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Defend the Den: St. Agnes Academy returns to TAPPS 6A State Title Match with 3-1 victory
HOUSTON - Last year Cydryce McMillian coined the team motto "Level Up" for the 2019 season for her St. Agnes Academy Tigers.
A year later McMillian, who helped guide the Tigers to their first TAPPS State Championship since 2005 last season, was standing on the sidelines inside Houston Christian's gym watching as her team went toe-to-toe with Concordia Lutheran in the state semifinals again.
With a spot in the TAPPS 6A State Championship on the line, McMillian's squad made sure to "Defend the Den" and defeat the Crusaders 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21) on Tuesday to punch its ticket.
"We're going to take state," McMillian said with a smile. "We've been talking about 11-21 all season. It's our turn to take state, go back-to-back and write the history books again."
VYPE 🏐 Highlights 🎥: @saa_vb defeated @clhstxathletics 3-1 on Tuesday in the @TAPPSvolleyball 6A State Semis. Amazing plays on both sides! Check out the highlights. #VYPECampus @ToyosiOnabanjo @BrookeFrazierr @SophiaKeene__ @StAgnesAcademy @saa_bball @KPRC2RandyMc @HTownHSS pic.twitter.com/tTKOgLRMjk
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) November 18, 2020
St. Agnes Academy will play for the TAPPS 6A State Championship on Saturday at New Braunfels Christian Academy. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. first serve.
REWATCH THE ST. AGNES ACADEMY VS CONCORDIA LUTHERAN BROADCAST
The Tigers on Tuesday were led by junior Sophie Agee's 13 kills and 20-plus digs, Kendall Harris chipped in 12 kills, Grace Webber had 34 assists and 12 digs and Toyosi Onabanjo had eight kills and six digs. Lexi Visintine had 17 digs, Emily Clark had 13 digs, Nicole Dworacyk had 15 assists and Piper Stephenson had eight kills.
VYPE Postgame: Caught up with @saa_vb junior @sophie_agee who had 13 kills and 20-plus digs in the win tonight as the Tigers head back to the state title match. #txhsvb @GHVCA @TAPPSvolleyball @ToyosiOnabanjo @saa_soc @StAgnesAcademy @saa_bball pic.twitter.com/h0efQOYI1Q
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) November 18, 2020
Agee, who had a double double on Tuesday, calls heading back to the title match is "surreal".
"That feeling last year we indescribable," Agee said. "I can't wait to do that again with my team. I have a really good feeling about the match on Saturday.
"These seniors are so important to me, they've made such an impact on my life, it would mean the world to me to win another state title with them."
One of those seniors is Onabanjo, who is slated to sign with the University of Iowa volleyball team on Wednesday.
"We've been in the gym every single day working our butts off for two hours and coming out and trying to be the best we can on and off the court," Onabanjo said. "We've been a really close team."
VYPE Postgame: @saa_vb senior and soon to be @IowaVolleyball signee @ToyosiOnabanjo talks with VYPE after the win. @StAgnesAcademy going for 2nd straight state title on Saturday now. @GHVCA @TAPPSvolleyball @TAPPSbiz @HTownHSS @KPRC2RandyMc @KPRC2Vanessa #txhsvb #DefendTheDen pic.twitter.com/lcvn78pmWX
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) November 18, 2020
Just like last year's motto "Level Up", the Tigers' rallying call of 2020 had been "DefendTheDen - one more win St. Agnes Academy would have done just that.
"Personally I think it means playing as a unit," Harris said. "Our coach always tell us to honor our opponent with our best effort. I think Defending the Den is really putting all our effort into it and playing as a unit collectively."
VYPE Postgame: Caught up with @Kendall91624329 after the win as she had 12 kills (second most) for @saa_vb #txhsvb #DefendTheDen @ToyosiOnabanjo @saa_soc @saa_bball @StAgnesAcademy @TAPPSvolleyball pic.twitter.com/1R7zGKPr6I
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) November 18, 2020
5-STARS: The Private School Playmakers powered by Texas Citizens Bank
There are so many great athletes in the private school realm in Houston.
VYPE highlights five athletes or teams from across the private school ranks in this edition of Private School Playmakers Powered by Texas Citizens Bank.
