The Aledo Ladycats volleyball team recently completed arguably its best season in almost a decade and did so in dominant fashion.
The Ladycats (35-8) held a top-5 spot in the state rankings for most of the season, won District 5-5A Division I with an unblemished 12-0 record and accomplished this feat without dropping a single set in each of their league matches. From the opening serve, Aledo faced stiff competition during a 18-7 pre-district slate of matches.
Aledo opened the 2024 season with a home win in straight sets over a talented Liberty Christian squad, who entered the year as defending state champions of TAPPS 6A District 1. Then, the Ladycats won 17 of their next 24 matches ahead of their district domination, which included a third-place finish in the Katy Tournament, a top-8 finish in the Northwest Tournament and an Arlington Classic Tournament championship.
After that, Aledo took its talents to the postseason, where it continued to roll. The Ladycats topped Birdville in four sets in their bi-district match and went on to sweep its next three opponents (Burleson, Amarillo and Colleyville Heritage) in the area, regional semifinal and regional final rounds, respectively.
The victory over Colleyville Heritage, led by star senior Suliane Davis, was especially satisfying for Aledo after the Lady Panthers ended Aledo’s 2023
campaign in a four-set regional match. Aledo got its revenge over Colleyville Heritage by a final score of 25-23, 25-17 and 26-24.
After Aledo claimed the Region I crown, it faced the McKinney North Lady Bulldogs in the Ladycats’ first state semifinal appearance since 2017. The Ladycats, who rode a 24-game winning streak into the match, nearly overcame a 2-1 deficit in the match. Aledo forced a winner-take-all fifth set, but the Ladycats came up just short to McKinney North by a final score of 21-25, 25-19, 13-25, 26-24 and 15-13. McKinney North went on to lose to Flour Bluff in five sets during the state championship match.
Once the season concluded, several Ladycat players were honored in the 2024 All-District 5-5A Division I Awards list. Senior middle Kinley Elms, committed to Lamar University, and junior outside hitter Alyssa Todd, an ACU commit, were named Co-MVPs of the district.
Elms also earned a spot on the all-state roster in Class 5A Division I. Meanwhile, senior back row specialists Kenrie Pruitt (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi commit) and Ella Meador (University of Texas El Paso commit) shared defensive honors as the Co-Defensive MVPs. Senior setter Ava Reding, an Iona University commit, was named as the district’s Server of the Year while senior middle Haley Lowe earned the superlative of Blocker of the Year. Ladycats head coach Claire Gay was selected as the Coach of the Year.
Senior setter Ava Reding, an Iona University commit, was named as the district’s Server of the Year, while senior middle Haley Lowe earned the superlative of Blocker of the Year. Ladycats head coach Claire Gay was selected as the Coach of the Year.
Senior middle Ella Isbell, senior defensive specialist Logyn Denbow and junior setter Sophie Frank were named to the all-district first team. Meanwhile, senior Morgan Estevez and junior Ali LoBaugh earned second-team recognition, and junior Tatum Kosse was selected to the honorable mention list.
Furthermore, eight seniors: Denbow, Elms, Estevez, Isbell, Lowe, Meador, Pruitt and Reding represented Aledo well in the classroom as academic all-district selections. In addition to the seniors, seven juniors – Frank, Kosse, LoBaugh, Sarah Schroeder, Karsyn Trott, Kailey Hamilton, Kenley Hamilton and Lily Lufkin received academic all-district recognition as well.
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