One of Westlake’s seniors capped a three-year varsity career by making plays from every spot in the rotation. Another played like a seasoned veteran in a surprisingly successful varsity debut.

Together, Paige Caridi and Avery Bashaw helped Westlake continue its dynastic, decade-long run with a District 15-5A championship and a playoff run that didn’t end until the Region II finals.

Caridi earned her third varsity letter – and second consecutive District 15-5A Most Valuable Player award from the Westlake Picayune – in typical fashion. The 5-foot-11-inch outside hitter, a stellar student who will play for Dartmouth University next fall, led Westlake with 486 kills and garnered an impressive 41.2 kill percentage. However, Caridi’s value went beyond her ability to smack balls to the floor. Caridi ranked second on the team with 434 digs and 64 aces. She led the team in passing efficiency and blocked 42 shots.

In other words, Caridi did a lot of everything while leading Westlake to a 43-6 record and an unblemished district mark.

While Caridi again proved herself as the district’s most valuable player, circumstance made Bashaw Westlake’s most pivotal performer. The Chaps entered the season with only one experienced setter, and that player – Lisa Ghidoni – suffered a summer injury that lasted into the season. But enter Bashaw, a 5-10 setter who emerged as a steadying force in her lone varsity season.

Bashaw averaged 10.3 assists a game and allowed Coach Al Bennett to run a standard 5-1 rotation that took advantage of Westlake’s versatile front row. She also emerged as Westlake’s most consistent server (74 aces, .227-percent serving efficiency) and played well on the front row with 33 blocks and 62 kills on a 43-percent kill percentage.

Senior Cailin Bula, a 6-foot-1-inch outside hitter joins Caridi and Bashaw on the Picayune’s six-player all-district team. The SMU recruit hammered 424 kills, blocked 55 shots and had 355 digs while co-captaining the Chaps with Caridi.

The Westlake Picayune’s All-District 15-5A volleyball team

Most Valuable Player: Paige Caridi, Sr., Westlake
The versatile 5-foot-11-inch outside hitter led district champ Chaps in kills, ranked second on team in aces and digs.

Newcomer of the Year: Avery Bashaw, Sr., Westlake
First-year varsity player led district with 10.3 assists per set, paced team with 74 aces.

Coach of the Year: Thomas Kane, Austin High
Only Westlake kept second-place Maroons from perfect district record.

All-district team

OH Paige Caridi, Sr., Westlake: Dartmouth commit played every spot in rotation .

OH Cassidy Vaughn, Sr., Bowie: Boston College commit led district in kills.

OH Cailin Bula, Sr., Westlake: SMU commit game had 3.4 kills, 2.8 digs a set.

S Avery Bashaw, Sr., Westlake: 5-10 setter also had 3.2 digs a set, 33 total blocks.

OH Haley Bianco, Sr., Bowie: Dawgs’ emotional leader a defensive force.

MB Torre Blake, Sr., Austin High: East Carolina recruit led team in blocks, had 3 kills a set .

Coaches All-District 15-5A volleyball team

Most Valuable Player: Paige Caridi, senior, OH, Westlake

Most Valuable Hitter: Cassidy Vaughn, senior, OH, Bowie

Most Valuable Setter: Avery Bashaw, senior, Westlake

Most Valuable Defensive Player: Haley Bianco, senior, OH, Bowie

Newcomers of the Year: Cristie Ingram, junior, libero, Westlake; Carly Johnson, sophomore, OH, Austin High

First team
OH Tory Paranagua, So., Anderson
MB Torre Blake, Sr., Austin High
OH Wren Overesch, Jr., Austin High
MB Jamie Ludwig, Sr., Bowie
OH Cailin Bula, Sr., Westlake
MB Hannah Baptiste, Sr., Westlake

Second team
OH Grace Weghorst, Jr., Westlake
MB Maddi Williams, Sr., Westlake
S Kate Brodnax, Jr., Austin High
L Blaire Barnes, Sr., Austin High
OH Micaela Johnson, Sr., Del Valle
S Maya Fisher, Sr., Bowie
OH Victoria Podrebarac, Sr., Anderson
S Sarah Money, Jr., Anderson

Westlake honorable mention
S Lisa Ghidoni, Sr.

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Young swimmer sets state mark

Regan Barney, a Westlake resident and seventh-grader at West Ridge Middle School, set a new Texas and South Texas record in the 11-12 girls 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4 minutes,34.81 seconds in the Longhorn Aquatics November Unclassified meet at the University of Texas Jamail Swim Center this weekend.

