Join our VYPE Live crew for a live video stream of this Texas High School Volleyball match-up on Friday, November 13:
5:30PM - Patrick Hardesty
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Join our VYPE Live crew for a live video stream of this Texas High School Volleyball match-up on Friday, November 13:
5:30PM - Patrick Hardesty
OF THE VARIOUS SKILLED RUNNERS ON COACH KIERSTON DUTTON’S BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM, AMANI ARZU IS PERHAPS THE MOST HIGHLY REGARDED.
Rightfully so, as he excelled in district a year ago prior to reaching the UIL-5A Region III Meet.
Surprisingly, however, cross country wasn’t always something Arzu saw himself committing to, long-term.
“Initially, I started off in this sport just to stay in shape,” he said. “But, I’ve really come to love it, the competitive nature of it. It’s more fun than people might think. Of course, it’s also a great source for conditioning as an athlete.”
Additionally, Arzu competes for Lee’s basketball and track teams throughout the school year.
Jamey Wright (VYPE)
Naturally, being a tri-athlete comes with certain responsibilities.
“I’d say it takes a lot of dedication,” said Arzu. “It’s Texas, so it’s no secret that it gets hot out here and that makes you want to miss practices. But, you’ve got to stay with it and go out there every day. The weather isn’t an issue during basketball season, but it still requires that same level of commitment year-round for me.”
As previously mentioned, Arzu was among the eight Ganders who advanced to Regionals last Fall. He was the second Lee athlete to cross the finish line in the 5K race, with a time of 19:10.51.
Now that he prepares to lace up for one last year, he has distinct plans in mind for the future.
“I just want to get some new PRs (personal records),” he said. “I’m trying to finally go under the 19-minute mark, and hopefully make it back to Regionals alongside my teammates.”
2024-25 Baytown Lee Cross CountryJamey Wright (VYPE)
Despite the fact that his schedule is clearly going to be completely booked well into 2025, that doesn’t mean this Lee senior won’t have time to enjoy the final stretch of his high school career.
“I’m definitely going to be busy,” Arzu laughed. “I’ll still make time to hang out with my friends, play games online and I’ll always be watching some anime. My favorite has got to be One Piece.”
For those unfamiliar with that particular anime show, One Piece is one of the longest running of its kind, first airing in 1999, with over 1,100 episodes and counting.
Arzu wasn’t joking when he said he was dedicated.
Now, he’ll let his performance do the talking in the coming months.
Nothing to see at the top of the mountain, where top-ranked Dripping Springs cruised in their only match of the week. Behind them, Austin High survived a couple of 5-setters to Bowie and Westlake while Buda Johnson also swept, despite dropping a set to Canyon. Shaky wins, but wins nonetheless.
So, when everybody wins, The Power Rankings considers a totally subjective term, “quality of win.” Similarly, if a rated team suffers a loss, drops a set or sometimes even narrowly wins, it’s important to consider their opponent.
All of which is a just a roundabout way of delving deeper into this week’s rankings.
In the week’s most impactful match, Round Rock outlasted Vandegrift in four close sets to earn a split in their season series. As a result, Wimberley flipped spots with the Lady Vipers while Round Rock leap-frogged Weiss and Georgetown up to 8th, right behind Cedar Park and Liberty Hill. It’s tough to drop a spot after you’ve swept your opponents, as both the Lady Wolves and Lady Eagles did, but quality wins matter. And we reward the Lady Dragons for their quality win over Vandegrift, combined with a sweep of their own over Hutto,
Here’s a look at our Top 10 as of October 14th with just two and a half weeks remaining in the regular season:
VYPE's Public School Volleyball Rankings
1. (1) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) -- 39-2 (swept Bowie)
2. (2) Austin High Maroons (6A) -- 37-5 (3-2 v. Bowie, 3-2 v. Westlake)
3. (3) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) – 34-6 (swept San Marcos, 3-1 vs. Canyon)
4. (5) Wimberley Texans (4A) – 31-3 (swept Bandera, Canyon Lake)
5. (4) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) – 25-14 (Lost 3-1 @ Round Rock, swept Cedar Ridge)
6. (6) Cedar Park Timberwolves (5A) – 24-15 (swept Lockhart, Lehman)
7. (7) Liberty Hill Panthers (5A) – 34-6 (swept @ Rouse, 3-1 @ Glenn)
8. (10) Round Rock Dragons (6A) – 28-13 (3-1 vs. Vandegrift, swept Hutto)
9. (8) Weiss Wolves (5A) – 34-8 (swept East View, Elgin)
10. (9) Georgetown Eagles (5A) – 32-8 (swept Connally, East View)
The showdowns are coming.
