Lake Travis opens its volleyball rivalry week with impressive win over Dripping Springs

Colby Gordon, Austin American-Statesman
·3 min read
Lake Travis outside hitter Camden Besecker, left, goes high to block as Dripping Springs right-side hitter Ava Lyle sends a shot over the net during Tuesday night's match at Lake Travis. The Cavaliers won in four games.
Lake Travis outside hitter Camden Besecker, left, goes high to block as Dripping Springs right-side hitter Ava Lyle sends a shot over the net during Tuesday night's match at Lake Travis. The Cavaliers won in four games.

LAKEWAY — After a year of being in the same district and then meeting for a regional final, Dripping Springs and Lake Travis are more than just another district foe to each other.

And with the proximity of the two schools and many of the players competing for the same club, there’s no lack of familiarity.

The Cavs may have had more motivation Tuesday night — and they looked like the more energetic side — after losing last fall in a classic five-game playoff match to the Tigers, who eventually won the Class 6A state title. And it was clear after Lake Travis' Avery Hamlin ripped two kills to finish off the Cavs’ 25-22, 25-15, 24-26, 25-19 win in a critical District 26-6A match that this was a contest they had circled on the calendar.

“It’s very personal for us,” said Hamlin, one of the area’s top players who is headed to play for Duke next fall. “We’re close to each other and a lot of girls know each other through the net, so it’s not just a big win because of their skill and high level.”

There’s no bad blood between the two programs — Lake Travis’ Adyson Davis called fellow sophomore and Dripping Springs outside hitter Henley Anderson “my best friend,” — but this contest and the Westlake games have higher chances to bring out the ultimate internal drive.

That was certainly the case for Hamlin, who was top-notch as a hitter with 15 kills and made numerous hustle plays that kept a ball alive or were key in getting the Cavs back into their offense.

Lake Travis right-side hitter Adyson Davis sends a shot over the net during the Cavaliers' 25-22, 25-15, 22-24, 25-19 win over Dripping Springs on Tuesday. The Tigers are the defending Class 6A state champions, but the Cavaliers are the defending District 26-6A title holders.
Lake Travis right-side hitter Adyson Davis sends a shot over the net during the Cavaliers' 25-22, 25-15, 22-24, 25-19 win over Dripping Springs on Tuesday. The Tigers are the defending Class 6A state champions, but the Cavaliers are the defending District 26-6A title holders.

“Avery is a calm soul, but she can be extremely fierce on the volleyball court when she needs to be,” Lake Travis coach Brandace Boren said.

While Hamlin was impressive, it takes a complete team effort to defeat a team like Dripping Springs, and that’s exactly what Boren received. Setter Kacey Kazmierski was brilliant with an assortment of dumps, back sets and quick sets, while middle blocker Carrington Jaimes was a force at the net.

Davis joined Hamlin in having an impressive night hitting, with Kathryn Shelton and Camden Besecker also knocking down several key shots.

“We were nonstop tonight,” Hamlin said. “Coming in, our big thing was stopping runs. They would get a giant kill, and we would come back with two more. And Kacey was amazing. She does so much stuff that the crowd doesn’t notice. The speed of her sets really helps the hitters.”

Lake Travis middle blocker Carrington Jaimes hits a shot during Tuesday night's win over rival Dripping Springs. The two volleyball powers share players with close connections. "It's kind of fun to get out there and play your friends," Cavaliers hitter Adyson Davis said, "but you also want to beat your friends."
Lake Travis middle blocker Carrington Jaimes hits a shot during Tuesday night's win over rival Dripping Springs. The two volleyball powers share players with close connections. "It's kind of fun to get out there and play your friends," Cavaliers hitter Adyson Davis said, "but you also want to beat your friends."

After gutting out a win in the first game, Lake Travis dominated the second, at one point leading 18-8. And it seemed a sweep might be possible when the Cavs rallied from an 18-12 deficit to take a late 23-22 lead in Game 3, but the Tigers eventually forced a fourth game.

There, Lake Travis led from start to finish with Davis pounding five of her kills to give the Cavs what she called an “emotional” win.

“It’s kind of fun to get out there and play your friends, but you also want to beat your friends,” she said. “They knocked us out of playoffs last year … so it was not just district play, but last year play. Losing the seniors, we really had to come back and fight for ourselves to beat an amazing team.”

Anderson’s 19 kills and Riley Certain’s 10 shots led Dripping Springs (36-3, 7-1), with Presley Alford making 34 assists and Ella Kuhn adding 26 digs.

Though it’s a crucial victory, there’s no break for Lake Travis.

The Cavs (34-4, 7-0) welcome Westlake on Friday and can take a firm lead in the district race by completing a sweep of the first half of the district’s double round-robin.

“We’ve definitely been thinking about this week after it was put on the schedule,” Hamlin said. “We’re feeling good after today; but every team has a new team this season, and we have a couple of days to prepare.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Still fueled by playoff loss, Lake Travis downs Dripping Springs