After recovering from broken foot, Alex Kriz's hitting keeping Westwood atop district

You’d be hard-pressed to know Westwood senior outside hitter Alex Kriz suffered a broken bone in her foot earlier in the season from the way she played Tuesday.

Firing shots all over the court at Stony Point High School while forming a fearsome hitting duo with Julia Hopkins, Kriz also used her leaping and athletic ability to be a presence at the net, including making a key block in game five of the Warriors' 25-9, 19-25, 25-12, 17-25, 15-11 District 25-6A win over the Tigers.

Ending with 13 kills and 10 digs, Kriz is a big reason why Westwood — ranked No. 3 in the Statesman’s Class 6A area poll — moved to 6-0 in the brutal eight-team district where six schools appear capable of beating anyone on any given night.

“I think this was kind of a test of our team’s culture and our fight,” said Kriz, who will play sand volleyball next year at UC-Davis. “Five-game matches are hard, but I think it’s good for us to have that type of win under our belt in this district. Being 6-0 makes you feel really good … and I hope we just keep playing as a team.”

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The Warriors (21-18) haven’t lost in nearly a month, and with Hopkins — who knocked down a game-high 21 kills, some of which sent the Westwood crowd and bench into a frenzy — joining Kriz on an upperclassmen-dominated roster that includes setter Rachel Cai, libero Lola Fernandez and middles Trinity Woods, Allie Shepherd and Bella Schiesz, among others, it’s not hard to see why they’re peaking at the right time.

“We’ve clicked as a team, and in our practices we’ve really focused on playing as a unit,” Kriz said. “Hitting-wise, I think (Hopkins) and I bring a lot of fight, play for fun, produce a lot of power and try to put on a show.”

Westwood coach Tara Grant was a little more blunt when explaining her team’s recent hot streak.

“We got healthy,” she said. “We spent the entire nondistrict with anywhere from three-to-six starters injured at any time. We played (the Volleypalooza tournament) in late August with all six starters on the bench, and we got everyone healthy right before the first district game. And being a senior-heavy team really helps — I’m really comfortable with putting anyone on our bench in the game.”

Tuesday’s match played out in odd fashion, with the teams taking turns dominating each of the first four games prior to the deciding fifth.

Stony Point won the first three points of the fifth game, but Kriz played her best when it counted the most, ripping three kills and making her block to help tie things at 5-5.

Two kills from Hopkins sandwiched a shot by Schiesz that gave the Warriors breathing room at 13-8 before they eventually closed out the match.

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Woods added six kills, Cai recorded 36 assists and Fernandez made 33 digs to lead five Westwood players that had double-digit saves.

Though Grant noted this wasn’t one of the Warriors’ best performances, she appreciates what Kriz and the rest of the Warriors did to gut out a win.

“Alex stepped up in the last game and our upperclassmen made big plays when we needed to throughout,” said Grant, who mentioned Kriz is still dealing with her injury on a daily basis. “She had a good hitting night and was strong for us offensively. … She’s a six-rotation player, is mentally tough, knows how to compete at a high level and is not afraid to have the ball come to her when the game is on the line — and that’s important.”

Carrie Weston’s 10 kills, Taliah Angwekwe’s nine shots and Kylee Bagley’s eight kills and 13 assists paced Stony Point (23-15, 3-3), which starts three freshmen and has a dangerous left-handed setter-hitter in Bagley.

“Proud of the way our girls fought back after the first game,” Tigers coach Julie Miller said. “This was a bit of a roller-coaster of a match, but we played really well at times and kept battling every point. … Really excited about the rest of the season and the future with this group.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Westwood's Alex Kriz powering Warriors volleyball