BOERNE – Boerne Champion unfurled its versatility in a 25-17, 25-19, 25-22 victory against rival Boerne that jettisoned the Chargers into sole possession of first place in District 26-5A with one match remaining.
Senior Brielle Boothe led the Chargers with 20 kills, an impressive effort considering she’s played libero for most of the season. Junior Hannah Perez, who is second on the team in kills, donned the libero jersey and logged a team-best 20 digs.
The Chargers (30-7) has secured at least a share of the district championship. They can win it outright with a victory at Alamo Heights on Friday. Champion leads the standings with a 10-1 record. Boerne and Alamo Heights are in second at 9-2.
Champion maintained control for most of Tuesday’s match. In fact, the Chargers trailed just three times in three sets.
Junior setter Brady Cooksey had 40 assists, two blocks and two aces. Sophomore Finley Weikle had 12 kills, and Abby Marizcurrena had 11 kills.
“My passers got me the ball tonight,” Cooksey said. “They worked hard, and I feel that showed they did a good job working for the team, rather than playing individually.”
The Chargers avenged a four-set loss against Boerne on Sept. 25. Champion is aiming for its first outright district championship since 2019.
Boothe heated up toward the end of the second set with the Chargers holding a 22-18 lead. She tallied three kills in four points to seal the second. She went on another big run with the Chargers trailing 9-8 in the third set.
“I just kind of started realizing what was open, and I just kept going there because they weren’t stopping me,” said Boothe, who accented a few kills with a Michael Jordan shrug. “I just continued to go with what was open, and Brady trusted me with the ball a lot, so I used that to my advantage.”
Boothe followed with kills that tied it at 9 and then at 10. She had back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 14-11. Then in the final stretch, she had three that put the Chargers ahead 21-18.
“That definitely gave me a lot of confidence,” Boothe said. “I feel like I don’t make as many errors when I’m confident and have a really good attitude. I think when everyone else has a positive attitude and believes in me, it just helps me a lot more.”
Cooksey said it was tough to deny getting the ball to Boothe.
“As a setter, you are told to spread the offense out,” Cooksey said. “But, as a setter, you also have to see who is putting the ball away. And tonight, it was Brielle, Abby and Finley. Honestly, you have to see what’s working, and I didn’t want to change it up because we were winning with it.”
Boothe, who is committed to Texas State, said she’s been trying to add to her skills bag by also playing outside hitter, a possible college position.
“I’ve just learned to be smart in every single way – like go for every ball if I am a libero or just use my shots or just like anything while I am a hitter,” Boothe said.
Perez has a beach volleyball background and making an in-season switch to libero hasn’t been difficult. She’s been happy to fill in where needed.
“These past couple of weeks, we had some injuries and we’ve had to step into positions that we weren’t used to,” Perez said. “I think playing libero has let people show off their true skills. Brielle hasn’t really hit this season, and she was a really good kill leader. I feel like we’re shining and stepping up in new positions.”
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This article originally published at Champion shuffles lineup and charges into first with sweep against rival Boerne.
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