The Bishop Lynch volleyball team finished their non-district play with one of their best records of all time. Twenty-one wins are the most wins a BLVB team has had going into district since 2009 when they went 41-9. This is a program with an incredible history, so to have the success they are now, proves that this team could find more success come district play.

Throughout the tournament's crazy pre-district season, the Friars had some spectacular individual and team efforts. Lauryn Lambert earned All-Tournament honors in both Volleypalooza and the Allen Open. Lambert was also named to the AVCA Phenom Watch List for the second year in a row. Lyric Berry earned All-Tournament honors at the Marcus Showcase. Cate Hatfield hit the 1,000 assist milestone while Leah Oyewole had her 500th career kill.

As we know, volleyball is a team sport and just having individual accolades might not result in wins. Under second-year coach Shea Jenkins, the Friars play very well in a cohesive unit. You can tell that these 17 student-athletes care about each other on and off the court, always walking with each other in the hallways and sitting with each other at lunch.

On the court, this team has proven that they are ready for the big stage. You could see it at Volleypalooza when they finished 11th out of 69 teams, going 7-2 over the three-day tournament in Round Rock. At the Marcus showcase in August, the ladies went 3-1 and defeated multiple top 6A schools. This season you can see that the Friars have that mental edge that they were missing in past years.

The Friars wanted to schedule big 6A programs and play in these prestigious tournaments so they could get ready for the gauntlet of their district schedule. The Friars district is different this year as they will be playing John Paul II, Nolan Catholic, Parish Episcopal, Prestonwood Christian, Trinity Christian, and Ursuline. That will be 12 total district games this season.

Prestonwood Christian Academy
Prestonwood is the favorite to win the district and is the top-ranked team according to the Dallas Morning News in the 5A-Others classification. Prestonwood finished second at Volleypalooza and beat 6A #1 Highland Park in the tournament. They are 24-1 this season and look very much like a number-one team. Sophomore Macaria Spears and junior Jady Livings lead the way for the Lions, combining for 506 kills. 

• Friars at PCA on September 13th // PCA at BLHS on October 6th. 
• Common Opponents
  • Prosper
    • BLHS lost 2-0
    • PCA won 3-2
  • DasCHE
    • BLHS won 3-0
    • PCA won 2-0

Nolan Catholic
Bishop Lynch defeated Nolan last year in the playoffs, but the Vikings returned some of their key players this season. They are 16-8 on the season and have won 7 of their last 8 games. Nolan opens up district play at Ursuline on Tuesday. 

• BLHS vs. Nolan Catholic on September 20th // BLHS at Nolan Catholic on October 13th. 
• Common Opponents
  • Liberty Christian
    • BLHS won 3-0
    • Nolan lost 3-0

John Paul II
JPII is 19-4 on the season and has performed very well in the tournaments they have played in. Most recently they dropped an away game to Hockaday 3-1. Hockaday has also beaten Parish and TCA this season. They open up district play at Parish on Tuesday. 

• BLHS at JPII on September 22nd // BLHS vs JPII on October 4th. 
• No Common Opponents

 
Trinity Christian Academy
TCA is 8-14 on the season and the only team in the district with a losing record. BL shouldn't take them lightly though, as the Trojans have won two out of the last five meetings against the Friars. TCA hosts Parish to open district play on Thursday. 

• BLHS vs. TCA on September 27th // BLHS at TCA on October 20th. 
• Common Opponents
  • Plano West
    • BLHS lost 3-0
    • TCA lost 2-0

Parish
Parish has one of the best players in TAPPS, senior Harper Cooper. Cooper and company haven't played in many games so far but have a great record of 6-1-1. The Panthers open up district play at home against Ursuline. 

• BLHS at Parish on September 29th // BLHS vs Parish on October 25th. 
• No Common Opponents
   

Ursuline Academy
Ursuline is 10-8-1 on the season this year and has been on a hot streak, winning their last six games while not dropping a single set. The Bears are building up a solid program under second-year head coach Caitlin Wernentin. Ursuline opens up district play at home against Nolan on Tuesday.

• BLHS vs. Ursuline on October 4th // BLHS at Ursuline on October 27th. 
• Common Opponents
  • Lake Travis
    • BLHS won 2-1
    • UA lost 2-0
  • Wylie
    • BLHS won 2-1
    • UA lost 2-0
  • Hillcrest
    • BLHS won 2-0
    • UA won 2-0

Season Leaders for Bishop Lynch

Hitting:
Lauryn Lambert - 302
Lyric Berry - 205
Leah Oyewole - 165
Paloma Gonzalez - 92
Riley Seitz - 58

Assists:
Cate Hatfield - 383
Jessie Canavan - 302
Maddie Smotherman - 82

Aces:
Lauryn Lambert - 36
Delaney Moon - 27
Lyric Berry - 23
Jessie Canavan - 21
Cate Hatfield - 20

Digs:
Maddie Smotherman - 301
Lauryn Lambert - 185
Jessie Canavan - 143
Delaney Moon - 140
Cate Hatfield - 130

Blocks:
Lyric Berry - 68
Riley Seitz - 31
Lauryn Lambert - 26
Leah Oyewole - 26
Paloma Gonzalez - 22

To view everyone's season stats, click here.