Meridian Lady Jackets draw All-District 18-1A volleyball honors with Journey Stauffer named all-district defensive MVP, three more selected to the first team
Despite playing in the same district with the eventual Class 1A state champion, the Meridian Lady Jackets held their own during the 2023 Texas high school volleyball season. And after advancing to the playoffs for the fourth straight season with a third place finish in District 18-1A, the Lady Jackets reaped the rewards for their efforts.
Leading the way for Meridian, junior Journey Stauffer was named the All-District 18-1A Defensive Most Valuable Player while three other Lady Jackets – seniors Hope Cabrera, Evelyn Dirkse and Canyon Stauffer – were placed on the all-district first team.
Additionally, juniors Mackenzie Borhofen and Mariana Paniagua drew all-district second team honors, Jasmin Brown and Zoey Whitmer were recognized as Honorable Mention selections, and the entire Lady Jacket varsity squad earned Academic All District honors.
“I am so proud of the hard work and efforts that the girls had all season,” Meridian volleyball head coach Lyndsie Schur said. “We didn’t have the largest of teams this year, which meant that each girl had to do their job each match.
“In the instance where one player might have a bad game, their teammates were there to pick up their slack. And that’s what being a team is about – I’ve got your back, you’ve got mine. Because of their hard work all year, the district coaches rewarded them with their honors.”
In addition to leading the Lady Jackets with 105 defensive digs, Journey Stauffer smashing a team-high 116 kills and delivered 66 service aces. Canyon Stauffer led the Lady Jackets 74 service aces and 162 set assists while ranking second in kills with 107. Dirkse led Meridian with 31 blocks along with 68 service aces and 59 kills, while Cabrera contributed 40 kills, 39 service aces and nine blocks.
Among the all-district, second-teamers, Paniagua ranked second on the team with 146 set assists along with 41 service aces and 59 kills, while Borhofen ranked tied for second with 92 defensive digs.
Continuing to rebuild the young volleyball program rebooted only four years ago, the Lady Jackets advanced to the Class 1A state playoffs for the fourth straight season. With the restored program looking for its first playoff win, the Lady Jackets (4-4 in District 18-1A, 10-17 overall) were eliminated by the District 17-1A runner-up Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs (6-3, 12-17) in straight sets, 25-17, 25-18, 25-16, in Mineral Wells.
“I thought it would be a tight match between us and them if we minimized our errors on our side,” Schur said. “We had too many unforced errors on our side to keep it as tight as I had hoped. We did some really good things during the match, but had several mental errors that squashed our momentum.
“Like I told the girls last night, though, I do not want the way our playoff game went to overshadow all of the great things we did this season. I could not be more proud of these girls and am excited to see how we build off of this year.”
After securing third place in District 18-1A and posting a convincing victory in their final regular season match of the year, the Lady Jackets believed they still had some unfinished business. But Prairie Valley carried some momentum into the postseason, winning six of their last eight matches to surge ahead of third place Forestburg while finishing behind district champion and 14th-ranked Saint Jo.
In the meantime, Class 1A’s top-ranked and District 18-1A champion Blum (38-7) went on to capture the state title. In dominating fashion, the Lady Bobcats swept past Neches (32-9), 25-15, 25-15, 25-16, in the Class 1A State Championship match.
“I’m very proud of the girls for doing their job and getting back in the playoffs,” Schur said. “It shows that they have taken pride in what it means to be a Lady Jacket and want to leave the program better than they found it.”
Despite not getting that elusive first playoff victory, the Lady Jackets enjoyed another successful season. But as it came to a close, Schur will bid farewell to her three seniors, Hope Cabrera, Evelyn Dirkse and Canyon Stauffer.
“Even though this senior group is small, it is going to be tough emotionally to lose them,” Schur said. “They are such a special group of kids that come in every day and do anything and everything that you ask, no matter what.
“With that said, they are able to lead in ways that I haven’t seen kids lead before. I think that’s because of the relationships that they have built with the underclassmen, and because they have the mentality to be the hardest working people in the gym. The underclassmen know what the expectations are just from watching the seniors.
“As far as skill and what they brought to the team, there are going to be some moving parts this next season due to losing both middle blockers and a setter. I always tell the girls to leave the program better than they found it, and this group certainly did that.”
Photos by WENDY OROZCO
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