Panther volleyball sweeps Austin High in home opener

The Panthers are definitely coming on strong, with four college commits before district: Hannah Griffin, Summer Snyder, Megan Ocana and Ryann Mendoza.

Austin High entered Tuesday’s match undefeated at 8-0, making the Panthers’ performance even more significant after the Maroons defeated Liberty Hill 3-0 in the same matchup last season. Head coach Marie Bruce said going into the game, they knew the challenge ahead.

“It was really good because last year when we went to Austin High, it was rough for us," she said. "They had a really strong team, so we wanted to have a really good first home game. We knew they were a talented program. They got second in state last year, and they lost a lot of seniors. But we knew they were a talented team, and we wanted to kind of show who we were this year.”

Liberty Hill quickly shocked the Maroons with a breakout first set, with Griffin scoring the Panthers’ first point before Post followed with an ace. A kill from Griffin helped Liberty Hill take an early 4-1 lead, and the Panthers continued to pull away through a combination of strong offense and defense.

Liberty Hill extended its lead to 12-4 before an ace from Snyder and a block from Macee Walters pushed the Panthers ahead 14-4. Mendoza then added an ace to make it 17-5, followed by a big kill from Walters that forced Austin High to call a timeout.

A kill from Griffin brought Liberty Hill to set point. The Panthers closed out the first set 25-14. 

Austin High opened the second set with a 3-1 lead, but Liberty Hill quickly answered. Griffin tied the set at 4-4 with a soft touch over the net before giving the Panthers their first lead of the set with a kill, making it 5-4, and Austin never could reclaim the lead. The two teams traded points before Liberty Hill began to create separation. A kill by Griffin extended the lead to 14-10, and Walters followed with a big block to make it 16-10. The Panthers closed with another 25-14 win. 

Liberty Hill was ready to send the Maroons home. The third set began with Liberty Hill jumping out to a 6-0 lead after a series of Austin High errors. The Maroons called a timeout to regroup, and a Liberty Hill serving error gave Austin its first point of the set.

The Panthers continued to control the match, leading 9-2 before Mendoza delivered an ace on the back line to make it 13-5. Mendoza then helped extend the lead with a strong serving run, while Liberty Hill’s defense kept Austin High from gaining momentum. Austin High managed to take advantage of several Panther defensive errors to make it 19-10, but Liberty Hill quickly responded. A kill from Griffin made it 21-10, followed by an ace from Addison Betzen that pushed the Panthers to 23-13.

Liberty Hill finished the sweep at 25-15, with Mendoza recording the final block of the match.

Bruce said she is ready for the season ahead.

“They have big goals, and so my job is to help them reach the goals that they've set for themselves," she said. "Every day we're just going to get a little bit better and make sure that we can do our best to reach those goals."