Westlake, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs tuned up for their upcoming District 26-6A rivalry games with victories this past week to maintain their positions. While the Chaps and the Cavs cruised, the Tigers had to turn aside a tough battle from Bowie, who remained in the Top 10 despite the narrow loss.
Similarly, Vandegrift has rediscovered its dominant ways and stayed on-track for their regular season-ending clash with district nemesis Round Rock. While the Vipers crushed Cedar Ridge – who had upset Round Rock the previous week – the Dragons bounced back to hold off a stubborn, ranked Hutto squad.
Further down, Cedar Park held off East View to climb a couple of spots and Weiss continued to move up as well. (And check out that arena league-like Liberty Hill/Elgin score!) Lago Vista re-entered the poll, joining #10 Wimberley as the only other 4A squad while Bastrop cracked the rankings for the first time this year.
Two key district clashes -- #4 Dripping Springs hosting #2 Lake Travis and #1 Regents vs. #3 Brentwood Christian in TAPPS play -- highlight Week 8. Here’s the rundown heading into the week.
VYPE Austin Top 20 Combined Class 4A-6A
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (1) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) -- 5-1 (49-7 W vs. Austin High)
2. (2) Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) -- 6-0 (56-7 W v. Del Valle)
3. (3) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) -- 5-1 (47-0 W v. Cedar Ridge)
4. (4) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) -- 6-1 (38-35 W v. Bowie)
5. (5) Round Rock Dragons (6A) – 6-1 (29-14 W v. Hutto)
6. (6) Liberty Hill (5A-2) – 5-1 (73-52 W v. Elgin)
7. (7) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) – 4-2 (BYE)
8. (9) Pflugerville Panthers (5A-1) – 5-1 (52-14 W v. McCallum)
9. (8) Bowie Bulldogs (6A) – 5-2 (38-35 L v. Dripping Springs)
10. (10) LBJ Austin Jaguars (4A-1) -- 6-0 (51-0 v. Manor New Tech)
11. (11) Georgetown Eagles (5A-1) – 5-1 (42-14 W v. Rouse)
12. (14) Cedar Park (5A-1) – 4-2 (31-29 W v. East View)
13. (15) Weiss Wolves (5A-1) – 6-1 (63-13 W v. Hays)
14. (12) East View Patriots (5A-1) – 3-4 (31-29 L v. Cedar Park)
15. (13) Hutto Hippos (6A) -- 3-3 (29-14 L vs. Round Rock)
16. (17) Anderson Trojans (5A-1) – 4-2 (55-24 W v. Hendrickson)
17. (18) Leander Lions (5A-1) – 4-2 (19-7 W v. Killeen Chaparral)
18. (16) Austin High Maroons (6A) – 3-4 (49-7 L v. Westlake)
19. (NR) Bastrop Bears (5A-2) – 4-2 (67-21 W v. Pflugerville Connally)
20. (NR) Lago Vista Vikings (4A-2) – 5-2 (36-13 W v. Gonzales)
VYPE Austin Top 5 Private Schools
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (1) Regents Knights (TAPPS) – 6-1 (42-0 W v. Grace Community)
2. (2) St. Michael’s Warriors (TAPPS) – 5-1 (36-22 W v. St. Pius X)
3. (3) Brentwood Christian Bears (TAPPS) – 4-2 (49-18 W v. Grace Prep)
4. (4) Hyde Park Panthers (TAPPS) – 3-3 (35-34 L vs. Brook Hill)
5. (5) St. Andrew’s Highlanders (SPC) – 2-5 (28-7 L v. Greenhill)
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