Alex Bothe left the Culwell Center in Garland on a Friday afternoon last November, a landmark season just concluded, and figured things were going to be different moving forward.

Bothe knew expectations — those inside and outside of the Alamo Heights High School volleyball program that she is the head coach — would skyrocket. It was the natural progression for a team that had just played in the UIL Class 5A state tournament and was slated to return the majority of its roster.

The proverbial bull’s eye was going to be on the Mules’ back. The intensity with which opponents would play Alamo Heights would certainly be much higher.

“We knew it was going to be tough, and the girls were very much aware of that,” Bothe said. “We talked about how we are going to have to work a lot harder.”

Bothe’s examination was commonplace for a coach whose team had just played on its sport’s biggest stage. Little did see know that she was still two months away from an announcement that would add even more obstacles in a pursuit of a coveted prize.

In February, the UIL’s biennial realignment and reclassification landed Alamo Heights into District 26-5A with New Braunfels Canyon, Dripping Springs, Boerne Champion, Kerrville Tivy and Seguin.

The University Interscholastic League, which oversees extracurricular activities for public schools in Texas, also moved Northside ISD’s Clark and Brandeis into District 28-6A along with the North East ISD schools.

S.A. Christian, a TAPPS 5A state finalist in 2019, was elevated to 6A and placed into a league with Antonian and Incarnate Word, both longtime private-school powers.

In essentially a blink of an eye, the San Antonio landscape became home to several super districts comprised of a who’s who of area programs dripping in tradition and success.

“Our district has definitely increased in the level of play,” Reagan coach Rachel Torvik said. “I’m very grateful for it because iron sharpens iron. If we didn’t have (Clark and Brandeis) with us, I think we would’ve definitely struggled being able to have that level of play going into playoffs to be successful for, hopefully, a good regional, state run.”

District 28-6A started the second half of league competition over the weekend, while TAPPS 3-6A and District 26-5A will do the same this week.
The chase for district championships and playoff berths should be fierce.

Alamo Heights went 16-0 in league play in 2019 while competing in a district with San Antonio ISD schools, losing only four sets. With New Braunfels Canyon, Dripping Springs, Boerne Champion, Kerrville Tivy and Seguin as league opponents, the room for error has gotten much smaller.

In the previous five seasons, New Braunfels Canyon (2015), which dropped from Class 6A in the realignment, Alamo Heights (2019) and Dripping Springs (2018) each advanced to the UIL state tournament, while Boerne Champion (2018), Kerrville Tivy (2017) and Seguin (2016) each made it to a regional final. Alamo Heights defeated Dripping Springs in last year’s Region IV-5A final.

The Mules were swept by New Braunfels Canyon and had to rally to win in five sets vs. Dripping Springs in the first round of district action.

“It’s different now, going to five sets — last year we didn’t have to,” Alamo Heights senior libero Ella Sanders said. “But we kept our mentality straight and we never gave up on each other. Canyon was a hard loss, but that is something we’re differently going to learn from and build off of.”

Such is the reality of a new circumstance, where one lapse could mean the difference between making and missing out on a postseason spot. Just how strenuous is this survivor-of-the-fittest journey? Kerrville Tivy, for example, is in the middle of a stretch where it will play consecutive matches vs. New Braunfels Canyon, Boerne Champion, Dripping Springs and Alamo Heights in 11 days.

“It definitely can be mentally taxing, but it’s definitely fun,” said Alamo Heights senior setter Ruby O’Brien, who is committed to Texas Wesleyan. “Every game is a game we need to prepare for and win. Our district is definitely harder, but it’s good. We needed a harder district. Last year, we just won everything in three sets.”

District 28-6A, like 26-5A, isn’t a cakewalk.

Already stout with Reagan, Churchill, Johnson and Madison, the league that has long comprised North East ISD schools was strengthened with the addition of Brandeis and Clark.

During the past decade, Churchill twice advanced to the state tournament (2013 and 2014), while Reagan (2016) and Johnson (2011) each made one appearance. Brandeis (2016), Clark (2018 and 2019) and MacArthur (2010) made it to a regional final during the span.

“I thought it was definitely going to be a challenge,” Clark junior outside hitter Kendall Harrington said. “It’s a lot of good competition.”

All one has to do is look at Madison.

The Mavericks have been a consistent playoff qualifier, but couldn’t quite crack through the triumvirate of Reagan, Churchill and Johnson. That changed a year ago when they grabbed third place behind co-champions Reagan and Churchill.

Madison has sustained the momentum, recording what is believed to be its first district win over Churchill in nearly a quarter-century and defeating Brandeis.

At the halfway point, Brandeis and Reagan are tied for first, Madison is third and Clark is fourth, one game ahead of longtime nemesis Churchill for what might be the league’s final playoff spot. Clark outlasted Churchill in five sets in the first round of district.

“We knew it was going to be different this year, but we knew we had to fight,” said Reagan senior outside hitter Julia Aleman, a St. Mary’s commit. “Seeing where we are now, it just shows we have to keep fighting because anything can happen. We’ve always held ourselves to a certain standard whenever we played against big teams, and now that we’ve had a new addition, it’s just motivation for us to play better and to a higher level.”

Katy Siebert was a freshman in 2017 when S.A. Christian played Antonian in a warmup match in preparation for the TAPPS playoffs that season. Antonian, featuring two Division I players, won convincingly in three sets and went on to capture a state championship.

Siebert and the Lions would also advance to the state tournament in coach Robin Gerlich’s first season at the helm, but walked away that evening with a better understanding of what it would take to play against the elite.

Competing at the prestigious Turner Classic in Pearland the past two seasons sped up the process for S.A. Christian, which a year ago topped defending Class 5A state champion Humble Kingwood Park and took Dallas Highland Park the distance at the three-day tournament.

The payoff is coming this season as S.A. Christian sits atop TAPPS 3-6A at the midway point. The league only has four teams, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality.

Antonian has advanced to the state tournament six times since 2010, winning twice (2010 and 2017), and the regional final in each of the past two years. Incarnate Word has made it to state three times and the regional final on three other occasions during the same span.

It’s a big leap for S.A. Christian, which has been to state each of the past three seasons and made it to the regional final in 2016, coming out of a district that was virtually a two-team race between itself and Holy Cross.

“Honestly, I think when we first heard (we were moving to TAPPS 3-6A) we were kind of intimidated,” Siebert said. “But then, everything that happened with COVID, we weren’t even sure we were going to even have a season. We were just so excited to play, that we completely forgot we had moved up.”

The Lions’ transition has gone well. They rallied to defeat Antonian in four sets on Oct. 15, just two days after knocking off Incarnate Word.

“This year, there’s nobody that is an easy game,” Siebert said. “It’s a competitive district, and we know that we have to go 100 percent every single time.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1