The Concordia Girls Volleyball season is off to a fast start as the team has already played almost 20 games and will be competing in their 3rd tournament of the early season this weekend. The Crusaders are 15-4 overall on the 2023 campaign and have shown much growth and skill development already from the beginning of the month.
Earlier this week, Concordia knocked off VYPE’s Private School Preseason #1 Episcopal in a thrilling come from behind 5-set victory. The Crusaders lost the first two sets, but made some adjustments, specifically when trying to slow down Episcopal’s star MB Mackenzie Collins, and rallied for the reverse sweep winning 20-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-23, and 15-12.
For the game, the Crusaders had more kills than the Knights (58-55) and outblocked Episcopal’s front row (8-5). Kinzie Riley ’25 led the way offensively with a double-double of 18 kills and 10 assists. Rylee Henderson ’24 and Haley Herndon ’25 also notched double-digit kills with 17 and 10 respectively. Henderson hit a team-high .361 for the match and had 3 solo blocks. For the match, the team hit .288.
S/RS Anna Blaine ’24 filled the stat sheet with 29 assists, 4 kills, 4 digs, 2 aces, and 2 blocks. Carleigh Schluter ’25 also had 17 assists and 5 kills. Defensively, Sara Sellers ’25 and Carmen Harless ’24 recorded double-digit digs with 14 and 11 respectively, and Rivers Lee ’25 also contributed 9.
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Last weekend, at the Spring Tournament at Spring High School, the Crusaders finished in 2nd place overall in the Gold Bracket, narrowly losing to Katy Taylor in 3 sets. En route to the championship game, Concordia bested Westfield, Cy Park, Klein Forest, Klein Collins, New Caney, and Cy Woods, all in straight sets!
In the first tournament of the season, the Crusaders rallied from a tough 1-2 day one to win their next 6 games to claim the Bronze Bracket title. At that tournament they beat Harker Heights, Cedar Ridge, Clear Lake, Waller, St. Stephens, and Dickinson.
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Meet the Team:
The squad welcomes a few new faces to the court including senior transfer setter/right side Texas State commit, Blaine, who has already amassed over 2,300 assists in her high school career. She joins Sam Houston State commit setter Schluter to run the 6-2 offense.
Concordia features several high flying, fun to watch, and skilled pin hitters including West Georgia commit opposite/outside hitter Henderson, Addy Borne ’25, Ava Hancock ’25, Devin Harmen ’25, Herndon, and Riley.
Holding down the backcourt, a trio of talented defensive specialists can serve receive and dig with the best of Houston: Dallas Baptist commit Harless, Lee, and Sellers. The team’s overall pass rating has already jumped up over .30 points from the beginning of the season and continues to trend upward!
Finally, owning the net are three middle blockers who all have continually improved since the summer including Ally Hawrysz ’24, Imerie Jones ’25, and Adele Neuhaus ’25. They are skilled at getting touches on many opponents’ attack attempts, stuff blocks, and getting off the net to be hitting options.
Head Coach Kim Odinga had this to say about the team: “As a coach, it doesn't get much better than watching your team buy into the process and each other every practice and game and seeing the learning process unwrap into progress as a team. The process is beginning to manifest the results the girls are working towards while giving them a glimpse of just what they can accomplish as a team. Every player has made the team better on and off the court.”
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Up next for the Crusaders is the Houston Open Tournament hosted at Skyline Volleyball club in Houston. Concordia begins play at 2 pm on Friday, Aug. 25th with a tough pool on Friday that includes VYPE Preseason #3 Private School Volleyball team, Lutheran South Academy. The tournament will conclude with bracket play on Saturday.
Then, next week, the Crusaders will host three home matches on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday against College Station, Kinkaid, and St. Johns School respectively, all at 6:30 pm inside Crusader Gymnasium.
To pre-purchase tickets, visit www.sadernationtx.com/tickets or you can pay cash at the door. Adults - $6, Seniors/Non CLHS student tickets - $4, Kids 12 and under are free, CLHS students are free with their All-Sports Pass.
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In school history, the Girls Volleyball team has won three State Titles (2009, 2010, and 2016) and had previously reached at least the TAPPS State Final Four eight years in a row from 2014-2021. Concordia is hopeful to make it back to the State Final Four and to compete for the school’s 4th State Championship this Fall!
For more information about the Volleyball program at Concordia, visit www.sadernationtx.com/volleyball