Calallen High School Volleyball

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Volleyball Time! State Ranked #2 Calallen Fightin' Lady Wildcats claw the Flour Bluff Lady Hornets in Three straight sets.

Article Credit: Corpus Christi Caller-times.

Calallen makes quick work of Flour Bluff By Stuart Duncan (Contact) Sunday, September 23, 2007 Calallen senior Kelsey Schwirtlich finished the match with 10 kills, 15 assists and an ace. CORPUS CHRISTI — State-ranked Calallen didn't have as much time to prepare for District 31-4A volleyball rival Flour Bluff this time, but the senior-laden Wildcats didn't need it Saturday. No. 2 Calallen scored 14 of the match's first 20 points in rolling to a 25-14, 25-14, 25-9 triumph over the Hornets at Calallen High School. The defending District 31-4A champion Wildcats (26-4 overall) improved to 2-0 in district play, while Flour Bluff (14-11) fell to 1-1 in the district. "It was a little disappointing that we didn't have an extra day to prepare for them because Flour Bluff is always ready to play us -- the rivalry is always there," said Calallen coach Lupe Cardona, whose team played its district opener against Alice this past Wednesday instead of Tuesday because of a scheduling conflict with the officials Tuesday night. "But, I'm very pleased with how (well) the girls played and how they kept their focus today." "Calallen is a tough team and they've great athletes," Hornets coach Joni Luna said. "I think our athletes are just as good -- we just didn't step up (and show that) today. We're capable of playing a lot better and giving them a much, much better match." In a match featuring three Division I college volleyball signees -- including Wildcats senior OH/S Kelsey Schwirtlich (who signed with UTSA), Calallen senior OH/S Courtney Oertli (Villanova) and Flour Bluff senior MB Holly Watson (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) -- it was Schwirtlich and her teammates grabbing the limelight from the start. The Wildcats -- who feature nine seniors -- built commanding leads in each game to take the Hornets out of it early. "Flour Bluff is one of the best teams in this district, and we knew we were going to have to work really hard all week (in practice) to beat them," said Schwirtlich, who had 10 kills, 15 assists and an ace in the match. "This was in our house, but I can't wait to play them (at their place) -- it's going to be exciting." "It feels really good to beat Flour Bluff right off the bat, but we have to stay focused," said Calallen senior OH Amanda Haven, who with Schwirtlich led the team with 10 kills. "I expect (the Hornets) to really raise their game the next time we play. I know they're going to bring it whenever we go play them at their house." Flour Bluff did take a 1-0 Game 2 lead Saturday on a kill by senior C.J. Downey and later tied Calallen at 6, before a missed serve by the Hornets and four straight service points by Wildcats senior DS Colter Tope sparked a 5-0 Calallen run for an 11-6 lead. After a block by Flour Bluff's Arlene Thompson, Oertli added four straight service points and sophomore OH Cassie Tripp, Schwirtlich and Haven had kills during the spurt to push the Wildcats' lead to 16-7. The Hornets charged back with a 5-0 run thanks to four service points by senior Mikeya Edwards to close within four, before another kill by Schwirtlich started a 9-2 Calallen run to close the game out. Schwirtlich and Wildcats senior MB Angela Hook combined for six kills during that key stretch. Wildcats junior middle blocker Jackie Matula finished the match with a team-high two blocks, Oertli contributed a team-best 17 assists and Calallen seniors DS Tamara Wostal and LBO Becky Hook combined for a team-high 20 digs. Edwards, Watson and Downey combined for 12 kills to lead Flour Bluff, while Hornets' setter Kindall Stephens had nine assists, Downey 11 digs and Bailey Hollins, Thompson and Edwards one block each. The rematch between the teams will be Oct. 9 at Flour Bluff High School. "(Flour Bluff's gym) is always a very tough environment, and it's going to be tough to go into their place and beat them the (same) way that we did here," Cardona said. "It's going to be a different story when we go over there -- we expect that." "If we show up and play the way that I know our team is capable of playing -- we'll compete with them," Luna said. "We didn't compete today." CALALLEN def. FLOUR BLUFF, 25-14, 25-14, 25-9. Aces Calallen: Kelsey Schwirtlich 1, Tamara Wostal 1. Assists Flour Bluff: Kindall Stephens 9. Calallen: Courtney Oertli 17, Schwirtlich 15. Blocks Flour Bluff: Arlene Thompson 1, Bailey Hollins 1, Mikeya Edwards 1. Calallen: Jackie Matula 2, Angela Hook 1. Digs C.J. Downey 11, Stephens 7. Calallen: Wostal 13, Becky Hook 7. Kills Flour Bluff: Edwards 5, Holly Watson 4, Downey 3. Calallen: Schwirtlich 10, Amanda Haven 10. RECORDS Calallen, Overall, 26-4, District 2-0. Flour Bluff, 14-11, 1-1. JV FB def. Calallen, 25-9, 25-20. FR FB def. Calallen, 25-16, 25-20.