Sports (from San Marcos Daily Record)

Lady Texans honored
By JASON GORDON - Daily Record Sports

    It would have been an impressive feat for the two-time Class 3A defending state champion Wimberley High School volleyball team to have one or even two individuals named to the All-State team.
    But the Lady Texans, as they did all throughout last year's volleyball season, Wimberley bucked the trend.
    Wimberley landed four players on the Texas Sports Writers' All-State team.
    Junior setter Jesi Grisham, the two-time UIL state tournament most valuable player, captured the All-State team MVP as well.
    Joining Grisham on the first team were outside hitters Courtney McCrocklin and Abbi Meyer. Wimberley outside hitter Leah Goldstein was named to the second team.
    No other team on any level had more than two players on the All-State team.
    "To me it's real indicative of just how special this group is," Wimberley head coach Lee Grisham said. "I didn't expect that many. It's very rare, especially to have that many named to the first team.
    "They deserved it. Each one of the girls is proud of what they did and of each other."
    Wimberley, winners of three of the last four Class 3A state championships, finished the season 38-2, picking up wins against the likes of Class 4A state finalist New Braunfels and local Class 5A teams Hays and San Marcos along the way.
    The Lady Texans were tabbed as the team of the year by Lone Star Volleyball.
    Meyer and Goldstein are graduating in May, but With Jesi Grisham and McCrocklin coming back, Wimberley will be a solid preseason choice to make it four state titles in five years.
    Lee Grisham will have more firepower in his arsenal as Caitlin Rainbird, an outside hitter who transferred from Dripping Springs, will suit up to play for the Lady Texans next season. She was named third-team All-State by the Texas Girls Coaches Association for her efforts last season for the Class 4A Lady Tigers.
    "I don't know who else has what players coming back next season," Lee Grisham said. "I'm pretty sure no one has three all-staters, though."

The following is from 

Celebrating The Best of 2002
    'Tis the season to hand out awards. The coaches have already named their all-everything teams. The sportswriters will probably soon select theirs, although considering the lack of volleyball coverage statewide we wonder how many of those voting actually saw most of the top teams and players they are voting on. And we're no Scrooges, so we've compiled our own awards for the high school season.
    First, a disclaimer. We are not selecting an All-Texas team. We did that back in August. With input from recruiters, coaches and our own observations, we identified the state's best based on performances against the nation's top players over the course of a demanding club season and the potential to play at the next level. We see no reason to repeat the process a few months later since nothing happened over the course of the high school season to change our opinion on the state's top players.
    Instead, we want to recognize players, coaches and teams for outstanding accomplishments during the high school campaign. And we'll admit right up front that we are biased. We prefer to recognize athletes who excel and have an impact against top competition. For that reason, a player who runs up big stats in a weak district but disappears once the competition heats up doesn't impress us. We don't put too much stock in stats, anyway, since no school seems to keep them the same way and players on teams like Red Oak that win 90 of 99 sets often don't get an opportunity to pile up big numbers. We also realize that makes it difficult for players at small schools to be recognized, since they don't often get a chance to compete against top teams and players. But to be recognized as the best, you have to do it against the best.
    Volleyball is ultimately a team sport, so we begin our awards presentation by recognizing the Team of the Year.

Team of the Year

Wimberley
This was an easy decision. Westlake and Red Oak obviously had incredible years, as did Clear Creek, Stratford, Churchill and several others. But this was the season that Lee Grisham's Lady Texans proved that a school with only 600 students can, in fact, run with the big dogs. Wimberley compiled a 38-2 record that included wins over San Antonio Clark, St. Michael's, New Braunfels Canyon, Buda Hays (twice), Leander, San Antonio Judson, New Braunfels and others. They split with Boerne and took Churchill to three before losing. Not once was this group of girls intimidated — even when Grisham threw them up against Churchill and Clark in back-to-back warm up matches. The fact that the state's top 5A teams were willing to risk their reputation by playing a 3A school shows how much respect the Lady Texans earned. Ultimately, it all paid off at the state tournament. After blasting Kountze 15-1, 15-0 in the semifinals, the Lady Texans ran into an unexpected challenge in the finals against Texarkana Pleasant Grove. But Abbi Meyer, Courtney McCrocklin, Jesi Grisham, Ashley Leach, Colleen Westfall, Leah Goldstein and crew never panicked. Rather, they did what all champions do and took their game to another level to capture their second straight state title and solidify their position as one of the state and nation's premier teams.