Following Tuesday's victory against Brandeis, the Johnson Jaguars are getting the consistency they need for a playoff push.
Finding firm ground has been Johnson volleyball’s challenge this season. However, recent results reveal the Jaguars are reaching the consistency they need to secure a playoff berth. They displayed it Tuesday when they rallied for a four-set win against Brandeis after dropping the first one in a key District 27-6A victory at Littleton Gym .
“We definitely have our ups and downs during a game, and we go on that roller coaster ride that we shouldn’t,” senior setter Emma Gonzalez said. “But I feel the way we can keep our momentum is to continue to work hard in practice.” SIGN UP: Your free all-access pass to the best high school sports coverage in San Antonio The Jaguars improved to 21-15 overall and 6-2 in district. Johnson and Clark are tied for second, one game behind first place Reagan . Brandeis fell to fourth at 5-3. The victory marked the Jaguars’ first victory against Brandeis since 2018. Brandeis carried a 12-match winning streak against Johnson, including a victory in their first-round district contest. “It shows we can conquer anything we set our minds to and if we’re all locked in and present in the moment, good things can happen,” senior outside hitter Campbell Guess said. Initially, it looked like Brandeis’ dominance against the Jaguars would continue after they won the first set 25-14. The Broncos jumped to a 5-1 lead in the second set before the Jaguars tied it, 6-6. That’s when Johnson took control of the match before finishing off a 14-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-19 victory. “I think it says whenever we work together, it shows how good we can be,” Johnson senior libero Alli Butrum said. “And it showed in this match, especially, because we lost that first set by so much. None of us showed up, and then the second set we changed it.” That ability to turn things around wasn’t always there, especially early in the season. The Jaguars went 12-11 against strong competition in the North East/Northside tournament, the New Braunfels Fraulein Volleyfest and the Leander Volleypalooza. While the Jaguars didn’t find the consistency they wanted in those tournaments, it showed coach James Feicht and assistants Robin Hanssen and Corina Benavides what needed to be fixed. “We learned that it matters what we do in practice, and coach Feicht has been very on us about that – like we need to practice how we are going to play,” Butrum said. “I feel like we are all better at doing that, and now we are playing better and we’re pushing through these tough matches.” CAST YOUR VOTE: The Express-News Athlete of the Week poll is now open! The Jaguars handed Reagan its only district loss, defeating the Rattlers in four sets on Sept. 20. In true roller-coaster fashion, they followed with a four-set loss against Churchill before rebounding with wins against Clark last Friday and Brandeis on Tuesday. “These teams are all really good, and the fact that we’re able to push through and come out on top shows how much fight we have,” senior middle blocker Ada Awagu said. “Our worst down was Churchill. We definitely weren’t locked in, and we weren’t ready to come out and fight. We learned from that, and we’re ready to fight in the second round.” The Jaguars are a veteran team. Gonzalez is a four-year letterwinner. Guess, Awagu, senior outside hitter Ava Castillo, senior right-side hitter Sophia Arantes and senior middle blocker Payton Melin have been on varsity since they were sophomores. Guess , Awagu and Castillo are the leading attackers. Awagu has a team-best 76 total blocks. Gonzalez has 609 assists. Butrum has 319 digs. Freshmen Sierra Seal and Kya Flores have been big contributors. “It’s a big morale booster because these past couple of years have been very hard for us,” Gonzalez said. “We have had so many different people on the team and so many different personalities and it’s kind of funny that this is our last year together and all the pieces are finally clicking. Winning a game like this proves how good of a team we are.” With six matches remaining, things are far from settled in the district race. The Jaguars still have matches against Reagan and Clark remaining in addition to Madison , which is in fifth place, and Churchill. The good news is the Jaguars have already pinned their best season record since 2018. They made the playoffs only once in the last four years. “We were in a low place where we hadn’t won so much,” Gonzalez said. “Seeing how the program has skyrocketed over the last four years is so incredible.”
Brandeis Broncos San Antonio The Jaguars Churchill Freshmen Sierra Seal Rattlers Guess Johnson Alli Butrum Emma Gonzalez Gonzalez Ava Castillo Reagan Campbell Guess James Feicht Clark Leander Volleypalooza Sophia Arantes Corina Benavides Robin Hanssen Kya Flores Ada Awagu Payton Melin Littleton Gym Northside North East Churchill Madison New Braunfels Fraulein Volleyfest Awagu The Express-News Athlete
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