SMU Volleyball Has Battle-Tested Lake Travis Commit

Jul 23, 2020

There's been a lot of uncertainty in 2020. One person that provides the year with some more clarity is Jamison Wheeler. The Lake Travis multi-sport athlete is about to start her senior year of high school and her SMU commitment solidifies her status as one of the top volleyball recruits in the Austin area.

"SMU was the right choice for me because it's an amazing school, has a great coaching staff and it's close to home," said Wheeler. "I'm super excited to compete at that high level of play in the future."

COVID-19 could have disrupted Wheeler's path, but she's adjusted her training practices to stay on track and make the most of the unusual free time.

"For the past few months when I haven't been able to be in the gym with either my club team or school team, I am just working out from home and finding workouts that I think will help prepare me best for the school season," said Wheeler. "I also have been trying to clean up my eating to allow my body to feel right for when the season does come. Outside of athletic training, I love going on the lake with my family and friends and wakesurfing."

On Tuesday, the UIL announced that its 2020 volleyball season would still be played during the upcoming fall semester and it would push back the start of 6A and 5A play to September. That allows Texas high school volleyball fans another opportunity to see her take the court for Lake Travis.

"At first, I was disappointed to find out that we got pushed back a few weeks because I was really looking forward to our preseason," said Wheeler. "But, after a while, I just realized I needed to be grateful that we are still planning to have a season."

With COVID-19 forcing a major sports drought for long periods of time in 2020, large crowds are expected when leagues return. That favors Wheeler, who is preparing for the next level.

"The benefits of playing at a high-profile high school like Lake Travis is the competition," said Wheeler. "Playing against teams like Westlake always allows our team to play at our fullest potential, which makes it so fun, but also allows us to represent LT. We also always have fans supporting us at our big games, which is awesome. I think playing at Lake Travis will definitely prepare me for college volleyball because of the mental toughness required to play the sport, especially...with such a competitive atmosphere."

If everything goes as planned during the 2020-2021 school year, you'll also see her high school encore during the 2021 track season.

"Track has helped me with volleyball by increasing my endurance," said Wheeler. "A similarity that I see when running the 400-meter relay is the endurance needed to finish, just like in a long volleyball rally. I think that my years of track definitely helped me become a better athlete all around."

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VYPE Helmet Stickers: Week 4 (September 17-19)

VYPE Helmet Stickers: Week 3 (September 10-12)

Welcome to a new VYPE feature for the 2020 football season - VYPE Helmet Stickers! Every week, VYPE will scour the stat sheets of the previous week and find the top performers.

Previous VYPE Helmet Sticker Winners
Week 1 (Aug. 27-29)
Week 2 (Sept. 3-5)
Week 3 (Sept. 10-12)

Class 4A teams and down just finished Week 4 of the season this past weekend. Who earned a VYPE Helmet Sticker this week?

Blaze Dabelgott - Sweeny

Sweeny got into the win column last week for the first time in 2020. The Bulldogs defeated Hempstead 56-38 to improve to 1-3 on the 2020 season. There were some awesome offensive performances in this game but let's hand a VYPE Helmet Sticker out to a defensive player. Blaze Dabelgott was a handful for Hempstead. The senior finished with 12 tackles, all solo, three tackles for loss and also caused a fumble. What a performance for him. Through four games played this season, Dabelgott is tied for the team lead in tackles with 32 but leads the defensive unit with five tackles for loss. Thirty-one of his 32 tackles have been solo, which is ultra-impressive.

Johntre Davis - El Campo

El Campo could have one of the most potent backfields in the City of Houston at any classification. That's no joke. Johntre Davis is the leader of the pack and showed off his skills in a 55-35 victory over Wharton last week. Davis rushed for an impressive 221 yards and two scores on 16 carries. His longest run of the game was for 62 yards. The Rice Birds are 2-1 on the season and through those three games, Davis has amassed 400 yards on 37 carries with four touchdowns. Impressive running by him thus far. Definitely a VYPE Helmet Sticker performance.

