By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor 

SAN ANTONIO – It’s not often that Westlake enters a match as an underdog, but the Chaps played the role with aplomb in the Class 5A Region IV championship. 

In a contest befitting its ramifications, Westlake knocked off top-ranked San Antonio Reagan 25-19, 22-25, 18-25, 25-19, 18-16 at St. Mary’s University. The Chaps survived a match point in the fifth game to earn their sixth trip to the Class 5A state tournament this decade.

“I’ve been in some big games, but I can’t think of a more exciting one,” Westlake coach Al Bennett said. “This may be the biggest victory we’ve had in a while.”

That strong statement from a coach with four state championships reflects the respect held by Reagan (44-3). The Rattlers, ranked No. 4 in the country according to prepvolleyball.com, had a veteran cast seeking vengeance for a regional final loss to the Chaps (39-7) in 2007. But in the waning moments of the contest, one of Westlake’s most experienced players delivered the match’s biggest points.

After Reagan fended off three match points to take a 16-15 lead in game five, senior Abby Howden teamed with Hannah Kolar to snuff a shot by Reagan’s Amber Tatsch. Howden then fired a kill on a backset from Elly Barrett to pull the Chaps within one point – again – of the upset. 

During a wild sequence in the match’s final point, Howden set up reserve Katie Sorenson for a cross-court kill that ended the contest and triggered an ebullient Chap celebration. And the party would last awhile, according to Howden.

“We’re going to celebrate all week,” she said. “This was not expected at all.

“I wouldn’t say we stayed calm (on that last few points), but we kept our composure and kept the ball up. This is an amazing win.”

Howden’s coach agreed with his team captain. 

“It was just a string of emotions,” he said. “You think that they have all the momentum and it’s over, but our kids kept scrapping. We never quit.”

The usual suspects stepped up for the Chaps. Outside hitter Sara Shaw had a match-high 27 kills, including seven in the fifth game. Barrett dished out 56 assists to go along with five aces and five kills.

“It was definitely a showdown,” Shaw said. “We came out and wanted revenge from earlier in the year.”

Reagan won that early-season meeting in four games, but the Chaps flashed an improved service game that kept the Rattlers’ powerful offense from clicking on all cylinders. Westlake had 13 aces, including seven aces in the first game.

“We served so well that it took them out of their offense,” Bennett said. “It’s probably as well as we’ve served all season.”

Tatsch and Preslie Alexander each had 20 kills for Reagan, which lost to Westlake for the second consecutive year in the regional finals. 

 

Chaps sweep through semis

The Region IV semifinals rarely provide a strong test for Westlake, and Friday’s contest at St. Mary’s University proved no different.

Behind a low-error and balanced attack, the Chaps dispatched Rio Grande Valley representative Harlingen South for the second consecutive year 25-10, 25-7, 25-11. Shaw had 11 kills to lead Westlake, and Ella Praisner fired nine kills on 10 swings without an error.

 

WHS takes regional quarters in 5

Like 2007, Westlake had to get past a gifted Churchill team to reach the regional tournament. The Chargers (39-6) boasted 13 seniors on their state-ranked squad, but none of them could match the production of Shaw. She had a match-high 31 kills in Westlake’s 21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 15-11 win, including the final three points in the fifth game. Howden had 12 kills, and Barrett doled out 50 assists and added six kills.

Tessa Hunt had 27 digs for Westlake, which eliminated Churchill from the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Both teams had to work hard to force a fifth game. The Chaps never led by more than four points in the third game and faced a 20-20 tie before surging to the two-point win. In the fourth game, however, the Chargers withstood a Westlake rally that tied the game at 21-21 to ensure a fifth game.