Ben Shearer - The Woodlands Christian Academy Cross Country
With his win last night at a race in Arizona, Ben is now #3 in the United States! Thanks to @TAPPSbiz for allowing him to compete there. @twcasports @ConroeSports @vypehouston @TXMileSplit @TexasXCCoaches @TappsXCountry pic.twitter.com/ud7REdzL8K
— @TWCA XC/ T&F (@twcaxc) October 3, 2020
We all knew Ben Shearer was really good. We knew coming into this year, Shearer is the hands down favorite to win another TAPPS State Championship. But now, he is amongst the best in the country. At the Desert Twilight Festival at the beginning of October, Shearer posted a 5K time of 14:39.60. That still stands as the third-fastest time in the nation. He is only three seconds behind Ethan Strand (Vestavia Hills HS, Alabama) and nine seconds back of the nation's best in Parker Wolfe (Cherry Creek High School, Colorado). Ben Shearer could very well by season's end be the No. 1 boys cross country runner in the United States.
Toyosi Onabanjo (@ToyosiOnabanjo) - St. Agnes Volleyball
Congrats Toyosi on your commitment to be a student-athlete at IOWA! We are so proud of you and appreciate your hard work and perseverance toward becoming an Academy Woman. pic.twitter.com/PMNX5YTmA7
— SAA Volleyball (@saa_vb) October 16, 2020
Recently St. Agnes Academy senior Toyosi Onabanjo verbally committed to Iowa to continue her volleyball career. Entering this season, Onabanjo was coming off a year where she had earned first-team, all-state and first-team, all-district honors. Recently, Onabanjo was named the MVP of the Houston Open Tournament that St. Agnes played in.
Eli Smith - Second Baptist School Football
Week 3 SZN/ Week 1 of District👽
— Eli Smith (@eli_smiith) October 20, 2020
13 Carries 160 YDs
3TDs
12.3 YPC
1 PBU@CecilShortsIII @MoneyTeam_Milto @CoachPirtle @adam_taylor28 @AlanRicard3 pic.twitter.com/XtnrXDVPOq
Eli Smith is a rushing machine. Against The Woodlands Christian Academy last week, Smith went off for 160 yards and three scores on just 13 carries. That is an impressive 12.3 yards per carry. Smith is a catalyst to the Second Baptist School offense as they look to continue their winning ways this week against Lutheran South Academy.
Maddox Kopp - St. Thomas Football
| @vypehouston Player of the Week Fan Poll | @maddox_kopp (verbal #GoCougs) school-record 8 TD passes & 533 yards + 62-yard romp | @STHCatholic 65-14 > SA Christian | 3-2, 3-0 | 11 straight district wins since 2018 | #txhsfb
— St. Thomas High School (@STHCatholic) October 21, 2020
VOTE ⤵️https://t.co/tOXlBIjNG2 pic.twitter.com/493sz3xuEY
Maddox Kopp is putting up just silly numbers this year. They are video game-like numbers. In a 65-14 win over San Antonio Christian, Kopp passed for 533 yards and a school-record eight touchdowns. St. Thomas improved to 3-0 in district play and has rattled off 11-straight district victories dating back to 2018. Overall this season, Kopp has passed for 1,595 yards and 18 touchdowns in five games. He is on pace to easily surpass 3,000 yards passing in just the regular season.
Brady Dever - Fort Bend Christian Academy Football
56-0 Win Last Night! 7-9, 185 Yards, 4 Touchdowns in 2 Quarters! @jordanblack78 @fb_coachcarp @SeanUnfiltered @QBHitList @MikeWestHTX @TXPrivateFBGuy @ipeak_6 @simplyCoachO @cantmisssports1 @samspiegs @Perroni247 @vypehouston @jokoch09 @VYPE_Private @TappsFootball pic.twitter.com/7WkJZZdMCG
— Brady Dever (@BradyDever1) October 17, 2020
In a 56-0 victory for Fort Bend Christian Academy it didn't take quarterback Brady Dever long to stack up some big numbers. In just the first half, Dever went 7 of 9 for 185 yards and four touchdowns. The sophomore has passed for 659 yards and seven touchdowns helping lead Fort Bend Christian Academy to a 3-1 mark.
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