With the summer winding down, that means we're gearing up for the 2019-20 academic year. With the calendar focus shifting means the start of the volleyball season.
Following our look at the UIL sleepers, we take a look at the potential dark horses for the UIL.
6A
Byron Nelson: It's hard to call a team like Byron Nelson a dark horse, but after only getting to the third round last year, Byron Nelson is just that and definitely has the chops and potential to make a run at state. Paige Flickinger, a First Team All-American last year, is back for her senior year to bring a title to the school, which has been bounced in the playoffs by the eventual state champion the last four years.
Coppell: How do you follow-up a 40-win season a year ago? Easy. Win state. Coppell is a team that can do just that in 2019, despite being in one of the toughest districts in the state. Seven of the last nine state champions reside within 6-6A, which includes Coppell in 2011 and 2012. Coppell will have 10 seniors on this year's team, so the experience is there for a title run.
5A
Grapevine: This year's team will be light on senior leadership as Grapevine graduated seven seniors from a squad that won 34 games last year. However, Grapevine is traditionally a solid team at all levels of the program and will be a team to not take lightly, despite only having four seniors in 2019.
Fort Worth Carter-Riverside: The Eagles were the 6-5A runner up and have a senior-laden squad in 2019, hoping to build off a 21-win season and a berth in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
4A
Godley: A 17-win improvement last year boosted Godley into third place in 7-4A. The foundation has been laid for sustained success, despite graduating eight seniors. However, Godley has five players returning in 2019, hoping to make a bit more noise come playoff time.
Celina: A fourth-place finish in 11-4A did not stop Celina from going three rounds deep into the playoffs last year. In 2019, all but one player is back from a year ago, which should give Celina plenty of confidence to upset a few more teams this year.
Photo courtesy of Aristoi Katy head coach Courtney Garcia.
Photo courtesy of Aristoi Katy head coach Courtney Garcia.
Photo courtesy of Aristoi Katy head coach Courtney Garcia.
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