By Jacob Richman

Varsity volleyball finished the season with an overall record of 26-14 and a district record of 9-3, helping them finish as Co-District 9-6A runner ups.

The team has seen a significant improvement in their performance. They haven’t had a 26-win season since 2008 or placed above third in their district since 2009.

The team got off to a strong non-district start with a record of 17-11. A win against Carthage, a team that recently lost in the 4A playoff final, and John Horn, a team that has kept Richardson out of the playoffs for the past two years, were early highlights.

“We had so much talent on the team this year, and it was amazing to be a part of such a successful program,” senior Riley Wertzberger said.

District play started with a loss to Coppell (ranked 8th in Area 6A), but then the Lady Eagles went on a nine-game district win streak, including a win against rival Pearce for the first time in nine years, and a win against Coppell for the first time in the history of the volleyball program.

Both Lake Highlands and Richardson finished district play with a 9-3 record, forcing a tiebreaker game to determine the second and third seed in the Area playoffs. Lake Highlands won 3-1, giving Richardson the third playoff seed from District 9-6A.

After the regular season concluded, the Eagles went on to beat Rowlett for the 4th time this season to become bi-district champions, advancing to the UIL area playoffs.

“It was a new experience for our team,” Coach Eric Miracle said. “Only Riley [Wertzberger] had ever played in a playoff game.”

In a tough area playoff game against Region 2 District 11 champions Rockwall Heath, the team bowed out of the playoffs.

The Eagles received many district honors. Sophomore Natalie Perdue and senior Raven Presley were named district attacker and blocker of the year respectively. Miracle was named as the district coach of the year.

Sophomores Amaris Carter, Payton Cerny, and senior Riley Wertzberger received first team all-district. Juniors Allie Cunyus, Morgan Frisby, and senior Verlyncia Nelson received second team all-district. Junior Logan Jones received an all-district honorable mention.

Sophomore Taylor Black, juniors Shion Kabasele, Natalie Perdue, Raven Presley, and Jones, and seniors Naomi Brown and Wertzberger were Academic All-District, which denotes a 90+ weighted average in the first grading period.

“It gives the team confidence to earn these honors, realizing that we can be the top one or two teams in the district,” Miracle said.

Presley recently committed to play volleyball at Midwestern State in Wichita Falls and Wertzberger committed to Georgetown in Washington D.C.

The team will lose three rotation players as varsity looks for new players to step up.

“I have kids coming back that are hard workers and very coachable,” Miracle said. “I expect us to be right back where we were.”