Volleyball Places 3rd and Leilah Smith earned All Tournament Team

August 10th

With most of the 52 teams having started on August 1st, Hockaday, who just completed their tryouts, stepped onto the court with Austin Brentwood Christian. It was a close first set with Hockaday winning 26-24, but now having a set under their belt, they took off and ran away from Brentwood in the second to win 21-17 (yes, this score is correct, the tournament played to 21 points instead of 25 on the 1st day in pool play). 

 

For the rest of the day, Hockaday got better and better, defeating San Antonio St Mary’s Hall 21-11 / 21-5, Willow Park Trinity Christian 21-11 / 21-11 and Wichita Falls Christian Academy 21-11 / 23-21. By going 4-0 in matches and 8-0 in sets meant that Hockaday would be playing in the Platinum bracket as the tournament's #3 overall seed and earning a bye in the 11 team division for the TAPPS Spike Down Championship.

 

August 11

Having earned the bye, Hockaday would play either The Woodlands Christian(TAPPS) or John Cooper(SPC). John Cooper won against The Woodlands, setting up a match-up of the only two SPC schools to make it to the Platinum Division. The significance of this match-up is that the winner would have to carry the torch for the SPC for the remainder of the tournament. This was a great match; Hockaday battled through multiple lead changes, long rallies, controversial calls and a three set duel with Hockaday coming back after losing the first set 21-25 to win the match 25-23 and 15-12 in the third. The girls really fought hard and were down 3-7 to start the second set, but took the lead in the middle of the set and never lost it again the rest of the match. 

 

The next match was a semifinal match against last year’s TAPPS 6A State Champs, Concordia Tomball. This team was loaded with players that have committed to play in college and filled with players from last year's roster. Don’t tell that to Hockaday!  Hockaday jumped out to an early lead and never trailed the entire first set winning 26-24. The second set started off with Concordia taking a big early lead, but Hockaday fought back to lead at 19-17 with 6 points to play. But, Concordia with their backs against the wall,  showed why they won State last year and went on an 8-2 run to win the second set 25-21. This set up a 15 point third set showdown to get to the finals against Bishop Lynch, who had just defeated Arlington Grace Prep. Concordia sprung out to a quick 4 point lead to start the set with Hockaday contending to stay within striking distance and was able to close the lead to 12-10 late. Unfortunately for Hockaday, that was as close as it would get to Concordia; they closed out the match 15-12 ending a great Hockaday run, but not it's day. 

 

The format of the tournament allowed for a third place match, and earning a bronze medal in this tournament would be a huge accomplishment and a great way to start the season. However, in order to do so, Hockaday would have to beat a very good Arlington Grace Prep with its Pepperdine and UCLA beach commits. 

 

The third place match started out with Hockaday falling behind early and big at 2-8, but they stayed calm and focused on playing cleaner.  They ground out points, taking the lead late and winning 25-22. The second set wasn’t a contest as Hockaday wanted third and the Bronze, winning at 25-12. 

 

“This was a great start to our season and I am so proud of all our players. I especially want to thank everyone who came and supported us throughout this weekend. A weekend where I saw us battle adversity, handle pressure and come together as a team to finish the tournament going 6-1 overall and 12-3 in sets. Congratulations to Leilah Smith on being selected to the All Tournament Team. We will enjoy the success this weekend, but it will be back to business starting Monday.”- Coach Gass  

 

August 10th
Hockaday wins 2-0 vs Brentwood Christian - 26-24w / 25-21w

Hockaday wins 2-0 vs San Antonio St Mary’s Hall 25-15w / 25-10

Hockaday wins 2-0 vs Willow Park Trinity Christian 25-15w / 25-15w

Hockaday wins 2-0 vs Wichita Falls Christian Academy 25-15w / 25-23w


August 11
Hockaday wins 2-1 vs Houston John Copper 21-25L / 25-23w / 15-12w

Hockaday losses 2-1 vs Concordia Tomball 26-24w / 21-25L / 12-15L

Hockaday wins 2-0 vs Arlington Grace Prep 25-22w / 25-12w

Hockaday finished 3rd overall out of 52 teams. 

Leilah Smith earned All Tournament Team