GAMES
RANKINGS
Determined Tompkins off to best start in program history
During a team meeting before the start of the season, Tompkins volleyball coaches and players discussed goals.
At the top of the list was respect.
“I don’t know if people know who we are,” senior Tendai Titley said, echoing the sentiments of her peers despite a 2021 season when Tompkins went 35-6, won an undefeated championship in one of the toughest districts in the state and finished as regional quarterfinalists.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon, after the Falcons earned an impressive sweep of previously undefeated New Braunfels Canyon, 3-0 (29-27, 25-23, 26-24), at Bridgeland High School to take the gold bracket championship of the prestigious 48-team Katy ISD/Cy-Fair ISD Tournament. Coach Allison Merrell directed her attention toward Titley.
“Do you want to refine that statement?” Merrell asked, recalling Titley’s preseason concern. “I think people know who you are.”
Who are the Tompkins Falcons? Well, they’re arguably the best volleyball team in the Greater Houston area through the first couple handful of games.
Tompkins is off to the best start in program history at 9-0, with signature wins over giants like Canyon, defending Class 6A state champ San Antonio Brandeis, Class 6A state semifinalist Ridge Point and perennial regional powers Seven Lakes and Cypress Ranch.
“I think we as a program have always had talented teams, but what sets this team apart is the energy and experience we bring to every match,” senior Presley Powell said. “Playing great programs early in the season has really been a testament to our success. We are a team that carries confidence and belief within ourselves, and we don’t take any team for granted.”
Tompkins is not just undefeated. It is dominating. The Falcons have lost just three of 22 sets so far this season.
“We play for each other, not for ourselves,” junior Erica Dellesky said. “This team is hungry to win. We know that if we fight for every point, we will come out on top. The sky is the limit.”
Senior Cindy Tchouangwa, a Rice commit, and Titley are the program cornerstones. Each averages more than three kills per set and is a dominant force against an opponent’s attack.
But it’s been the supporting cast that makes these Falcons a particularly tough out. Powell and Dellesky run Tompkins’ unconventional 5-1 system to perfection; Powell setting from the front row and Dellesky from the back. It allows Tchouangwa to swing as a hitting option from the right back.
Sophomore Brooklynn Merrell, a setter during the club season, made the switch to libero this year and adds a third set of hands to set out-of-system balls. Sophomores Simi Elliott and Christin Cowart, and freshman Callie Funk make for a talented, athletic three-headed monster in the middle.
(How deep is Tompkins? With Cowart and Elliott unavailable for most of tournament play this weekend, the Falcons played junior varsity middle Angel Debekeme and never skipped a beat).
But a key difference-maker has been junior Skylar Skrabanek.
The 6-foot-1 Skrabanek has a background in beach volleyball and already committed to play for Florida State, the No. 2 beach program in the country. This summer, she spent most of her time focused on her beach play for the first time and Merrell admitted she was worried about Skrabanek’s transition back to indoor.
But Skrabanek jumped right back into the groove of indoor volleyball with ease, relying on a plethora of indoor lessons right before the high school season started.
“Beach is really difficult to move in,” Skrabanek said. “You have to play in inclement weather conditions and it’s a smaller court with only two players. So, when I then go and play indoor, my vertical is higher on solid ground, there are no weather factors and I have the support of five other players and a much larger court to position the ball in.”
Skrabanek said ball control, endurance, court speed and vertical jump are better this season because of summer beach training. Merrell said Skrabanek’s reading of defenses and ability to swing in different areas of the court have improved considerably, adding a third potent attacking threat alongside Tchouangwa and Titley.
Overall, Merrell has a team that is relentless, gritty and accountable. In the decisive third set against Canyon to finish off the sweep on Saturday, the Falcons rallied from a 21-13 deficit to win 26-24.
“Whether we are up by five points or trailing by 10, we play every point like it was match point and leave it all on the court,” Skrabanek said. “I think we are undefeated because we are all playing as one and not individually. If we make an error, we let it go and just focus on the next point. Our communication on and off the court has been key.”
It’s a determined group of players.
“As a team, we have high expectations and big goals to make history for our program,” Presley said. “After doing so last year by winning the district title and making it to the third round in playoffs, we want more for ourselves by taking it to the next level.”
Merrell knew coming into this year she’d have a special team. So, she scheduled the toughest preseason schedule she ever has. Clear Springs, Pearland Dawson, Class 6A state semifinalist Bridgeland and Class 5A regional semifinalist Fulshear make up next week’s opponents before the Falcons start district play against Class 6A regional finalist Katy on Aug. 23.
Merrell has also loosened her grip. She allows the players to come up with the game plan, like they did against Brandeis. Instead of telling players what team goals are, Merrell let them determine that.
