District 26-6A volleyball update: Lake Travis closes in on title

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Team of the Week: Lake Travis

The Cavs (12-0, 8-0 District 26-6A) all but wrapped up the district title with a 25-14, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of Austin High that put them three games clear of the Maroons and two ahead of Westlake in the standings. Lake Travis still has a match Nov. 17 with the Chaps, but even with a loss, the Cavs will still have to drop a match somewhere else to not win the district outright.

Jamison Wheeler knocked down 13 shots, and Arden Besecker and Campbell Cook combined for 15 kills to lead the Cavs’ offense. Setter Kiana Reed had 32 assists, Mackenzie Cude served three aces, and Cude led the Lake Travis defense with 18 digs.

Honorable mention: San Marcos

The Rattlers (11-0, 7-1) exited quarantine in impressive fashion, posting four wins on the week. San Marcos took a five-set thriller over Hays Oct. 27, defeated Akins in four sets Friday, then swept Bowie and Del Valle Saturday. Maggie Walsh (see below) played well for the Rattlers, as did Layla Diaz (32 kills, 52 digs), Julia Antu (62 digs) and Ruby Gordon (see below).

Player of the Week: Maggie Walsh, San Marcos

Walsh, a junior outside hitter, fired 76 kills and had 58 digs on the week to help lead the Rattlers to four wins.

Honorable mention: Jamison Wheeler, Lake Travis; Ruby Gordon, San Marcos

Wheeler, a senior outside hitter, recorded 13 kills and 13 digs in the Cavs’ sweep of Austin High.

Gordon, a sophomore setter, produced 144 assists during the week as the Rattlers took four key wins.

The rest of the district

Austin High swept Del Valle (25-14, 25-22, 25-19) behind six kills from Brooke Jeffrey and five from Sadie Swift. The Maroons served 11 aces in the win, while both Kasen Rosenthal and Tanon Rosenthal had 11 assists. For the week for Austin High (14-3, 8-3), Jeffrey had 13 kills and both Swift and Samantha Unbehagen finished with 11 kills. Heaven Medina’s 18 digs paced the Austin High defense. … Bowie (7-7, 5-5) defeated Hays (6-9, 3-7) in five sets. … Westlake remains on a quarantine after positive coronavirus tests in the program.

THE WEEK IN PREVIEW

Matches of the Week: San Marcos at Austin High (Tuesday); Lake Travis at San Marcos (Friday); San Marcos at Lake Travis (Saturday)

San Marcos can put itself into the district title race with a win against the Maroons with weekend matches against Lake Travis looming. The Rattlers have yet to play the Cavs or Westlake, and their only district loss is to Austin High. Meanwhile, the Maroons need to win out and hope Westlake drops another match to be in a tie for second place.

Lake Travis can take two more big steps towards a district title with two wins over San Marcos this week. The Cavs travel south to play the Rattlers Friday, then host San Marcos Saturday.

Rest of the schedule

Tuesday: Lake Travis at Del Valle, Akins at Bowie.

Friday: Bowie at Austin High, Akins at Hays.