Stony Point holds off Cedar Ridge rally to keep pace atop District 25-6A race

ROUND ROCK — Taliah Angwekwe slammed four of her 16 kills, including set and match point, as Stony Point held off a furious Cedar Ridge rally to beat the Raiders 25-21, 25-9, 21-25, 24-26, 15-11 on Tuesday night to remain tied for first place in District 25-6A with Round Rock and Vandegrift.

“We played well in the first two sets, but Cedar Ridge really came ack, played great defense and we did not answer them well in the third and fourth set," Stony Point coach Julie Miller said, "I am proud of the way the team stepped up in the fifth set to win tonight."

Miller was pleased with the Tigers' overall resiliency and singled out Angwekwe's efforts.

“This was the first match back for Taliah after she got hurt a couple of weeks back," Miller said. "She really stepped up; she was a bit tentative early ... but came through in that fifth set when we really went to her.”

Stony Point's Carrie Weston had an incredible night, slamming 22 kills and recording 19 digs while serving a pair of aces. Her athleticism was a key to the Tigers' (24-8, 2-0 District 25-6A) win and her attitude helped calm the team's psyche after the third and fourth set losses.

“We were cruising in that second set and really up, then we just kind of lost our focus and our energy levels dropped,” Weston said. "When we got tighter before the fifth set, it was a team saying now is the time to give it our all and we did.”

Stony Point setter-hitter Kylee Bagley had 16 kills with 24 assists and 20 blocks in a triple-double effort, adding two blocks while Angwekwe also collected three blocks.

Cedar Ridge (14-20, 1-1) bounced back from an off showing in the second set with a pair of wins to force a deciding fifth set. Faith Reynols had 12 kills and Hannah Kilpatrick added 11 in the loss. Cedar Ridge had a valiant fifth-set rally as it trailed 11-6 and fought back within two points at 13-11 on a block by Kendall Lewis before Angwekwe managed the final two kills of the night. Sierra Day led Cedar Ridge with 21 assists.

Around District 25-6A

In other district action, Vandegrift swept McNeil 25-13, 25-9, 25-8 behind 15 kills by Alex Beauchamp and 27 assists by Ava Carrasquillo, and Jessie Hoang added 12 digs and three aces. Nina Salas led McNeil with six kills while Emerson Parker had 14 assists. ... Round Rock kept pace by sweeping Manor 25-8, 25-21, 25-15 as Riley Clinton had 19 assists with seven kills and Molly Cravens had 10 kills with two blocks. Eleanor Thiel had nine digs and Alexa Ankerstar added 11 kills. Destini Doss led Manor with three kills while Janae Parker had six blocks and Dee Dee Sorrell-Walker added eight digs. Trinity Hughes finished with 10 assists for the Mustangs.

Vista Ridge redounded from its Friday night loss to Round Rock by beating defending district co-champion Westwood in a wild contest, 25-16, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 16-14, behind 49 assists by Jasmin Dion, who also had 13 digs. Sophia Ely had 13 kills with 12 digs while Jennavee Jensen had 11 kills and 15 digs. Olivia Kelley chipped in 12 kills while Jordyn Zink had seven kills and three blocks. Caton Firkins finished with eight kills and three blocks while Merrick Hammel added 24 digs, Karol Lopez had 14 digs and Madison Louis closed with seven digs and two service aces.

Around District 26-6A

It was a highly competitive night in District 26-6A as Westlake went five sets before losing at defending state champion Dripping Springs 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-15, 16-14 as Westlake’s Lily Davis had 35 kills. ... Lake Travis edged Anderson 25-19, 25-27, 25-17, 25-23 despite 22 kills and 18 digs by Anderson standout Parker Duncan.  Jazmine Gosten added 18 digs while Maddie Stuesser collected 38 assists. Camden Besecker led the Cavaliers' offense with 17 kills while Avery Hamlin had 13 kills with 23 digs. Kacey Kazmierski finished with 13 digs and 57 assists. Austin High beat Akins 25-25-8, 25-15, 25-12 as Savannah Vasher and Mary Eloise Ross led the Maroons with five kills each. Campbell Bartley had 12 assists and Kaela Bustamante added seven.

Around the area

Georgetown, East View win: Sadie McCauley smacked 14 kills with 10 digs to lead Georgetown past Pflugerville 25-12, 25-11, 25-19. Raegan Ramirez had 15 digs and served four aces for the Eagles, who are tied for first in district play with East View and Hendrickson. .... East View swept Cedar Creek 25-12, 25-15, 25-13 while Hendrickson swept Bastrop 25-20, 25-14, 25-15. Connally beat Elgin 25-15, 25-25-16, 26-24. district-leading McCallum beat Eastside 25-19, 25-15, 25-13, LASA swept Northeast 25-12, 25-15, 25-13, LBJ swept Navarro 25-13, 25-22, 25-23 and Ann Richards beat Travis.

Wimberley drops top-10 matchup: In Class 4A action pitting a pair of top 10-ranked teams, San Antonio Davenport beat Wimberley 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 despite 17 kills by Laney Hennessee and 18 assists from Jesse Weeks. Rhagen Masur had 24 digs while Cameron Thames, Kenslee Brown, and Addison Parks each notched three blocks for the Texans. ... La Grange beat Smithville 25-22, 25-15, 18-25, 27-25 while Taylor swept Manor New Tech. ... Schulenburg beat Lago Vista in four sets while Salado swept Burnet 25-20, 25-22, 25-21.

Private schools: Brentwood Christian swept Boerne Geneva Christian 2510, 25-21, 25-12 while Austin Waldorf swept San Juan Diego 25-9, 25-21, 29-27. Round Rock Christian won its fifth straight match, a 25-21, 25-14, 25-20 sweep of Hyde Park. Rachel Millikan had 15 kills and nine digs, and setter Peyton Turner had 31 assists with eight digs and served four aces. Libero Emily Sonnier added 10 digs.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Stony Point volleyball outlasts Cedar Ridge in District 25-6A victory