With the summer winding down, that means we're gearing up for the 2019-20 academic year. With the calendar focus shifting means the start of the volleyball season.
Following our look at the UIL sleepers, we take a look at the potential dark horses for the UIL.
6A
Byron Nelson: It's hard to call a team like Byron Nelson a dark horse, but after only getting to the third round last year, Byron Nelson is just that and definitely has the chops and potential to make a run at state. Paige Flickinger, a First Team All-American last year, is back for her senior year to bring a title to the school, which has been bounced in the playoffs by the eventual state champion the last four years.
Coppell: How do you follow-up a 40-win season a year ago? Easy. Win state. Coppell is a team that can do just that in 2019, despite being in one of the toughest districts in the state. Seven of the last nine state champions reside within 6-6A, which includes Coppell in 2011 and 2012. Coppell will have 10 seniors on this year's team, so the experience is there for a title run.
5A
Grapevine: This year's team will be light on senior leadership as Grapevine graduated seven seniors from a squad that won 34 games last year. However, Grapevine is traditionally a solid team at all levels of the program and will be a team to not take lightly, despite only having four seniors in 2019.
Fort Worth Carter-Riverside: The Eagles were the 6-5A runner up and have a senior-laden squad in 2019, hoping to build off a 21-win season and a berth in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
4A
Godley: A 17-win improvement last year boosted Godley into third place in 7-4A. The foundation has been laid for sustained success, despite graduating eight seniors. However, Godley has five players returning in 2019, hoping to make a bit more noise come playoff time.
Celina: A fourth-place finish in 11-4A did not stop Celina from going three rounds deep into the playoffs last year. In 2019, all but one player is back from a year ago, which should give Celina plenty of confidence to upset a few more teams this year.
