Sam Rayburn knocked off Pasadena Memorial in a tight game over the break.
The Texans are playing just over .500 ball, while the Mavs are looking for a spark to get to even.
Check out the gallery from Andy Tolbert.
Sam Rayburn knocked off Pasadena Memorial in a tight game over the break.
The Texans are playing just over .500 ball, while the Mavs are looking for a spark to get to even.
Check out the gallery from Andy Tolbert.
Tomball Sr. Libero/DS Gemma Hopkins
The bar has always been set high for Tomball’s Gemma Hopkins.
It started with older sister Lily Hopkins, who played at Tomball and still plays college ball at Texas-Arlington. Then came Catcher Hopkins, who has won a pair of state titles for Tomball baseball and is headed to play for Texas A&M.
The genes are rich in the Hopkins’ household… a big smile, wild hair and a go-get 'em flare for their respective sports.
“Lily really got us going,” Gemma Hopkins said. “She was the trailblazer. She showed us that competing, sticking to the routines and trusting the process, that we could live out our dreams too.”
Iron sharpens iron with these siblings.
“We really push each other and compete with each other,” she laughed. “You’ve got to see us play board games as a family. It’s brutal. We really love to hang out together. Everyone is fun and chill one moment, and the next we are going at it.”
Hopkins is the quarterback of the Tomball Cougars. As the libero, everything works off of her energy.
“I’m all over the place,” she said. “My job is to keep the ball off the court, whatever it takes.”

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She’s pretty elite at that, helping the Cougars advance to the State Tournament last year with a relatively young squad.
“We want to win State… that’s it,” she said. “We have a great, young setter and some great hitters… and me. We have the pieces to do it this year.
“We have another year of experience and know what State looks like. We have even more chemistry than a year ago.”
Time waits for no one, and before long the all-state setter will be off to college at the University of Arkansas with her recognizable curls and break-neck playing style.
“I was about the people at Arkansas,” she said. “They are really investing in me and they know how seriously I take volleyball. I love the type of player they recruit… I can see them as my best friends.”
There isn’t much Gemma Hopkins can’t do?
“I love to sing and have really gotten into knitting,” she laughed. “I do theatre and love to perform in musicals. I’ve started knitting blankets but I’m challenging myself to do more complicated things. I need to up my game with my knitting.”
The self-improvement never ends.
Did we fail to mention that there is another Hopkins entering the chat? Ace Hopkins is going to be a freshman at Tomball this year.
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The featured standouts of the 2026–27 Cy Ranch Mustangs volleyball team.
Despite fielding high-level talent year after year, Cypress Ranch often ran into the same postseason roadblock—perennial powerhouse The Woodlands. That narrative shifted in 2025.
Head coach Collea McKinney and the Mustangs flipped the script, knocking off The Woodlands en route to the deepest playoff run in program history. Cy Ranch later built on that breakthrough with a win over two-time defending state champion Grand Oaks in the Region II Final, securing the program’s first-ever berth in the UIL State Tournament before closing the season at 39-9 overall.
Offensively, McKinney’s arsenal will once again flow through Sade Bello on the pin. The junior Kansas commit turned in a superb sophomore performance, totaling nearly 400 kills and 132 digs while earning District 16-6A Co-Attacker of the Year honors. She shared that distinction with Saniya Reynolds, a gifted hitter who has elected to support the team from the sidelines rather than compete in her senior season before beginning her collegiate career at the University of Kentucky.
Rising junior Payton Tompkins steps into the starting setter role following the graduation of 16-6A MVP Zora Bello (Rice). On defense, second-team libero Kaelyn Harvey returns to patrol the back row, while seniors Dayla Fields (honorable mention) and Chloe Corzo help round out a balanced Mustangs front line.
If Cy Ranch’s 2026 mantra—“Powered by Purpose”—is any indication, the Lady Mustangs view last fall as a launching point, not a finish line.

The featured standouts of the 2026–27 Grand Oaks Grizzlies volleyball team.
In recent years, it has almost become expected that Grand Oaks would make extended playoff runs—a reflection of the consistency and development instilled by head coach Morgan Rogers and her staff.
This past campaign followed a familiar script, as the Grizzlies captured another undefeated district title before advancing to the Region II Final, where they fell to Cypress Ranch, narrowly missing a chance at a third consecutive UIL state championship and closing the year at 37-9.
The departures of staples such as Halle Thompson (Wisconsin) and Cali Reece (Houston) may give some reason to question a potential drop-off. However, Rogers’ roster remains too deep to overlook the emergence of the next wave at Grand Oaks.
Outside hitters Kate Bull and Mia Owens (Mercer commit) will headline Grand Oaks’ new-look attacking front. Bull, now a junior, received all-district honorable mention while registering just over 200 kills and 170 serve receptions, while senior Owens earned second-team honors, contributing 112 kills and 37 blocks. Both will be expected to assume larger roles alongside senior middle Peyton Wiley, another honorable mention selection who led the team with 49 blocks.
Seniors Taylor Jennings and Adalynn Smith provide additional veteran presence on offense, along with sophomore Reese Baillio, while junior setter Lauren Duarte steps in to help orchestrate the team’s efforts.

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