VYPE's Preseason Volleyball Top 20 -- No. 2 The Cy Woods Wildcats

Click to view image

The Cypress Woods Wildcats
Coach: Ashley Ahlfinger
2011 Record: 41-6
Postseason: Fell in the Regional Finals to Cy-Falls

By Austin Staton

There is no other way to put it: Cypress Woods was a dominant force on the high school volleyball circuit last fall as they cruised through District 17-5A competition only dropping one set en route to a perfect 18-0 record in league play.

However, the Wildcats would ultimately be tripped up by their district rival, Cy-Falls, just one game shy of a trip to San Marcos for the state tournament. That didn’t set well with senior Chloe Collins.

“Every time that we step into the gym, we set goals for ourselves,” says the 5-foot-8 setter. “Once we reach that goal we set another goal so we are always reaching higher than what we know we can do. Last year, we fell short.”

After graduating seven seniors, the Wildcats will turn to Collins (470 assists, 47 blocks), Marissa Guzman (378 kills, 469 digs) and Victoria Arenas (654 digs, 38 aces) to provide that muchneeded leadership to help develop team chemistry for a young lineup.

Although Cy-Woods doesn’t possess overwhelming size on their roster, they possess speed, quickness and athleticism on the offensive end which should pose problems for opposing teams.

“We have a really quick offense,” says Collins. “Our biggest team weakness is our size because we’re not very big on the front line, so we will have to use our quickness on the edges to help us.”

As VYPE’s preseason No. 1 team to begin last season, expectations among the senior class is that there shouldn’t be a drop off – and rightly so with the talented trio returning. Collins, who is verbally committed to play volleyball at Texas, is one of the marquee setters in the country while Guzman (Houston) is a versatile player on both ends of the floor and Arenas (Texas A&M) controls the backline for the Wildcats.

“As a team, I want to be remembered as the team that made it all the way to the end and won it all,” says Collins.

Can you dig it?

Cy-Woods absolutely dominated 17-5A opponents last fall but it was a Cy-Falls team that the Wildcats had swept in their prior two meetings that clinched the Region III title. The Wildcats’ trio of seniors is on a mission to prove their one of the best teams not only in the city of Houston, but the state. The key to the season will come down to their ability to play consistent defense as their lack of size will create mismatches on the blocks.