Faith Academy volleyball beats Austin Waldorf
CAPTION: Sophomore outside hitter Ella Claiborne has several ways she scores points for the Lady Flames and showed many of them during their win against Austin Waldorf Aug. 12. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls volleyball team defeated Austin Waldorf 25-9, 25-10, 25-10 Aug. 12 in the season opener.
“I thought the girls did really well,” head coach Erin Sawyer said. “When they came out, the girls were extremely ready to play.”
Waldorf was simply overmatched throughout the contest with the Lady Flames making a statement in the opening set. Sawyer noted her players didn’t let up.
She said the defense set the tone thanks to senior libero Bosley Kuker, who had nine digs, while junior outside hitter Kerrington Silvers led with 11, and sophomore outside hitter Ella Clairborne recorded six. Just about every player had a dig.
“I felt like Bosley did a great job of not letting things drop,” Sawyer said. “She led that back row. Bosley turned it up. She was ready to get to balls. She didn’t let anything drop at all. Ella and (sophomore setter) Liv (Kraenzel) were on the back row and were solid. Shoutout to my back row on defense.”
Claiborne led the offense with 10 kills and six aces followed by Silvers with nine kills, senior middle blocker Natalie Weems had eight kills and two blocks, and senior middle blocker Miley Fessler finished with five kills. Kranzel had four aces.
“There was equally good ball distribution,” the coach said. “I like to spread the ball around. Go to Ella or (Silvers). There are others I can count on. I like to spread the offense around. I have Natalie, Kerrington, Miley, Liv. I have good girls all the way around. I can track my outside hitters – they’re getting the job done. (Junior setter) Ella Chavira and Liv are doing great.”
Sawyer commended her athletes for their instincts in knowing “where we need to move to cover” to keep the rallies going that eventually led to winning the point.
After Faith took a 2-0 lead in the match, Sawyer challenged her players to keep their intensity high.
“I want everyone to have tenacity every time we step on the floor,” she said. “We need to try to get to every single ball. We have a lead and we need to stay ahead. We need to make sure we stay up. We’re playing the balls we need to play.”
Faith travels to play Pflugerville Concordia at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Treehouse Gym, 15407 Long Vista Dr., Suite 100 in Austin.
They welcome Fredericksburg Heritage at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, then compete in the Hill Country Christian Tournament Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22. They face Boerne Area Christian Home Schoolers at 9 a.m., Bulverde Bracken at 11 a.m. and Galveston O’Connell at 1 p.m.
Sawyer said the Lady Flames are continuing a historic season they began in 2024 when they reached the Class 3A state tournament of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
“They have a lot of heart, and they want to do well this season,” she said. “I’m proud of how we’re doing. We’ll have to keep it up.”
CAPTION: Junior setter Ella Chavira contributed in numerous ways to the Lady Flames’ win with assists, aces and digs. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
