Road to State: Byron Nelson Volleyball’s Rise to the Top
In sports, we often hear about a team having a “rebuilding season”. Byron Nelson’s varsity volleyball team is a testament to hard work and consistency over several years of rebuilding. From 2016-2018, Byron Nelson was within arm’s reach of a…
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Continue ReadingIn sports, we often hear about a team having a “rebuilding season”. Byron Nelson’s varsity volleyball team is a testament to hard work and consistency over several years of rebuilding. From 2016-2018, Byron Nelson was within arm’s reach of a state championship, but it just slipped through their grasp in the heavy-hitting Class 6A division. Lead by a coach with a history of volleyball prowess in her playing and coaching career, Brianne Groth has built a powerhouse volleyball program in Trophy Club, TX. Finally, in 2019, she coached her team to a state title after seasons of just falling short. This is a team that I predict will be contenders for the state title for years to come.
Photo Credit: Tom Fox – The Dallas Morning NewsOne player who has been the backbone and all-star for this Byron Nelson team is Paige Flickinger of class 2022 who has committed to LSU to continue her volleyball career. In my many years of coaching and playing, I have been most impressed by Paige as an outside hitter that plays six rotations. Every aspect of her game is phenomenal. On defense, she has quick feet and covers tons of ground in middle back. As a blocker, she reads the setters very well and adjusts quickly to hitters’ swings. On offense, she works hard in transition and out of system balls to be disciplined in her hitting approach and then place the ball around the defense. As an overall player, LSU is going to be impressed very quickly by Paige as she performs beyond her years with a high volleyball IQ. Along with a state title, Paige has also earned individual honors including Gatorade Player of the Year, Under Armour All-American, 6A Player of the Year in 2019, Texas Player of the Year, amongst many other awards.
In 2019, the Byron Nelson team defeated Plano West in the state finals in a 5-set nail biter to become the Texas UIL 6A State Champions. In seasons prior, the Bobcats of Byron Nelson came close to making the state finals but fell just short in the quarterfinals and semifinals, sporting a 42-2 record in their 2018 season. Coach Groth pushed her girls to work even harder in the 2019 season to go all the way to the state tournament and come out with a title. Ending with a 50-2 record, they finally earned their state championship lead by Flickinger and Payton Chamberlain, the 6A Setter of the Year in 2019 and Wyoming volleyball commit.
Photo Credit: Matthew Smith – The Star TelegramAlthough the current state of sports in on hold due to the COVID-19 quarantine, Byron Nelson has returning players next year that can lead them to another back-to-back state championship under the guidance of Coach Groth. I predict that this team will be a state contender in the 6A division next year, and many more to come, as this program has tons of local support and upcoming players who will become all-stars in the future for their varsity team.