This weekend the all four San Antonio Saints teams participated in the TAIAO State Volleyball Tournament.
Varsity and Junior Varsity were in the High School division. Middle School A and Middle School B were in the Middle School division.
Pool Play
Each team competed well against teams from all over the state of Texas. At the end of the pool play Varsity and Middle School A were undefeated and won their pools.
Varsity went in the 3A bracket, and Junior Varsity made the 2A bracket. Middle School A made the Gold bracket, and Middle School B made the Silver bracket.
Bracket Play
On Saturday October 15th all teams competed in their respective brackets.
Junior Varsity lost their first match with the Lubbock Titans in three sets. In their final match against Valor Prep of Waco they lost the first set, but won the next two to claim victory.
Middle School A lost their first match versus the BV Mustangs MS in three sets. They then mirrored JV in winning a three set match against a team from Valor Prep of Waco.
Middle School B lost their first match versus NB Thunder A, then played FEAST B where they lost the third set 14-16. Middle School B’s coach had this to say after the tournament:
I am so unbelievably proud of our girls. They did really well battling such hard teams this weekend. They’ve come SO far from our very first tournament. It is genuinely such an honor to coach them!
Coach Jeni Vega
Varsity entered bracket play ranked second in point percentage. Their first game of the day was versus the BV Mustangs. The Mustangs had a loud student section that made the trip from Bryan/College Station to cheer for their team. After a slow start the Saints caught their stride and won the match 25-15, 25-20.
Varsity’s next match was against home town rival FEAST Varsity. The first set was a close back-and-forth battle that ended with the Saints winning 27-25. In the second set the Saints found a way to pull ahead and finished the match 25-16.
The championship did not start at it’s scheduled start time of 1:00pm. The morning flight was done, but there were still a lot of High School teams in the gym as the Middle School (afternoon) teams were arriving to warm up which made for a very crowded FORCE Gym.
At one point Saints Junior Varsity was playing toward a three set win on Court 2 while Saints Varsity was playing for a championship on Court 3!
The championship match pitted Saints Varsity vs the North Central Academy Pioneers. Like the Saints, the Pioneers finished first in their pool then won two games.
The championship was best of 5 sets instead of best of 3. The Saints and Pioneers each won a set to begin the match. In the third set the Saints started to get a handle on the Pioneers front blocking and won. In the fourth and final set the Saints took charge and built a lead they would never give up.
Nessa Burton hit the final serve over that was not returned. Varsity wins state again!
| 3A State Championship | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Sets Won |
| North Central Academy | 19 | 25 | 21 | 18 | 1 |
| SA Saints Varsity | 25 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Our Varsity squad has worked so hard this season and fought hard this weekend to win back-to-back State Championships!
Their endurance, tenacity, energy, and encouragement for each other is unmatched. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you ladies.
Next stop: Nationals!
Jennifer Vega