![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
Volleyball Looks Forward to Playoffs Behind their 24-13 Record
Junior Laurel Foster sets the ball to a teammate in the second sets against Rouse on Sept. 22.
September 26, 2017
The varsity volleyball season is in mid dsitrict play and the team, led by veterans from last year, are trying to work their way back to the state tournament. The new head coach, Rachel Altman, leads the squad with a 24-13 record for the season so far.
“We need this team to have better chemistry,” Altman said. “That will lead us into the state championship match.”
Last year, the Lady Timberwolves made it all the way to the state tournament, only to be beat by Lovejoy High School in the state semi-finals. The team is trying to make it back to that platform as one of the bests with multiple district matches against Hutto, Rouse, Georgetown and others left in the season.
The volleyball team will face Hutto on Sept. 26 in Hutto in a highly anticipated match with two top teams in 5A. Junior Shelby Epley is a key factor to give the T-Wolves an edge in the rest of the eight games this year, and will give them an extra boost to be one of the top teams in playoffs.
“Some strategic goals for the game is to get the middle involved early,” Epley said. “We need to have constant pursuit on every ball and to better the all every chance we get.”
Led by senior stars Alexis Cheatum and Taylor Nunez, this team is currently second in the district behind Rouse, with a 7-1 record so far. This season, the team specializes in total blocks and scoring aces. Junior Laurel Foster has dominated the assist category, getting more than half of the teams assist thus this year. The T-Wolves will try to continue their fantastic run with key adjustments.
“We will adapt by adjusting our game plan and system to each team will face,” Foster said.
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