Caridi claims prep Heisman

Westlake senior volleyball player Paige Caridi has been selected as a School Winner of the 2011 Wendy’s High School Heisman Program, which honors the nation’s most esteemed high school seniors in partnership with the Heisman Memorial Trophy Committee.
The leadership award-honorees are well-rounded young men and women who excel in learning, performing and leading in the class room, on the field or court, and in the community. Caridi was judged based on her academic achievements, athletic performance in volleyball and track and field, community-leadership, and involvement in various extracurricular activities. Like The Heisman Memorial Trophy, the Wendy’s program believes in the pursuit of athletic and academic excellence with integrity. And in addition to honoring student accomplishments, the Wendy’s High School Heisman Program inspires all future high school students to pursue their higher education goals. The culmination of this process takes place in December in conjunction with the National Heisman Memorial Trophy presentation during Heisman Weekend in New York City during a broadcast on ESPN networks.

Please submit all shorts to sports @westlake-picayune.com

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“This is something that these girls have dreamed about for a long time,” said Boyd coach Kelly Quinn, who has guided the Broncos since their inaugural season in 2006. “And I want them to live this dream, but I also want them to keep working point to point, because we have some more volleyball to play.”

Boyd (44-6) leaned on the right arm of junior Megan Mollett, who exploited one of the few Chap weaknesses for a match-high 21 kills. Mollett makes up for her 5-foot-8-inch height with explosive ups, and she had at least six kills in each set.

“We’re small on the right side, and it creates some matchup problems for us,” Westlake coach Al Bennett said. “And we haven’t seen a player like [Mollett] in a long time.”

Despite the play of Mollett, Westlake (43-6) had its chances to pull out each set. The Chaps closed to within 24-22 in the opening frame before Mollett ended the set with a kill. In the second set, Westlake trailed 24-23 before Boyd slapped down an errant pass.

Chap senior Paige Caridi triggered a third-set rally as Westlake closed the lead to 21-19, but Boyd closed the match out with a 4-1 run capped by a kill from, fittingly, Mollett.

“We played from behind too much, and we made too many errors down the stretch,” Bennett said. “They made the plays, and we didn’t, and that’s very disappointing.”

Senior Cailin Bula finished her Westlake career with a team-high 15 kills, and Caridi chipped in 13 kills. Classmate Hannah Baptiste added seven kills and three blocks for the Chaps.

Team swamps Lake Highlands

Behind a balanced attack and strong service game, Westlake rolled into the regional finals with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-14 win over Lake Highlands in Friday’s semifinal at Sam Houston State. Bula and Grace Weghorst tied for team-high honors with 10 kills apiece, while Caridi had six kills.

Maddi Williams and Baptiste combined for nine kills from the middle-blocker position. Avery Bashaw had 31 assists and three of the Chaps’ nine aces.

News and notes

Westlake suffered through an unusual spate of hitting errors at the regional tournament. The Chaps, who averaged 3 ½ hitting errors per set prior to the Region II tournament, had a total of 35 hitting errors in six sets at regionals. … Paige Caridi led Westlake with 29 digs in the two regional matches, and libero Cristie Ingram added 27 digs. … The Chaps have appeared in 11 consecutive regional finals. … Westlake, which also fell in last year’s Region II finals, hadn’t missed an appearance at the state tournament in back-to-back seasons since 1999-2000.

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Generation next

Westlake’s athletic department had a busy fall signing day Nov. 9 with nine Chaps signing letters of intent to play collegiate sports. Participants in the signing ceremony included: (front row, from left) Emily Singletary, Savannah College of Art and Design golf; Mariana Sims, Wake Forest golf; Kathy Dzienkowski, Dartmouth softball; Heather Elswick, Arkansas gymnastics; (back row, from left) Westlake assistant athletic director and volleyball coach Al Bennett; Jaimie Grace, Texas State basketball; Cailin Bula, Southern Methodist University volleyball; Paige Caridi, Dartmouth volleyball; Hannah Baptiste, University of Texas at Arlington volleyball; Paul Corbae, Michigan swimming; and Westlake athletic director and football coach Darren Allman.

