By Terry Carter
As the playoffs loom on Halloween, Tompkins volleyball remains atop the District 19-6A race with a perfect 9-0 mark.
And the Lady Falcons are building strength upon strength so far.
Only second-place Cinco Ranch has taken a set off the talented, deep Lady Falcons (28-3, 9-0). Every other district foe has lost in straight sets, 3-0. Tompkins has not lost a match in September and last was defeated by Northwest, 2-0, in a DFW volleyball tournament on Aug. 27.
Led by OH Cindy Tchouangwa, who has 350 kills for the season (4.3 per set), MB Tendai Titley with 307 kills (3.6) and district service leader OH/RS Skylar Skrabanek with 63 aces, Tompkins ranks among the Region III elite teams as round two of district play continues. The postseason begins with bi-district action Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Besides one loss to Tompkins, Cinco Ranch (20-10, 8-1) has been similarly strong against all other District 19-6A opponents. Led by OH Courtney O’Brien with 343 kills (4.8) and 59 aces, the Lady Cougars have swept all league foes except Paetow, which finished 3-1.
Seven Lakes (21-11, 6-2) sits in third place in the 19-6A race today after dropping a 3-0 match against Cinco Ranch on Sept. 22. Other than that, the Lady Spartans have only lost to Tompkins, 3-0, although Jordan and Katy each lost in 3-1 matches. Seven Lakes is led by OH Temi Sam-Olibale with 248 season kills (3.1).
The Taylor Lady Mustangs (19-17, 5-4) hold the fourth-place position, but it’s a close race with Jordan (19-16, 4-5) and Paetow (23-14, 4-5) tied for fifth place, just ahead of Katy (12-18, 3-6).
The race for the four playoff spots will be competitive, and Jordan, Paetow and Katy may be able to surprise teams above them with an upset or two in the next four weeks.
On Friday Morton Ranch (16-19, 1-7) hosts Katy at 5:30 p.m. The district’s top teams, Cinco Ranch and Tompkins, will meet at Tompkins on Friday at the same time in a key battle. Tompkins enters with an 8-match winning streak, and Cinco Ranch is riding a 6-game run.
Seven Lakes will travel to Taylor on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. match that could mix the standings around quickly. And Paetow will play at Mayde Creek (8-25, 0-8) at the same time.
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- Cinco Ranch junior Shea Rainosek (16) and the Lady Cougars will need their best effort on Friday when Cinco Ranch plays at Tompkins. (Photo by Terry Carter/UDPhotos)
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- Tompkins MB Tindai Titley (15) will lead a balanced squad of talented Lady Falcons on the court as Tompkins hosts Cinco Ranch on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (Photo by Terry Carter/UDPhotos)
