In the game of catch-as-catch-can played among the state’s volleyball elite, San Antonio O’Connor chases San Antonio Reagan, Reagan chases Westlake, Westlake chases Amarillo, and Amarillo chases history.

But if the Chaps hope to finally snag a victory over Amarillo in the state championship match, they’ll have to maintain the focus that has carried them to a dynastic level.

In other words, Westlake will have to beat an overlooked Katy Cinco Ranch squad in a Friday semifinal that many consider a mere formality.

“A lot of people assume that it will be us and Amarillo again in the championship match,” Westlake coach Al Bennett said, referring to the Sandies’ wins Westlake in the past two state title matches. “But I’m saying ‘Wait a minute. We have to beat a very good Cinco Ranch team, and Amarillo has to get by Georgetown.’ Our job as coaches is to make sure that the girls are ready to play Friday.

“We talked about Amarillo a little [today], but that’s it. From here on out, it’s all about Cinco Ranch.”

Bennett has proven masterful at motivation in a sport that can get thick with distractions. By focusing too much on the future, the present can slip through a team’s grasp and turn a season into the past with one match. Just ask top-ranked Reagan, which reportedly used Westlake as a motivating factor the entire season before falling to O’Connor in a regional quarterfinal upset.

At the risk of incurring Bennett’s wrath, however, let’s look ahead at a matchup rife with tradition.

Amarillo assumed the No. 1 spot with Reagan’s demise, while the Chaps enter the state tournament a spot behind. The pair has played in the past two state championship matches, and they have combined for six of this decade’s state titles. Overall, Westlake and the Sandies have a combined 23 appearances at the state tournament and 11 cumulative trophies.

But Bennett and the Chaps don’t care about that bevy of stats or the historical ramifications. They face Cinco Ranch Friday. And nothing else matters.