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Senior captain Cailin Bula fired four of her 10 kills during a 7-1 Chap run that closed out Westlake’s 25-11, 25-18, 25-23 victory in a Class 5A Region II quarterfinal contest at Austin’s Delco Center. Two of those kills came on assists from outside hitter Paige Caridi, who had several digs during the chaotic final moments that mirrored what Westlake coach Al Bennett called “a disjointed match.”

“I think the serving kept both of us out of our offensive systems,” Bennett said. “We struggled with ball-control, and we were just trying to make some shots down the stretch.”

Bula, a 6-footer who will sign a volleyball scholarship with SMU tomorrow morning, said that Westlake had to match the energy of a Round Rock squad desperate to prolong its year.

“We knew they’d come back,” Bula said. “Their whole season was on the line.”

Senior Trisha Langley keyed the Dragon comeback with eight kills, but no other Dragon had more than four kills.

In comparison, Westlake leaned on the dual threat of Bula and Caridi (13 kills) to guide the team’s attack. Grace Weghorst added eight kills, and setter Avery Bashaw doled out 31 assists and tied libero Cristie Ingram for team-high honors with 19 digs.

The Chaps will face Lake Highlands 7:30 p.m. Friday in a Class 5A Region II semifinals at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.

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But the reputation couldn’t hold up against an aerial assault from the Chap attackers in Westlake’s 25-16, 25-15, 25-15 win at Bryan Rudder High School. With the win, Westlake (41-5) advanced to Tuesday’s Class 5A Region II quarterfinal contest against Round Rock. The match starts at 7 p.m. at Austin’s Delco Center.

Led by outside hitters Cailin Bula (17 kills) and Paige Caridi (15 kills), the Chaps unleashed 52 kills with just seven hitting errors. That senior duo combined for just four hitting errors on a combined 62 swings.

“We just flat-out executed,” Westlake coach Al Bennett said. “We are not making a lot of errors so far [in the playoffs], and we’re tough to beat when we play like that.”

Grace Weghorst, who bounced back from a twisted ankle incurred during a first-round win over Stony Point, added seven kills on 15 swings. Middle blockers Hannah Baptiste and Maddi Williams each chipped in six kills and a block with just one hitting error.

Setter Avery Bashaw dished out 41 assists, and libero Cristie Ingram had 19 digs while fending off a Kingwood (35-11) service game that seemed to target her spot on the court.

The presence of Weghorst surprised Bennett, who said that his high-flying junior did not practice in the days preceding the match.

“She played better than we could have hoped,” he said. “She suffers a little in the long rallies, but it was nice to have her out there. Hopefully, that ankle will keep getting better and better.”

The Chaps will need Weghorst against a streaky Round Rock squad Tuesday. The Dragons (24-19), who fell to Westlake in four sets earlier in the year, have played particularly well in playoff wins over Humble Atascocita and Bowie, Bennett said.

“They’re rocking and rolling,” he said. “When they’re hot, they’re hot. And when they get cold, they have problems. We’re going to have to be real steady and not allow them their big runs.”

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And midway through the first set of Westlake’s Class 5A Region II bidistrict matchup with Round Rock Stony Point Tuesday at Vandegrift High School, it appeared that Bennett’s worst fears were moving fast toward realization. The scrappy Tigers held a 17-14 lead and all the momentum, and starting outside hitter Grace Weghorst had to limp to the Chap bench with a twisted ankle.

But then Westlake ¬– which has advanced to at least the regional finals in 11 consecutive years ¬¬– recaptured that familiar playoff intensity and secured a 25-22, 25-14, 25-19 win.

“One-and-done is horrible,” Bennett said. “There’s nothing worse than one-and-done, and you better believe that was in the back of my mind.”

Bennett wasn’t the only one nervous about the Chaps’ playoff opener. Senior setter Avery Bashaw spent the entire day battling the jitters before making her playoff debut, but she delivered 35 assists while calming down a club shaken by Weghorst’s injury.

“I was scared all day,” Bashaw said. “I woke up scared, I guess because it’s my first playoff game. It’s definitely a lot different. Your mentality has to be different, and you can’t let the little things get to you. You have to play hard, because you never know what can happen. You saw that tonight with Grace.”

The Chaps (40-5) overcame Weghorst’s injury and Stony Point (30-17) with a balanced attack. Cailin Bula led the team with 13 kills, and Paige Caridi added 10 kills. Hannah Baptiste hammered seven kills as Bashaw worked the middles more after Weghorst went down, and Corinne Grandcolas came off the bench for six kills and 2 ½ blocks.

