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The Southlake Carroll Dragons celebrate after defeating Austin for the Class 6A Division II state volleyball championship Saturday at Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Special to the Star-Telegram
GARLAND
Looking for its first UIL volleyball state championship in program history, Southlake Carroll delivered on the grand stage at the Curtis Culwell Center on Saturday in a five-set thriller.
The Dragons, making their first state title game appearance since 1998, trailed often but stayed focused to earn the Class 6A Division II state championship 27-25, 17-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10.
Senior Kinsley Young, a TCU pledge, earned MVP honors, tallying a team high 22 kills. Tears flooded her eyes after the win, and she made a point to emphasize that they were “happy tears.”
“We talk about it all the time with one another,” Young said. “We’re basically sisters. We’re second family at this point. … I feel like [the MVP] is a team award. I can’t be here without anyone else, and I just feel so happy, and this is so deserved with this team. And I just couldn’t be happier.”
Head coach Leslie Jackson, in her third season with the Dragons, said she is incredibly proud.
“I’ve had these girls since I got there, and they’ve seen all the sides,” Jackson said. “They’ve been through all the highs and lows, and I think that they’ve just done an incredible job of building such a great culture.”
Carroll trailed two sets to one but forced the final set with a spectacular 13-2 run in the fourth set. With the season on the line, the Dragons seized back the momentum.
“At that point we were like, we have no other option,” senior Teddy-Raye Ewers said. “It’s either we pick up right now or we go home. So I think once we had that run back and came back, we kind of all were like, OK, this is happening, and we’re going to do it.”
In the final set, the Dragons once again fell behind, trailing 6-4. They once again found another gear, ending the championship season with a 9-6 run.
Layla Austin and Audree Hughes also thrived with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Austin added 16 digs. Another standout was Collins Alonzo, who posted a team-high 20 digs.
“Skillwise, we have the abilities,” Young said. “We had the pieces of the puzzle. It was just, how can we connect everyone? I feel like that’s something we all worked on from the moment we all met each other, like the first day we were in the gym together. It was us having fun.”
Carroll (35-5) was on fire to start, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first set. Austin (41-7) battled back and even had a set point, but the Dragons put the Maroons away.
Austin High retaliated with 10 kills to cruise to a match-tying victory in the second set. In a back-and-forth third set, the Maroons continued to thrive in the clutch, eliminating a 20-16 Carroll lead with a strong 9-3 run.
The fourth set saw Carroll score in bunches, trailing 8-4 and 17-12, but battling back both times. Next, the 13-2 run that saved the season.
Jackson said that she tried to fire the team up in a timeout but that she wasn’t sure what sparked the run.
“They just decided they were going to start fighting, and the match wasn’t going to be over yet,” Jackson said. “We got on a hot serving run, started digging balls and making plays.”
Despite finishing second in District 4-6A to eventual Class 6A Division I state champion Byron Nelson, the Dragons swept through the 6A Division II playoffs en route to the championship game.
“If you don’t show up every night, you’re gonna lose, no matter who you are.,” Jackson said of 4-6A play.
In the end, the hard schedule prepared Carroll for the road ahead. The Dragons made their third state tournament appearance in program history.
With the volleyball title, Carroll has established itself as a contender for the Lone Star Cup, awarded to Texas’ top overall athletic department per classification. Carroll boys cross country also won a state title, led by Caden Leonard’s first overall finish.
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM.
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Charles Baggarly
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