By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
The squeaking of the shoes. Kneepads being worn down to their padding. Intense net clashes where in some cases the potential victims run for cover to avoid feeling the violent impact of the struck ball. But in some cases, those victims turn into saviors diving to the floor to sustain the rally.
Welcome to the 2026 Texas high school volleyball season. This past Monday marked the first competition day of the season. However, most teams use this first weekend and the next two for tournament play.
Starting this weekend, NTX Varsity Sports teams will travel to all parts of the Westoplex and into Dallas. Then there are tournaments in greater Houston, Central Texas and greater San Antonio.
The goal is simple. Coaches cram as many matches as they can into their non-district schedules so they can identify their best six on the floor and who their key subs will be. That goes for the experienced teams and those who are rebuilding or creating a new vision.
Once the district season concludes, the playoffs begin Halloween weekend. All roads end at the state tournament Nov. 19-21 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
NTX examines the top storylines as this season begins.
A Decatur threepeat?
Well, you never know. But life is going quite well for Lady Eagles third-year head coach Stormi Snyder. It’s good to be her right now. You could probably count the fingers on your hand the number of times a head coach has won state titles in his/her first two seasons. Last year’s postseason run was so impressive, Decatur lost only two games.
Snyder now is going for the rarity of three straight championships in Class 4A Division I. There will be a bit of a rebuild. There always is. However, the tradition Decatur holds it’s fair to call this a reload rather than a rebuild.
A couple of stalwarts return to the front line with senior 6-0 right side Anna Wren, junior 6-1 OH Ava Green and senior 6-3 middle blocker Henley Watkins.
The Lady Eagles already started their season decisively with a sweep of Celina this past Tuesday.
Springtown’s push
The Lady Pines feel renewed and energized. They are coming off a record setting 2025. The program won single-season mark of 43 matches and advanced to the Class 4A Division I state quarterfinals. That was also the deepest playoff run in school annals.
Head coach Abby Zipoy’s is led by two veterans in senior outside hitter Ryleigh Strickland and junior Brooklyn May. Hopes are high for another strong season.
Springtown already started quickly winning both ends of a tri-match earlier in the week. The Lady Pines beat Peaster and Ponder. Ponder is noteworthy because that program is moving up to Class 4A.
The great theatre is that both Springtown and Decatur share the same district again in 7-4A. In case you’re wondering, you may want to circle the dates of these matches on the calendar. The first match is Sept. 8 in Springtown. The return match is Oct. 2 at Decatur.
New leadership: Eagle Mountain, Boyd
Perhaps the shocking news at the end of the 2025-26 school year was when Eagle Mountain head coach Catherine Foerster left to become the new head coach at LaVernia, the state power Decatur beat in the 2025 state finals.
Foerster quickly built Eagle Mountain into a presence in her two seasons. The Lady Knights won the 2025 4A Division II state championship. But with the school moving up to Class 5A Division II this fall, Foerster sought a new challenge.
The district gave the job to top assistant Hannah Seguin. Seguin understands how the program is moving into this new classification. She knows who is coming through and who is in the feeder system. The Lady Knights have begun the season 2-1.
At Boyd, the new head coach is Lynn Larson who comes over from Krum. Larson built a very consistent program at the Denton County school. She will be asked to maintain the high level of performance that the retired Clark Oberle established. Boyd is coming off winning the Class 3A Division II state title. The Lady Jackets are 1-1 through its first two matches.
Aledo to 6A
Lady Cats volleyball enjoyed its final two years of Class 5A Division I advancing to the state semifinals.
Claire Gay’s program is the answer to a trivia question. Aledo volleyball is the first program at the Eastern Parker County school to play as a Class 6A program.
Everything started right this past Monday when Aledo swept Keller in the season opener. Gay filled the 2025 schedule playing a large number of 6A programs in anticipation of the move.
Aledo is going into District 3-6A and will be the favorite. It should get a push from Weatherford and Granbury, who have had their share of going to the postseason. Arlington Martin has traditionally been the top program among all the Arlington schools. The Lady Warriors won the 2025 district championship.
The other subplot for Aledo is its district winning streak. The Lady Cats own a 35-game mark going back to 2023. The question will be can they sustain it moving up in classification.
Finally…
Speaking of threepeats, All Saints will be in pursuit of its third consecutive TAPPS 5A State Championship. The Lady Saints have been dominant in the process and consistently produced college-bound players. Mary Schindler begins her second year at the helm. This team will have the attention of everybody it meets.
The serves are in the air. There should be some known and surprising storylines to follow over the next three months.