She encourages them to take initiative. It fosters accountability for a team that is “player-led” in every sense.
“It’s not often in high school you’re blessed to have all this God-given talent,” Dellesky said. “We’re all excited to make it happen.”
They're no joke: Tompkins sweeps Katy, continues dominant start
Long before the start of the high school volleyball season, even before preseason training in early August, Tompkins players would joke around with each other about how good they expected to be this season. How dominant they'd be.
Typical stuff for any high school athlete, when optimism, hope and great expectations fulfill the dog days of summer strength and conditioning camps.
"But we were just messing around. It wasn't serious," junior outside hitter Cindy Tchouangwa said. "We knew good players had left and we knew we'd have our work cut out for us."
But as the season began, against a hellacious non-district schedule, the wins started mounting. Six straight right out of the gate. Senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Paris Herrman and Tchouangwa putting up ridiculous numbers, lighting up stat sheets. Eleven wins in the last 11 games.
And a close-knit team coming together quicker than anyone anticipated, particularly after senior libero Madison Gundry had suffered a season-ending injury during the summer.
"Our chemistry is right on," Herrman said. "We started off super young all together on varsity, freshmen and sophomores together, and now we're all juniors and seniors. We were ready for this."
And the Falcons have proven it, the latest showcase a demonstrative 3-0 sweep of rival Katy (27-25, 25-18, 25-23) on Wednesday to go to 2-0 in District 19-6A and 22-5 overall, including wins over Pearland Dawson, Clear Springs, College Park, Cinco Ranch (twice), Bridgeland (twice) and George Ranch.
"I'm really not surprised," said Herrman, the anchor of a deep, versatile team with 3.1 kills per set, 4.6 digs per set and 35 aces. "We've put so much work into this and have so much talent, so I'm really glad we're living up to it."
Against Katy (18-14, 1-1), Tompkins put together an impressive performance, at times completely overwhelming a stacked and experienced Tigers team that has five NCAA Division I commits.
Herrman got the Falcons past the Tigers in an intense first set, compiling five kills. She knew to avoid Katy's talented senior libero Izzy Denton and swung away from her, otherwise expertly finding vulnerabilities in the Tigers' defense.
.@parisherrman caps off the second set with her 12th kill of the game for a 25-18 @OTHSVolleyball win and a 2-0 lea… https://t.co/bbGuA9Ml3w— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1631750788.0
In each of the second and third sets, Tompkins jumped out to 14-5 leads but watched as Katy, behind the swings of senior middle Jordan Gamble and senior outside hitter Chandler Lee, fought back and gave a scare each time, even taking a 22-21 lead in the third set.
But the Falcons' depth offensively was too much. If it wasn't Herrman (15 kills, three aces) or Tchouangwa (12 kills) scoring points with smart power hitting, it was junior Tendai Titley (eight kills, three blocks), senior Natassia Baptiste (five kills) or junior Kaitlin Lopez (four kills) finding openings.
"They're fiery. They're hungry," Tompkins coach Allison Merrell said of her girls. "Katy always gives us a run for our money, so they knew they were going to have to come out hard early. We were shaky in the first set, but settled in, got some nerves out of the way and played our tempo and our game."
Herrman, a four-year letterman, has always been a leader of Tompkins' success. She's even better this season as an all-around player, picking up slack in the back row due to Gundry's absence.
"Her passing, defensively, in serve-receive … she's improved so much since junior year," Merrell said. "She has more confidence back there, and I have more confidence in her back there. She's a rock star in the back row for us right now."
But it's the emergence of Tchouangwa that has been a game-changer for the Falcons' offense. Tchouangwa is averaging a team-best 4.2 kills per set and boasts an incredible .492 kill percentage; last season, those numbers were 3.1 and .397, respectively.
.@OTHSVolleyball’s @CTchouangwa with the rocket of a swing. She’s already got four kills in this second set. Tompki… https://t.co/q9AclP1OEu— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1631749874.0
Merrell said Tchouangwa's outstanding play is a result of natural growth. She's an upperclassman now and the team needs more from her. She's answering the call.
"It's my mentality," Tchouangwa said. "I'm sharper. I'm more focused on the court. I'm a better passer. I just want to get the job done."
Schematically, to better suit all the talent, Merrell has implemented more attacks from the back row, to accommodate Herrman, and a faster offense.
"We have the talent, for sure, but when we all get into a rhythm, we're unstoppable," Herrman said. "We have so many weapons, and if we can get a good serve-receive pass with our steady defense, the sky is the limit for our offense."
Perhaps it was no joke after all, then, when the Falcons would talk amongst one another about how good they would be.
"They make adjustments on the fly, they stick to game-plans. There's a lot of accountability with this group," Merrell said. "I also think they know how talented they are. That excites them to work hard."