SAN MARCOS – Despite all her accolades and individual honors, Sara Shaw only had to glance across the court at Amarillo’s celebration to realize the emptiness that engulfed her and the Chaps after Saturday’s Class 5A state championship match.

In another classic between the two dominant teams of the 2000s, Amarillo (47-3) fought off Westlake 19-25, 25-20, 28-26, 23-25, 16-14 at Strahan Coliseum for its fourth consecutive state championship and fifth of this decade.

The last three titles have come at the expense of Westlake (39-7), much to the frustration of the Chaps.

“It [a championship] is all I wanted,” Shaw said, “It’s the one thing [in volleyball] that I didn’t have, and it’s all I worked so hard for. It’s a huge rivalry, so to get this close and not win is so frustrating.”

Westlake coach Al Bennett made no attempt to mask his own frustrations after watching his team squander a match point in a taut fifth game that had the crowd of 2,735 standing together in anxiety.

“We didn’t come here to get some more silver medals,” he said. “We just didn’t get it done at the end, and you can only hope for that one chance. This loss is a bitter, bitter pill to swallow.”

Westlake had its chance to snap the Sandies’ stranglehold on the state tournament. Senior middle blocker Hannah Kolar spiked a free ball to the floor and teamed with classmate Katie Sorenson for a block to give the Chaps a 14-13 lead and a match point.

After an Amarillo timeout, Westlake’s Tessa Hunt served the ball into the net, and teammate Avery Edwards drew a net violation after crossing the midcourt line on a sliding set. Amarillo then made the most of its first championship point when Madelyn Robinett hammered a shot off a block attempt to end the match.

“They [the Chaps] have been gritty all season, and they battled to the end,” Bennett said. “You have to finish; we did it in game four, but we didn’t do it in game five.”

Westlake forced a fifth game after rallying from a 16-13 deficit in game four behind Shaw, an outside hitter committed to the University of Southern California. The 6-foot-2-inch Shaw, a favorite to earn Class 5A Player of the Year honors this year, had seven of her match-high 23 kills in the fourth game, including two consecutive kills to close out the set.

Shaw and the Chaps raced out to a quick lead in the first game while cruising to the relatively easy win. The six-point Westlake win proved an exception as both teams then engaged in a high-powered dual that Bennett called “another classic between the two top teams in the state.”

Westlake leaned on Shaw and Paige Caridi (17 kills) to attack Amarillo, while the Sandies relied on a frenetic defense keyed by libero and Most Valuable Player Eden Williams (25 digs). The Sandies seemed to win every lengthy rally, preventing the Chaps from stringing together any runs after the opening stanza.

Micah Nolan led Amarillo with 17 kills, but Robinett had her team’s biggest points. In the pivotal third game, Robinett fended off a game point by Westlake with a kill that evened the score at 25-25 and provided that game’s final point with a kill down the middle of the court.

“I’m happy we made it this far, but I’m frustrated that we lost,” Shaw said, her silver medal dangling loosely from her hand. “Hopefully, they [the Chaps] get back here next year and beat them.”

Chaps stave off Cinco Ranch in semis

Westlake survived a spirited rally by Katy Cinco Ranch for a 25-18, 25-23, 25-27, 26-24 win a Class 5A state semifinal Friday.

The victory propelled Westlake to its third consecutive state championship match and fifth in the past six years.

Shaw had 26 kills to lead both teams. Caridi added 17 kills and 17 digs for Westlake, and Ella Praisner had 14 kills.

Jennifer Sanders had 17 kills to lead Cinco Ranch (40-7), which made its first appearance in the state tournament.

News and notes<img

Neither Westlake nor Amarillo hit at a high clip in the championship match. Amarillo had 25 hitting errors on 160 swings and tallied a .206 hitting percentage. The Chaps committed 27 hitting errors on 165 swings and had a .218 hitting percentage. … Sara Shaw took 130 of Westlake's 332 swings in the two matches. She compiled a cumulative 49 kills and 17 hitting errors. … Ella Praisner had an efficient tournament on the right side with 23 kills and five hitting errors on 47 swings. … Chap libero Tessa Hunt had 36 digs in the tournament. … Middle blocker Kenzie Hume had seven kills against Amarillo. … Amanda Welsh had 27 assists in each match to lead the Chaps.