Southlake Carroll Survives Five Sets at Walnut Grove in Season Opener

Six consecutive 6A Division II state championships set a high bar, and Southlake Carroll showed why that standard holds up — even on the road in a five-set opener at Walnut Grove.

Walnut Grove leaned on outside hitter Brynn Stephens to set the tone early, and the SMU commit delivered. Her kill-after-kill approach helped the home team take the first set 25-16, putting the defending champs on notice from the opening rotation.

Carroll steadied in the second set, with setter Charlie Campbell feeding Lyla Hyde for a decisive kill to close it out 25-20 and even the match. From there, neither team could pull away, and the match went the distance to a fifth set.

With the match on the line, outside hitter Vanessa Glenn took over, racking up several crucial points to push Carroll to a 13-10 lead. At match point, Gianna Rodriguez powered one down the line to seal it — Southlake Carroll wins in five sets and opens the season with a hard-earned road victory.