Cedar Hill Volleyball Plans to Build Upon Experience

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Cedar Hill volleyball players
Photo courtesy CHISD

(CEDAR HILL, TEXAS) The Cedar Hill High School Volleyball Team will head toward the desert later this month to build team chemistry and to compete in a tournament.

The Lady Longhorns will travel to a tournament in San Angelo – four hours southwest of Cedar Hill and an oasis just north of the Chihuahuan Desert – August 18-20.

“It’s a good tournament for the team to bond,” Cedar Hill second-year head volleyball coach Amanda Blackney said. “The girls sit down and really pay attention to their teammates.”

One of the highlights of the southwestern trip is a phone-less team dinner, where the scholar-athletes build rapport and team chemistry.

‘We Can Close Matches This Year’

The Lady Longhorns reached several milestones in Blackney’s first season with the program. They won 20 matches for the first time since 2017 and had the program’s first winning season since 2018. Cedar Hill defeated Duncanville for the first time since 2015 and nearly upset Mansfield Lake Ridge.

Moral victories, however, don’t exist in this program.

“We hung with teams last year and couldn’t quite close the matches,” Blackney said. “We can close matches this year.”

The Lady Longhorns will open the 2022 season at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Class 5A Mansfield Summit.

“They’re very athletic and competitive,” Blackney said of Mansfield Summit.

Cedar Hill returns 11 varsity players, including 10 juniors. Last season, the Lady Longhorns were the youngest team in District 6A-11.

This season, they’ll be in the middle of the pack, in teams of experience. The program is looking for its first trip to the postseason since 2018.

“We’ve had time to grow, develop and learn our system,” Blackney said. “We’re more aggressive and better conditioned, with better volleyball knowledge.”

In addition to the 10 juniors, Cedar Hill has three seniors – Jazmin Allen, Chloe Edwards and Syvannah Poore, each of whom will be a team leader, and one sophomore.

Junior Jamiyah Johnson has played varsity since her freshman year and is the reigning 6A-11 Co-Hitter of the Year.

In addition to the San Angelo Tournament, Cedar Hill will compete in the Crowley Tournament (August 11-13) and the Forney Tournament (August 26-27). Last season, the Lady Longhorns defeated McKinney (ranked seventh in the State), 2-1, at the Forney Tournament.

While Waco and Waco Midway are no longer in the district, Cedar Hill will welcome Dallas Skyline and Mansfield Legacy into 6A-11.

“We can compete for playoffs if we have a mental toughness mindset and compete every single day,” Blackney said.

 

2022 CEDAR HILL VOLLEYBALL Schedule

August 9 at Mansfield Summit, 6:30 p.m.

August 11-13 at Crowley Tournament

August 16 vs. Red Oak, 5 p.m. (Home Opener)

August 16 vs. Frisco Memorial, 8 p.m.

August 18-20 at San Angelo Tournament

August 23 vs. Liberty Christian, 6:30 p.m.

August 26-27 at Forney Tournament

August 30 vs. Kennedale, 6:30 p.m.

September 2 vs. Mansfield Timberview, 6:30 p.m.

September 6 vs. Wilmer Hutchins, 7:30 p.m.

September 9 at Mansfield Lake Ridge, 7:30 p.m. (District Opener)

September 13 vs. Mansfield, 6:30 p.m.

September 16 at Waxahachie, 6:30 p.m.

September 20 at Dallas Skyline, 6:30 p.m.

September 23 vs. Duncanville, 6:30 p.m.

September 27 vs. DeSoto, 6:30 p.m.

September 30 at Mansfield Legacy, 6:30 p.m.

October 4 vs. Mansfield Lake Ridge, 6:30 p.m.

October 7 at Mansfield, 6:30 p.m.

October 11 vs. Waxahachie, 6:30 p.m.

October 14 vs. Dallas Skyline, 6:30 p.m.

October 18 at Duncanville, 6:30 p.m.

October 21 at DeSoto, 6:30 p.m.

October 25 vs. Mansfield Legacy, 6:30 p.m. (Senior Night)