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3 Dripping Springs Tiger Volleyball brings home title
The Dripping Springs High School volleyball team captured their third UIL State Championship in program history on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over Katy’s Tompkins High School in the UIL 6-A title match at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Behind a balanced offensive attack, the Tigers hit .315 with 41 kills and just 12 errors to capture their first state championship since 2015. Senior Mackenzie Plante (14 kills), freshman Henley Anderson (10 kills) and senior Natalie Arnold (7 kills) were nearly flawless, accounting for more than 75 percent of the team’s offensive production. Defensively, sophomore Ashley Euston totaled four of the team’s 10 blocks and senior Taylor Tjelmeland recorded a team-high 11 digs.
The opening set was point for point most of the way before the Tigers reeled off five consecutive points to grab a 21-18 lead. The Falcons fended off three, straightset points, but a block by Euston and sophomore Riley Certain and a Plante kill sealed the 26-24 set win for Dripping Springs.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the second frame by opening up an 11-4 lead and never looking back en route to a 25-15 victory. In the third set, Dripping Springs recorded a matchbest .393 hitting percentage, once again opening up a large lead early on before Anderson registered the match-winning point in a 25-19 set win.
Plante was named the UIL 6A Tournament MVP, adding four digs, three service aces and two blocks to her stat line against Tompkins. Anderson and senior Ava Williamson were selected to the All-Tournament Team for their performances. Anderson led the Tigers with 19 kills in a 3-1 win over The Woodlands on Friday, while Williamson followed with 13 kills.
The Tigers, making their sixth state tournament appearance in the last 10 years, finished the season with a 43-13 record to tie for the third-most wins in school history.
