Highland Park wins the Northwest ISD Volleyball Classic, beating the current No. 1 team in the state

Highland Park defeated three teams ranked in the state’s top four on Saturday at the Northwest ISD Volleyball Classic.

It concluded with a 25-17, 16-25, 25-17 victory over The Woodlands, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, in the Championship match. Highland Park won the Northwest ISD Volleyball Classic for the first time since 2008, which was the last time it went to the state tournament.

Highland Park started the day with a 25-23, 26-24 win over Colleyville Heritage, the state’s third-ranked 5A team. Then in the semi-finals, Highland Park beat Prosper, the state’s No. 1 6A team25-22, 27-25.

“They were the best team we played with,” Highland Park coach Michael Dearman said of Prosper.

The tournament featured 12 teams ranked by zone, including eight of the top 10 teams in Class 6A. Highland Park (14-1), ranked No. 15 in the state in 6A, went 9-0 in the tournament and also had victories over Coppell (25-17, 25-13), Frisco Reedy (16- 25, 25-17, 25-17) and Frisco Wakeland (25-22, 25-20).

“We were in the championship last year and lost in the final to Flower Mound,” Dearman said. “We played against some of the best teams in the state and had great competition. We were really challenged, but the team was really resilient. When it became difficult, they mobilized.

UCLA commitment Sydney Breon was named tournament MVP for Highland Park, Harper Hall was named tournament outstanding passer and Georgia Tech commitment Zoe Winford was named to the All-Around Team the tournaments.

The semifinals featured a clash of the two best teams in the Dallas area – No. 1 Prosper and No. 2 Highland Park. Nebraska promise Ayden Ames had 11 kills for Prosper (11-2) in the loss, Alabama promise Callie Kieffer had 27 assists and eight digs and Hannah Beauford added five blocks.

Prosper then beat Southlake Carroll 25-20, 25-19 in the third-place game as Kieffer had 30 assists, Louisiana-Lafayette promise Ella Chaney recorded 11 kills and Brie Martin had 17 digs. Kieffer, Chaney and Ames were named to the All-Tournament Team for Prosper.

Trophy Club Byron Nelson also had an outstanding tournament, beating Fort Bend Ridge Point 25-22, 25-22 to win the Silver Bracket title. In the semis, Byron Nelson, ranked No. 4 in the region in 6A, beat No. 3 Keller 23-25, 26-24, 25-20. Byron Nelson also defeated area-ranked Denton Guyer and Rockwall, as well as defending 5A State Champion Lovejoy, in the tournament.

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