Three weeks ago, the Clemens and Madison high school volleyball teams’ seasons were on divergent paths.

Clemens appeared as if it was steamrolling toward an undefeated District 27-6A championship. Madison had lost three in a row and likely needed to win out to have any hopes of earning one of 28-6A’s playoff berths.

The Mavericks won their final three contests, including a winner-take-all showdown vs. Johnson. Clemens lost two of its final three matches after a 7-0 start to district play and tied Steele and New Braunfels for the league crown. Steele then topped Clemens in a match for the No. 1 playoff seed.

None of that mattered, though, on Tuesday at Veterans Memorial High School. Clemens started and finished strong and outlasted Clark 27-25, 18-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-10 in the opener of a Class 6A bidistrict doubleheader. In the nightcap, Madison dropped Steele 25-20, 25-22, 25-15.

The playoffs are about starting anew, focusing on the present while forgetting about the past and not looking to the future. Clemens and Madison displayed how having such a mindset can pay huge dividends.

Clemens collected its first playoff win since advancing to the UIL state tournament in 2019 behind the play of outside hitters Marcette Williams and Isabella Andrews, middle blocker Mckenna Gobin, setter Kamrynn Clay and libero Tayae Garcia. Gobin, a freshman, netted six kills and 4 1/2 blocks. Clay had 44 assists and 1 1/2 blocks. Garcia totaled 23 digs.

Each had pivotal roles for the Buffaloes, who jumped to a big lead and fended off a rally by Clark to win the opening set, setting a tone for the match. Clemens won the first and third sets and Clark (27-16), which had a seven-match winning streak snapped and was led by seniors Arianna Roberson, Jaylin Lott and Ava Houston and junior Giselle Orellana, prevailed in the second and fourth frames to push the contest to a fifth set.

“Everybody was great about understanding and doing our job,” said Andrews, who finished with 21 kills, 18 digs and 1 1/2 blocks. “If we needed some help, it was OK if someone else went in. I think that was a great part of our teamwork tonight.”

In the decisive frame, Williams had four of her 17 kills and Andrews added three kills as Clemens surged to a 7-1 advantage. Clark closed within 11-9 on a kill from Roberson, but the Buffaloes scored four of the final five points, winning the match on an ace from senior outside hitter Meg Simons. Clemens (25-19) was 1-4 this season in five-set matches before Tuesday.

“It is definitely a lot of stress, but when you have such a great team like mine, you’re always able to depend on each other when times get hard,” Williams said. “We always just somehow come together and push through.”

Madison (33-14) has found success with the same type of unselfish chemistry. Whether it was defensive specialist Joana Brito tracking down a ball off the court and, with her back to the net, returning it to keep alive a play, or Aubrey Lyssy and Kaylee Cavazos each flirting with recording triple-doubles, the Mavericks rode big runs in each set to win.

“We spent the whole afternoon together, bonding and communicating, so we were preparing for this match,” said Madison sophomore middle blocker Deylen Mendivil, who had six kills and five aces. “It didn’t matter that it was Halloween. We zoned it out as soon as we got on the court.”

Steele (23-26), which had a six-match winning streak halted and started strong in the first two stanzas behind the play of Sawyer Lloyd (nine kills, two blocks), Desiree Beverley (seven kills, 13 digs), Carly Dossett (23 assists, nine digs) and Sydnee Rodrigez (2 1/2 blocks), could stem the tide once Madison got rolling.

Cavazos (eight kills, .533 hitting percentage, 13 assists and 10 digs) and Lyssy (eight kills, 16 assists, 10 digs and 2 1/2 blocks) sparked a run in the third set that saw Madison turn a 7-5 advantage into a 17-9 lead. Mendivil netted all five of her aces during the set.

“This is the playoffs, so anything can happen,” Lyssy said. “I think it just came down to energy and who wanted it more. We’ve worked too hard for this all summer and all preseason. I’m really proud of everybody.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1