High School Volleyball: Right back where they belong

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Members of the Wimberley volleyball team pose in Texan Gymnasium. The Lady Texans make their eighth appearance in the state tournament in the last 12 years. Wimberley has turned those eight appearances into six state championships. Gerald Castillo

November 20, 2009

Lady Texans aim for another state championship

By Gerald Castillo The San Marcos Record Fri Nov 20, 2009, 10:04 AM CST

WIMBERLEY — Once again it is fall, the colors of November change to a brilliant glow and a week before Thanksgiving the Wimberley Texans volleyball team will be headed to a familiar setting — San Marcos — to be part of the UIL State tournament.

For the eighth time in the past 12 years, Wimberley will represent Hays County at the prestigious event. This year it is a young team that will take their tradition to the final four.

In the beginning of the season, Coach Lee Grisham had to mold the young team, facing a tough schedule that proved to be beneficial to the Lady Texans.

This experience paved the way to a year of success beyond all odds, culminating in the defeat of district rival Fredericksburg for the regional title and the right to advance to state. The two-hour, 11-minute battle showed the great maturity of an underdog team.

There were calls from the officials that would make things difficult for the players and the coaches on both sides of the bench. Those questionable calls would push Coach Grisham to get a red card, giving Fredericksburg a point during the highly contested match.

The Lady Texans would win game four and go on to win game five, sending them to state.

It was a full-team court effort by the Lady Texans. Starting role players have been Sydney Jackson, Brenna Lyles, Molly Maniscalo, Audrey Keith, Erin Mitchell, Tory Davis, Shauna Miller, Britney Schindler, Laura Blab, Ashley Lyles and Lea Watson.

Wimberley faces No. 1 Lovejoy, a team that is picked to repeat and take home the title. The Lady Texans aren’t unaccustomed to unexpected wins.

Special Note — Grisham’s one personal mission was to take this year’s team to state. Every year at the state tournament, UIL honors a 10-year championship team. In 1999, Wimberley won the state 3A title in the second appearance by Grisham. The 15-member team will be honored during the tournament, which includes the current Wimberley assistant coach, Julie Dahl. Grisham has had 19 seasons as a head coach, with an overall record of 515-178. He has 14 seasons as Wimberley head coach with a record of 451-106. His playoff record at Wimberley is 55-6. Grisham has taken Wimberley to state eight times in the past 12 years. The Lady Texans have six titles in that span.

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