The Argyle Volleyball team has qualified for the UIL State Tournament six times. They appeared in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2025. They won in 2015, making history. This year, they continued on the path to success, making it to the State Semifinals. Argyle Volleyball’s journey started not at the beginning of the season, but when summer began.
“There are a lot of programs that say goodbye to their kids on the last day of school, and they see them on the first day of tryouts, and they may see them two or three times over the summer, but that’s about it. And we see our kids 15 to 20 times over the summer, and I feel like the kids in the volleyball program are bought into that process and working hard the summer in preparation for the season,” said Coach Johnson.
This is what set Argyle apart from numerous teams this year. Their desire to invest their summer time into the sport they love gave them a step up against other teams they faced during the season. They not only started practicing earlier, but they also didn’t have easy-going practices.
“Hard practices, those practices that, like, honestly really sucked but they were good in preparation, they pushed us to be better for anything” said one of the captains Tatum Husby.
The girls didn’t just go through the emotions; they pushed themselves to be better, and even though they may not have enjoyed those hard practices, they knew it would pay off later. Practices were important, but volleyball isn’t just about skills but also about the people.
“Building a happier and close-knit family versus just people trying to win a game,” said Tatum.
Between the practices, team dinners, games, and tournaments, the girls weren’t just teammates, they had made relationships with each other that were like no other. The team participated in many tournaments, which allowed them to travel together and bond with each other.
“We went to this little roller coaster park, and we all got temporary tattoos, and stuff like that bonded us just as people first,” said Tatum.
A simple thing such as going to a roller coaster park and spending time together lets the team get to know each other on a volleyball level and as friends without the sport. What the team has learned this year is not just improving in their sport; they have learned things that will continue to impact their life after high school.
“Just being a kind person who can exhibit happiness and stability through anything.”
They didn’t just improve their skills, they learned traits and characteristics that will help them in life. Sometimes a team is just a bunch of people who play the same sport, and that’s it. This was not the case this year.
“I love the team, the team dynamic, and the girls,” said Coach Johnson.
They meshed well together, and this is a quality that brought them together and led them to success this year. Another quality that sets them apart from others is that they didn’t want to be similar to previous years; they wanted to be different.
“They wanted to play differently. They wanted to lead differently,” said Coach Johnson.
They didn’t want to be similar to the teams in the past. They wanted to make a name for themselves and be set apart from the rest.
As the playoffs began, the team continued to work hard and do everything possible to bring home a state championship. They won round after round, and they eventually made it to the state semifinals. In a very close match, the Lady Eagles ended up falling in that game, bringing the season to a close. As much as they wanted to win the Championship, their season was extremely successful.
“It was an amazing season, and I wouldn’t change anything,” said Tatum.
As much as they would want to go back and change losing and getting 3rd, they had an amazing season that would forever be remembered.
