green, senior setter Bell Land and senior middle blocker Emma Hattaway.

Goose Creek Memorial

Goose Creek Memorial from Baytown ended up missing the playoffs last season as their district campaign of six wins and eight losses was only good enough to get them in fifth place. Graduation has taken two key pieces from last year’s team in setter Rylee Buchanan and middle blocker Christian Stringer, but the Patriots still have one of the best players in the district in junior middle Sanaa Donaie , who recently committed to Louisiana State. Other key players for Goose Creek Memorial will be senior middle Shyla Houston, senior outside hitter Aracely Nunez and senior libero Carmen Cervantes.

Lee

With just two wins in 14 matches and a seventh-place finish last season, Baytown Lee will be looking to improve in 2023. The good news for the Lady Ganders is that outside of setter Kandace Waller, no other major contributors from their last campaign graduated. Two of the team’s standouts last season, junior middle blocker Christian Duncan and senior outside hitter Makenzy Moore will have the responsibility of leading Lee to a better season this time.

Nederland

Nederland battled at the top of the district last season, ranking third with 11 victories and just three defeats and handing Barbers Hills their only upset – their postseason run didn’t last long, though, ending in the bi-district round. The Lady Dogs will have a lot of work to do if they want to remain among the best after the team’s three All-District First-Team selections – setter Audrey Johnson, middle Ava Whitehead and libero Ava Wiltz – all graduated. Leading Nederland this season will be senior outside hitter Kamryn Smith, junior outside hitter Naysa Arnold, junior libero Uriah Buckley and junior middle blocker Ava Patrizi

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 .

Port Arthur Memorial

After a winless campaign of 14 losses last season, Port Arthur Memorial can only go up this year. Some important seniors are no longer with the team, such as Ava Williams, Charnel Jones, Jariyah Botley and Lily Pham. Junior setter Amisti Ford, senior libero Dekarra Anderson, senior outside hitter Rayven Martin and junior middle Gin’Nyah Robertson should be a big part of the team in 2023.

Port Neches-Groves

Port Neches-Groves had good moments last season, but still didn’t do well enough to make it to the postseason, finishing district play in sixth place with four victories and nine losses. Much of the squad will be back to try and improve this time around, with the most significant change happening at setter, where Payton Metts graduated. The core of the team should have junior right side Blakely Burks joining seniors Addison Bost (outside hitter), Karleigh Gil (outside hitter), Allie Wright (libero), Kennedy McGlory (middle) and Mallori Moreno (middle).

Sterling

Sterling from Baytown was the second-best team in the district last season with 11 wins and three losses and won one playoff match before going down in the area round. There will be significant departures for the team to deal with as setter Ashley Aguilar and middle blocker Tanishua Joseph both graduating, but the Rangers will be ready to compete again. The team will get a lot of stability from their senior core of libero Briana Galvan and outside hitters Katy Barger

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 and Bailee Payne and there are other seniors who could give the next step, such as outside hitter Briana Bentancourth and setter Kennedy Birdsell.

[Separation Scientist]

Good info!  Thanks! 

[Pkvalt]

I can’t believe my kid is a junior. 😳 We’re ready for the season to start! Good luck everyone!

[Steven Avery]

Article from the Baytown Sun summarizing awards from last year to highlight who is gone and who is back. The Co awards last year were not right as BH should not have shared anything with Sterling after spanking them twice. 

The outstanding efforts among the district coaches and players were spotlighted with the announcement of the District 17-5A All-District volleyball teams. 

Barbers Hill’s Casey Veen and Candace Southall from Baytown Sterling were named Co-Coaches of the Year, while the district co-Most Valuable Players were setter Peyton Fadal of Barbers Hill and middle blocker Ty Joseph of Sterling.

Additional honors included:

 

District Co-MVPs – Peyton Fadal, Barbers Hill, setter; Ty Joseph, Sterling, middle blocker

Newcomer of the Year – Chloe Morgan, Barbers Hill, middle blocker

Setter of the Year – Ashley Aguilar, Sterling

Blocker of the Year – Victoria Grace, Crosby, middle blocker

Offensive Player of the Year – Katy Barger, Sterling, outside hitter

Defensive Player of the Year – Carli (CJ) Brogan, libero

 All-District Honors (by school)

Barbers Hill

Peyton Fadal, Co-MVP; Chloe Morgan, Newcomer of the Year; First-teamers: Avery Wilks, Aemilie Broussard, Jacie Meredith; Second-Team: Mia Rivers, Peyton Spahn, Malia Martinez; Honorable Mention: Victoria Arredondo, Rylie King, Asia Menard. 

Baytown Lee

Honorable Mention: Kandace Walker, Makenzy Moore, Christian Duncan.

 

Baytown Sterling

Ashley Aguilar, Setter of the Year; Katy Barger, Offensive Player of the Year; First-teamers: Bailee Payne, Kyera Ashley, Karmyn Hebert; Second-teamers: Kadince Grothe, Briana Galvan; Honorable Mention: Bryleigh Hollomon, Simyah Smith, Kylie Palma. 

Crosby

Victoria Grace, Blocker of the Year; Carli (CJ) Brogan, Defensive Player of the Year; First-teamers: Shyla White, Ashley Anderson, Kate Valt; Second team: Kylie Green, Maya Grace, Samantha (Bell) Land; Honorable mention: Kinya White. 

Goose Creek Memorial

First Team: Sanaa Donaie; Second-Team: I’Sland Edwards; Honorable Mention: Shyla Houston, Aracely Nunez, Carmen Cervantes.

Nederland

First Team: Ava Whitehead, Audrey Johnson, Ava Wiltz; Second-Team: Sydney Nelson, Naysa Arnold, Kamryn Smith; Honorable Mention: Ava Patrizi; Uriah Buckley.

Port Arthur Memorial

Honorable Mention: Avah Williams; Lily Pham; JarRiyah Botley. 

Port Neches-Groves

First-team: Addison Bost; Second-team: Allie Wright; Honorable Mention: Payton Metts, Shaelyn Cobb.