Jordan Woodard - Columbia

15 carries last night 133 yards🤷🏾‍♂️s/o my o-line pic.twitter.com/QHlcDcDJbG
— Jordan Woodard (@Jwood2022) September 19, 2020

This is the second time this season that Woodard has taken home a VYPE Helmet Sticker. In a 21-20 victory over La Marque, the junior rushed for 133 yards on 15 carries. The junior has helped guide the Roughnecks to a 3-1 record rushing for 669 yards in five games with all four games tallying over 100 yards. He is averaging 167.3 yards per game and 11.9 yards per carry this season, according to the team's Maxpreps page.

Damian Ruiz - Livingston

Livingston Lions defeat Diboll Lumberjacks 35-20#WhateverItTakes #WeAreLionCountry #We❤️LISD pic.twitter.com/yLENyIzNgD
— Livingston ISD (@LivingstonISD) September 19, 2020

After starting the season 0-2, Livingston has rattled off a pair of wins, including a dominating win over Diboll last week, winning 35-20 after jumping out to a 28-6 halftime lead. A big reason was quarterback Damian Ruiz. The University of Houston baseball-commit finished the game 10 of 20 for 149 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also had 12 carries for 117 yards and two scores. Ruiz finished the night with five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing). What a performance by him! A VYPE Helmet Sticker for sure for that performance.

Wyatt Kaspar - Huffman

Huffman is coming off a 12-0 victory over Navasota, which ended up being a really solid defensive battle. The win moved the Falcons to 3-0 on the young season. Because of that, defense wins out on the VYPE Helmet Sticker this week. Wyatt Kaspar led the defensive unit with 12 tackles, one for loss and one sack. Nice performance by Kaspar to earn himself a VYPE Helmet Sticker.

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Football's Back: VYPE Austin 6A Team/District Breakdowns

Photo by VYPE Media's Bradley Collier.

The 2020 VYPE Austin high school football season preview continues with area UIL 6A team and district breakdowns. Check them out below and stay tuned for more area coverage in the coming days.

UIL 12-6A

Temple always has high expectations and 2020 is no different. The Wildcats will be the district title favorite with the return of Mikal Harrison-Pilot, Samari Howard, Taurean York and Aaron Wagaman and will focus on a multi-round playoff appearance in UIL 6A Region II. Expect Killeen Shoemaker to test them because recruit Omari Evans is joined by Ty Bell, De'Andre Exford and Monaray Baldwin on this year's team.

VYPE Live High School Volleyball: St. Anthony vs TMI

Join our talented VYPE Live crew for this Texas High School Volleyball match-up on Thursday, September 24

St. Anthony vs TMI

7:30 PM- Michael Thompson

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SMU Volleyball Has Battle-Tested Lake Travis Commit

VYPE Helmet Stickers: Week 4 (September 17-19)

Previous VYPE Helmet Sticker Winners
Week 1 (Aug. 27-29)
Week 2 (Sept. 3-5)
Week 3 (Sept. 10-12)

Blaze Dabelgott - Sweeny

Johntre Davis - El Campo

Jordan Woodard - Columbia

Damian Ruiz - Livingston

Wyatt Kaspar - Huffman

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VYPE Live High School Volleyball: St. Anthony vs TMI

St. Anthony vs TMI

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SMU Volleyball Has Battle-Tested Lake Travis Commit

Previous VYPE Helmet Sticker Winners Week 1 (Aug. 27-29) Week 2 (Sept. 3-5) Week 3 (Sept. 10-12)

Blaze Dabelgott - Sweeny

Johntre Davis - El Campo

Jordan Woodard - Columbia

Damian Ruiz - Livingston

Wyatt Kaspar - Huffman

St. Anthony vs TMI

Previous VYPE Helmet Sticker Winners
Week 1 (Aug. 27-29)
Week 2 (Sept. 3-5)
Week 3 (Sept. 10-12)