Highlands volleyball pushes through rough start to sit in first place in 27-5A
It wasn’t exactly a season on the brink, but there were some anxious moments early in the 2026 Highlands volleyball campaign.
The Owls’ first four matches resulted in losses. It wasn’t the start they envisioned after returning six starters and two other letterwinners from a 25-14 team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2025.
“It was us going through the motions, not wanting to give it our all,” said senior right side hitter Jenesis Rodriguez, a fourth-year letterwinner.
That description doesn’t really fit where the Owls are now. After sweeping Brackenridge 25-20, 25-12, 25-21 on Tuesday at Lanier Activity Center, Highlands sits in first place in District 27-5A at 3-0.
The Owls controlled most of the match and rarely trailed. And when the Owls were down, they quickly turned things around.
“We got down a little bit, which I don’t think should have happened this game, but of course, it will happen sometimes,” said junior setter Riley Reyes, who had 28 assists and nine digs. “The fact we can come back from being down is one of the biggest assets of our team and it’s something we’ve really worked toward.”
The Owls endured those harsh lessons during the season’s opening week. The started by getting swept at home against Southwest Legacy in a non-district match. Three days later, they suffered losses against Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, Troy and Sinton on the first day of the Corpus Christi ISD Spikefest.
“When we went into that tournament, it was a very rough start,” said sophomore outside hitter Cybella Davila, who had a team-best 13 kills against Brackenridge. “We got first in copper (bracket), but that first day was really hard on us.”
The good news is the Owls didn’t let those losses fester. The following day, the Owls notched their first victory of the season, a two-set victory against Corpus Christi Miller, on Aug. 15.
That “finally” moment was everything at the time.
“It felt like the fruits of our labor were coming true,” Reyes said. “We worked so hard, and that’s how we are supposed to play. It felt like it was finally working for us.”
The Owls closed the day with victories against Llano and Tidehaven to win the tournament’s copper division. More importantly, it’s boosted their season.
“We’re a good team, but it’s harder because we’re underdogs,” Reyes said. “They had some big teams in that tournament. They were taller and they were towering over us, and I think that intimidated us a little bit. But, we’ve come to learn from that tournament that we can compete with them and if we have the mindset that we can win, then we should win.”
The Owls have won eight of their last 10 matches and are 13-6 overall.
“That showed us that we are a very gritty team that can push through,” Davila said. “Everyone had to show what they could do, and they just showed out.”
Rodriguez’s journey with the Owls mirrors what the team has endured this season. Rodriguez “started from the bottom” as she put it as a freshman. She improved enough to be a first-team all-district selection as a junior. Now, as a senior, she’s the team’s leader.
“It’s been a good ride,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been learning a lot. I didn’t know anything about volleyball. Nothing. Now that Coach (Desiree) Lara has been with me all four years, I feel like I’ve learned a lot. I’ve progressed a lot. I’m a better player. I have better attitude, better work ethic. I have a better everything.”
The district season is in the early stages with 13 matches remaining. But, with things trending upward, the Owls could find themselves back in the playoffs for the 11th time in Lara’s 12 seasons at Highlands.
If that happens, Highlands will look at the season’s first week as the turning point.
“It was a positive thing to respond like that,” Rodriguez said. “We didn’t take it as a negative thing. It’s like our coach told us, ‘If y’all want this, let’s go get it.’ So, we took that, and rolled with it.”
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This article originally published at Highlands volleyball pushes through rough start to sit in first place in 27-5A.