“We ran the middles more often, and I’d run Corinne on the right side every once in a while because they weren’t blocking there,” Bashaw said. “She did really well. She came in and blocked a lot of balls. I don’t think anyone of us thought she could do that, so she really stepped up.”

Grandcolas, the only sophomore on the squad to garner significant playing time this season, filled in for Weghorst and delivered a stirring performance. The lanky 5-foot-11-inch outside hitter may not have the explosiveness of the high-flying Weghorst, but she provided a bigger block at the net and made Stony Point pay for its lack of defensive attention.

“As I told Corinne, she’s been preparing for this all year,” Bennett said. “She had to step up when needed, and she was needed tonight. She did a great job blocking and got some kills. She doesn’t have what Grace has as far as getting up, but she still has ups. And she’s a better blocker than Grace.”

The team’s most experienced player stepped up in the match’s pivotal run. Caridi, who led the Chaps with flour aces, fired her first ace at the end of a six-point service run that gave Westlake a 19-17 lead in the first set. Stony Point battled back to within 23-22, but Baptiste and Caridi traded kills to end the set.

Aside from a brief run in the third set that pulled them within 19-18, the Tigers never again threatened Westlake. Still, Bennett credited the veteran District 16-5A squad for their effort.

“They played better than when we saw them,” Bennett said, referring to a scouting trip he took to Saturday’s playoff seeding match between Stony Point and Westwood. “But in the playoffs, everyone’s record is the same. They’re all good teams.”

Setter Dana Faught, the Tigers’ career leader in assists, had 25 assists and four kills to lead the Tigers. Bridget Crawley, Rachel Johnson and Rachel Owens each had six kills for Stony Point.

News and notes

Westlake will face Kingwood in an area playoff match Friday at 7 p.m. at Bryan Rudder High School. … Lisa Ghidoni replaced Weghorst in Westlake’s service rotation and contributed six service points. … Westlake blocked eight shots. …. The Chaps didn’t commit a hitting error until the third set. … Cristie Ingram led the team with an unofficial 17 digs.

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He just didn’t expect to need them to seal a win.

But like they’ve done for most of this season, those seniors met Bennett’s expectations in a 25-5, 25-10, 25-22 victory that capped a perfect march through District 15-5A. The final lineup included team captains Paige Caridi and Cailin Bula as well as Hannah Baptiste, Avery Bashaw, Lisa Ghidoni and Maddi Williams. They replaced some of Westlake’s reserves with the third set tied at 20-20, and the Chaps promptly reeled of a brief run punctuated by an ace from Caridi and a kill by Bula that ended the match.

“I really was planning on bringing all of them in at 20 [points] to give them a good send-off, but I didn’t know that we’d need them for the win,” Bennett said. “Having to come in tied at 20 and not make any mistakes shows what kind of players they are.”

Judging by the reaction from Westlake’s players, the taut final moments offered a nice respite from the string of district routs that has marked the Chaps’ march to a sixth consecutive district title.

“It was kind of fun to come in at 20-20,” Caridi said. “That’s what we do in practice, and it was fun to do it one last time on our court. We won it with a kill, too, so that was kind of like our last hurrah on this court.”

The Chaps (39-5 overall, 10-0 in district) will open the playoffs against either Round Rock or Westwood next week, while Anderson (22-20, 4-6) will face District 16-5A champion Georgetown .

Westlake looked in playoff form in the first set, racing to leads of 10-0 and 22-1 against the shell-shocked Trojans. The Chaps committed just two errors in that first set while tallying 14 kills. Williams proved particularly dominant at the net, tallying five of her six kills and three of her four blocks in the frame. At one point, Anderson’s Tory Paranagua glanced up at the scoreboard before a Chap serve and only shook her head.

“Oh, my God,” she muttered to no one in particular.

The Trojans, who engaged playoff-bound Bowie and Austin High in five-set battles earlier this season, didn’t have a prayer against a Chap team that committed just two hitting errors and two service errors through the first two sets.

“As you saw in that first set, we are tough to beat when we don’t make mistakes,” Bennett said. “It was a really good showing against a good team.”

Grace Weghorst led Westlake with eight kills, and Bashaw delivered 19 assists despite playing about half the match at setter. Bashaw also had four of Westlake’s 13 aces.

Sarah Money cashed in five kills to lead Anderson.

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* clinched playoff spot

* clinched playoff spot