WACO -- The Bishop Lynch volleyball team takes on Antonian in the TAPPS 6A Volleyball Semi-Finals. The two teams will face off at Robinson High School in Waco, TX today at 1:00 PM.

Get to know Bishop Lynch:
Bishop Lynch finished second in TAPPS 6A - District 1 with a 30-10 record and went 9-3 in district play. The Friars played in numerous prestigious tournaments and in Volleypalooza they went 7-2 with wins against Lovejoy and Lake Travis. The Friars were matched up against Incarnate Word Academy in the TAPPS area round and defeated them 3-0. They then faced off against TAPPS District 2 three-seed Concordia Lutheran and also defeated them 3-0.

Get to know Antonian:
Antonian finished first in TAPPS 6A - District 2 with a 37-11 record and went undefeated in district play, going 12-0. Because of their number one seed, the Apaches received a bye in the Area round and were matched up against John Paul II in the regionals, where they swept the Cardinals 25-18, 25-14 and 25-17.

Common Opponents
The Friars and the Apaches have played five common opponents this season: John Paul II, Concordia Lutheran, Incarnate Word Academy, Lake Travis and Rouse. Against these five teams, Bishop Lynch is 6-0 and Antonian is 5-2. Overall BL went 16-2 in sets played against the five schools and Antonian went 17-5 in sets played against the five schools.
 
The Friars defeated Lake Travis 2-1 (8/27), defeated Rouse 2-0 (8/26), defeated John Paul II twice, 3-1 (9/22) and 3-0 (11/1), and swept both Incarnate Word Academy and Concordia Lutheran in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Apaches lost to Lake Travis 2-1 (8/18), lost to Rouse 2-1 (8/19), defeated Concordia Lutheran 3-1 (9/24) and 3-0 (10/15), swept Incarnate Word Academy both times they played, and swept John Paul II in the regionals.

Players to Watch:

Bishop Lynch:
Lauryn Lambert - Lambert has been the go-to for the Friars all season and there is no reason that should stop in the Friars' biggest game of the season. During the Friars' 7-game win streak, she is averaging 11 kills per game and nearly four kills per set.

Lyric Berry - Berry, who just signed to play collegiate volleyball at Providence, is a leader for the Friars and will need to bring her A game in today's match. Antonian has a prolific offense, so in order to win, Berry and the Friars will need to make the most out of every swing for a chance to play in the finals.

Maddie Smotherman - Smotherman is a defensive star for the Friars. Since Antonian has so much offensive firepower, the sophomore libero will need to be ready to dig up all of the Antonian kills.

Antonian:
Kalina Calvillo - The junior outside hitter has had an outstanding 2022 season. She leads the team in both kills (519) and hitting percentage (.343). She had 12 kills with a .400 hitting percentage against JPII in their regional match.

Sujeili Mermella - The senior hitter is a great counter-punch to her teammate Calvillo. She has over 315 kills on the season and had 11 kills in the regional match against JPII. She also has a great serve, as she leads the team with 150 aces on the season. To put that into perspective, Lambert leads the Friars this season with 58 aces.