Victoria Carter embraces being a leader. She enjoys the task of being a person that younger teammates seek guidance from. And she’s opened to the prospect of often being called upon to deliver crucial plays for her team in pivotal moments.

A year ago, though, the D’Hanis High School volleyball standout briefly wasn’t so keen about the follow-my-lead disposition.

It was in mid-November 2019, in a high school gymnasium in Brenham, and Carter was an emotional wreck. The Cowgirls had been swept by Round Top-Carmine in the Region IV-1A semifinals, costing them a bid for a third straight trip to the UIL state tournament.

A 6-foot middle hitter, Carter took the loss hard. She felt her play was underwhelming.

“At the end of the game, I just cried; had a little meltdown,” Carter said. “I just wasn’t there. The whole season, I had been playing great, and then we got to Round Top and I just got into my head. I didn’t play to the best of my ability. As soon as we walked out of the gym, I was, ‘next year I have to show up and show out.'”

Carter fulfilled the personal pledge. She had 31 kills, a .442 hitting percentage, 20 digs and three aces as D’Hanis outlasted Fayetteville 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 15-13 last Friday in the Region IV-1A final. The Cowgirls overcame a 13-10 deficit in the final set to earn a third appearance in the UIL state semifinals in the past four seasons. The performance came days after Carter tallied 29 kills, a .279 hitting clip, 14 digs and three aces as her team nudged Round Top-Carmine 25-21, 27-25, 24-26, 20-25, 15-13 in the regional semifinals.

D’Hanis (25-4) plays two-time defending state champion Neches (27-4) in a Class 1A state semifinal match at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Round Rock Westwood High School. The winner advances to take on either Sterling City or Blum on Saturday in the state final at the Culwell Center in Garland.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, state-semifinal contests will be played at neutral sites agreed upon by the two schools.

“We all want it so badly, but it being her last year, I can definitely tell she’s playing really hard,” D’Hanis sophomore middle hitter Mabry Herrmann said of Carter. “She’s an awesome athlete to look up to. I’m super lucky to have her as a mentor. She’s taught me a lot.”

For Carter, she is simply paying forward what 2019 graduates Chloe Cowan and Cassandra Zerr provided for her two years ago when Carter was a sophomore and in her first varsity season. Cowan and Zerr were integral in the Cowgirls advancing to the state tournament in 2017 and 2018. They lost to eventual state champion Bronte in five sets in the semifinals in 2017 and to state finalist Water Valley in the identical round in 2018.

“I’m very passionate about volleyball and about being a leader,” Carter said. “I want the younger girls to be able to look up to me and know that I’m there for them.”

Carter had her teammates’ back last week in five-set wins over Round Top-Carmine and Fayetteville. She had a combined 60 kills, a .350 hitting percentage, 34 digs and six aces. The win vs. Round Top-Carmine was especially pleasing for D’Hanis, because it avenged a loss to the same opponent, in the same round of the playoffs, a year earlier.

“That was definitely our motivation,” Cowgirls sophomore setter Jolie Frosch said. “We’ve just really, really been determined to work hard and get through the season doing our best. It feels amazing. Now we’re just trying to do the best we can and play the best we can.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1