By Ej Holland
Photos by BluDoor Studio
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Mitchell took over as head volleyball coach at Southlake Carrollbrin 2014 after leading Lovejoy to a 315-55 record and five consecutive statebrtitles (2008-2012).br
Simply put, Mitchell is a winner, and that championship pedigree isbrsomething he wants to instill at Southlake Carroll. The Dragons already hadbrone of the best volleyball programs in the state prior to bringing on Mitchell.brAfter two seasons at the helm of the Lady Dragons, he has a 86-8 (.915) recordbrincluding an undefeated (12-0) district championship this season.br
But Mitchell’s goal isn’t to just win; he wants to take SouthlakebrCarroll to the next level. And that means competing in and winning statebrchampionships.br
“The vision here is to create an experience where players walk awaybrwomen of integrity and character,” Mitchell says. “But we also want them tobrhave competed for championships year in and year out. Yes, we’re going tobrwin a lot of matches here, but we want it to go beyond that.”br
“We want players to be proud that they were a part of the program.brAnd a part of that is winning state championships. I came here to winbrchampionships and help Southlake Carroll break through the barrier.brThat’s the goal, and that’s the plan,” he says.br
If the 2015 season was any indication of what’s to come, the future isbrcertainly bright at Southlake Carroll. The Dragons finished the year rankedbrNo. 12 nationally and No. 2 in the state, according to MaxPreps.br
The Lady Dragons proved worthy of their billing as they knocked off abrnumber of state-ranked programs throughout the season. Without question,brsome of the best high school volleyball in the nation is played in thebrDallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.
Lady DragonbrVolleyballbr2015 Districtbr7-6AbrAccolades:br
District Champions (12-0)br
Coach of the Year: Ryan Mitchell
MVP: Haley Hallgrenbr
Newcomer of the Year: Nailah Gordon
Blocker of the Year: Asjia O’Neal
First Team All-District: Megan Porter, Remy Fairchild, Brayden Gruenewald
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“Texas in general is a hotbed of volleyball talent,” Mitchell says. “It’s right upbrthere as the best of the country along with California. And so much of thatbrtalent is right here in the Metroplex. There are so many great teams here and sobrmuch talent. You can never take a night off or you’ll get beat.”br
And that especially rang true this season. Southlake Carroll got a taste ofbrjust how tough competition throughout the state was in non-district playbras they faced off against not only Dallas-area powers but quality teams inbrHouston and San Antonio.br
The Lady Dragons opened up the season with a dominating 3-0 winbrover Richardson Pearce and overcame some adversity in a close 3-2 victorybrover Plano West before rattling off five straight victories in the PearlandbrTournament.br
At 7-0, Southlake Carroll appeared to truly be one of the country’s elitebrteams. But the Dragons were humbled a bit as they lost two of their next fourbrgames to Clear Creek (2-0) and Plano (3-1).br
Facing a bit of adversity, the team really leaned on senior leader and outsidebrhitter Megan Porter, who finished the season with 321 kills. The Texas Statebrcommit was named First-Team All District and to the Under Armour All-brAmerican team.br
“Megan really helped lead the team this year,” Mitchell says. “All seasonbrlong, she was the voice of the team. She held everyone accountable, and theybrfollowed her. Megan has such a sweet spirit, so she connected well to everyonebron the team.”br
Senior leadership also came from fellow First Team All-District performersbrBrayden Gruenewald and Remy Fairchild, who helped guide the team back tobrform in the Allen Tournament, knocking off Frisco Independence, Rockwall,brWylie East, Highland Park and Colleyville Heritage—all games were setbrsweeps.br
The Dragons then defeated state-ranked Coppell, 3-1, in the semifinalsbrbefore ultimately falling to Allen in the championship game.br
Southlake Carroll, however, would bounce back with a statementbrperformance in the PSA Lone Star Circle of Champions Tournament as it gotbrits revenge on Allen with a 2-0 set sweep and won the tournament title.br
The Dragons wrapped up non-district play by defeating Mitchell’s formerbrprogram, Lovejoy, in a statement 3-0 victory and breezing by Rockwall andbrTrophy Club Byron Nelson.br
“My philosophy as a coach is in order to be the best you have to beat thebrbest,” Mitchell says. “We schedule tough. We want to be battle-tested. We wantbrto put our kids in situations where we have to compete night in and night out.brWe played in three of the toughest tournaments in the state to get ready forbrdistrict.”br
Mitchell adds that he feels the team ‘got better each and every time webrstepped on the court.’ And that certainly helped come district play. Headingbrinto its first game against L.D. Bell, Southlake Carroll looked exactly the way abrperennial power should.
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The Dragons pounded the Blue Raiders to win, 3-0. It was the first of 12brstraight victories—all were 3-0 set sweeps with the exception of a 3-1 win overbrstate-ranked Coppell in the finale.br
“After finishing second in district last year, we kind of reestablished the goalbrof winning another district title,” Mitchell says. “We were able to do that andbrdo it in convincing fashion, which was a really neat experience. It’s somethingbrthat we didn’t take lightly.”br
Southlake Carroll took down fellow nationally ranked program DrippingbrSprings in a playoff warm-up before starting the post season for real. ThebrDragons swept DeSoto in bi-district play and defeated a familiar opponent inbrAllen in the area round, 3-1.br
The Dragons’ season, however, came to a sudden halt in the regionalbrquarterfinals when they were upset in the third round by McKinney Boyd—abrteam they swept in the area round a year ago—in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss.
br br br“We were playing our best volleyball, but we had a lot of unforced errors in that game,”brMitchell says. “Any time you don’t reach your goal of winning a state championship, therebris a hint of disappointment. But I’m proud of the girls and what they were able to do as abrteam and individually.”br
Southlake Carroll might not have reached the ultimate goal, but the vision remainsbrthe same. And Mitchell is already gearing up for next season.br
“I’m pumped,” he says. “Two weeks after the Boyd loss, I was already thinking aboutbrlineups and rosters. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s what championsbrdo. When you get knocked off a horse, you have to get back on it again.”br
The Dragons return a good nucleus of players, including outside hitter Haley Hallgrenbrand middle blocker Asjia O’Neal.br
Hallgren was named the 7-6A District MVP this season after recording 350 kills andbr244 digs and is currently committed to USC to play beach volleyball. O’Neal, the daughterbrof former NBA star Jermaine O’Neal, shined as a sophomore and was an underclassmenbrAll-American.br
“With Haley, words don’t do her justice,” Mitchell says. “She’s a such a well-roundedbrplayer. She’s dynamic and her skillset sets her apart. Ajia developed over the season andbrwas able to take over games later in the year.”br
With Hallgren and O’Neal back in the fold as well as a multitude of other experiencedbrplayers, Southlake Carroll will once again be a preseason favorite to win the district titlebrand make a deep playoff run.br
So what is it going to take for the Dragons to take the final step and get over the hump?br
“It starts with a belief that they can take the next step,” Mitchell says. “It’s getting there.brWe need to find ways to deal and manage expectations, so there isn’t pressure on ourbrplayers and coaches come playoff time. We just have to keep working on that.br
br“Every year we’re starting the year with an opportunity to win that state title. It willbrhappen. We’re going to keep striving. We’re not going to be scared just because we couldbrfall short.”