Johnson City is now just two wins away from a complete sweep of its district schedule after a pair of 3-0 victories last week against Center Point and Junction.
Last Tuesday, Johnson City (6-0 in district) hosted Center Point in what ended up being a dominant win for the Lady Eagles. The threeset victory saw Center Point held to 7, 9 and 15 points, making for a decisive victory for Johnson City. Casey Loewer recorded 11 kills and an ace for the Lady Eagles, while Ava Craig had eight aces.
It was the kind of team performance that JC head coach Heather Wilson is looking for when her team is in action.
“That was our focus in practice,” Wilson said. “Cleaning up our side, playing team Johnson City Volleyball and making a statement early.
Center Point made it as hard as it could for Johnson City to win by stealing some of the momentum back late in the third set. Center Point put together a strong run before the Lady Eagles pulled away to secure the win.
“We really come together in hard moments like that,” senior Kathryn Johnson said. “It helps us win.”
Johnson City finished each of its games with Center Point in 2024 by winning both in three sets. The Lady Eagles allowed no more than 15 points in any of the six total sets.
On Friday, the Lady Eagles traveled to Junction for the second leg of that series. They won in three sets, holding Junction to 13, 14 and 15 points.
It was a balanced team effort in the win with contributions from the entire roster. Aizyln Gorum led the team with 10 kills, while Kathryn Johnson recorded five digs and two aces. Casey Loewer found success when serving, recording five aces to go along with her seven kills. Ava Craig set the table throughout the match and scored 25 assists. Junior Kinlee Fiero and sophomore Kendall Marshall lit up the score sheet as well, with each scoring five kills.
As with Center Point, Johnson City beat Junction in every set, holding them to no more than 16 points over the entire six sets that they played this season. So far in district play this season, Johnson City has beaten every team in three sets except Harper.
The final week of district play started after press time Tuesday. While the Lady Eagles have played very well over the past several weeks, Wilson would like to see her team use the final two regular season games as an opportunity to learn and prepare for the higher stakes in the playoffs.
“We kind of lost our way there for a minute,” Wilson said. “I think we’re doing a really good job for refocusing going into the second round, refocusing what are goals are going into the playoffs.”
Johnson City has not lost a match since August. The Lady Eagles are undefeated in district play and are ranked fourth in the Texas Girls Coaches Association state poll for Class 2A schools.
Johnson City traveled after press time Tuesday to Sonora. The Lady Eagles host Harper this Friday to wrap up district play.
