Two 2019 Texas State title winners stepped on the court on Saturday in a battle to win the last match of the season in Class 5A. Dallas-area Lovejoy (26-0) won first in the classification a year ago when Fulshear (26-5) from outside of Houston, won Class 4A. With a realignment this year, the two saw each other for the first time this season. Lovejoy, however, defended its place on top for the second consecutive season by winning its eighth program title.

Coach Ryan Mitchell has been at the helm of Lovejoy for seven of those State championships. He stepped away from coaching the high school game for four seasons, but couldn’t stay away for long. Throughout the years, he’s had some extremely talented teams with players who have gone on to have incredible collegiate careers. This 2020 team, however, may be one of the best Mitchell has coached and the only one that has finished undefeated in one of the most competitive volleyball states in the country.

Lovejoy became the first Dallas-area team to both win a State Championship and go undefeated along the way. Just 19 volleyball teams have ever had an undefeated season across the state. It could be that in any other year, a team would play 10-to-20 additional matches. Even great teams will have a bad day or lose an off-match. But Mitchell credits the area’s competitiveness on the club scene and the quality of high school volleyball in the area.