In a span of nine matches, Westlake flashed the form that Coach Al Bennett hopes will carry the team to another berth in the state tournament.

The Chaps (18-1) rolled to the championship at Fraulein Volleyfest in New Braunfels last weekend without dropping a set. However, Bennett praised the reasons for the wins more than the results themselves.

“We played very, very well,” he said. “It’s as good as we’ve looked in a long time, offensively. We just had tremendous balance. Look at the numbers; they’re off the charts, offensively.”

OK, Coach, let’s look at those stats: 155 kills to 18 hitting errors on 287 swings; a hitting percentage of .413; a kill percentage of .502; and six players with at least 30 kills.

“We can go to six different players for a kill,” Bennett said. “The past few years, everyone knew that we were going to go to [2010 Westlake grad and former player of the year] Sara Shaw. Now, we can set five or six players any time we want.”

Westlake’s 25-22, 25-20 win over A&M Consolidated in Saturday’s championship match typified the team’s tournament. Five Chaps had at least three kills, including nine from all-tournament outside hitter selection Paige Caridi. Lauren Mitchell, an outside hitter chipped in seven kills, and middle blocker Kenzie Hume added five kills on eight swings.

For the tournament, Caridi led Westlake with 50 kills. Hannah Hood had 48 total kills while earning all-tournament honors. Cailin Bula also had 48 kills, and Mitchell ended the tournament with 37 kills.

Setter Avery Edwards completed Westlake’s all-tournament triumvirate after doling out 104 assists, but the Chaps’ offense flowed even with Edwards on the bench; Amanda Welsh, the other primary setter in Westlake’s 6-2 rotation, had 101 assists.

“And we played good defense, too,” Bennett said, specifically citing libero Tessa Hunt, who averaged 4.6 digs a set.

The tournament also served as a regional preview of sorts for Westlake, which returned to Class 5A’s Region II in last winter’s UIL realignment. Defending regional champion Georgetown competed in the tournament along with Region II powers A&M Consolidated, Round Rock Westwood and Stony Point.

Bowie, Westlake’s fiercest District 15-5A rival, also played in the event but suffered a 25-8, 25-20 shellacking at the hands of the Chaps in round four.

Westlake also beat Hays (25-16, 25-15), Victoria East (25-8, 25-6) and Stephenville (25-8, 25-14) to reach the elimination round. The team then knocked off New Braunfels Canyon 25-13, 25-9 and Brenham 25-23, 25-16 to reach the quarterfinals.

The Chaps beat Smithson Valley 25-13, 25-15 before topping Amarillo Tascosa 25-21, 25-17 in the semifinals.

News and notes

Westlake beat venerable Region IV rival San Antonio Churchill 20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20 Aug. 18 in San Antonio. … Senior outside hitter Ella Praisner sat out Westlake’s non-tournament matches against New Braunfels Canyon and Churchill last week with a shoulder injury. She returned to collect 32 at Fraulein Volleyfest. Coach Al Bennett said she will likely be limited by the shoulder injury all season. … Sophomore outside hitters Grace Weghorst and Michelle Schuler have been moved up to the varsity and will likely spend most of the season with the squad, Bennett said.