Aubrey's volleyball team will play for a regional final berth Friday night, extending a postseason habit that has defined the program for most of a decade. The Lady Chaparrals meet Lindale in a Class 4A Division I regional semifinal at 7 p.m. at Royse City High School, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's regional pairings.
Aubrey enters at 41-6 and ranked No. 3 in 4A Division I by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. Lindale arrives at 39-5 and ranked No. 2 in the same poll, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported when the matchup was set. Two of the classification's top three seeds will share a court in Royse City with a regional final on the line.
How Aubrey got here
The Lady Chaparrals swept Alvarado in the area round Tuesday at Fort Worth Castleberry High, winning 25-10, 25-6 and 25-6. The Denton Record-Chronicle reported that the victory pushed Aubrey into the regional semifinals for the seventh consecutive season.
That streak is the clearest measure of what this program has become under coach Whitney Marriott. Aubrey reached at least the regional final in each of the previous six seasons dating to 2020, the Record-Chronicle noted, and went 43-4 last year on the way to another 4A Division I regional final.
The current 41 wins already rank as the second-highest total of Marriott's tenure since she was hired in 2018.
Tuesday's sweep was not a stress test. Aubrey opened on a 6-0 run and never let Alvarado organize a response. Marriott told the Record-Chronicle the team came out with tempo, served aggressively and kept serve receive consistent. Alvarado finished 12-22.
What Lindale represents
Lindale's record and ranking strip away any notion of a soft regional draw. A 39-5 team ranked ahead of Aubrey in the TGCA poll is the kind of opponent that ends streaks when serve receive slips or when a close set gets away early.
The Star-Telegram pairings place the match in Royse City, a neutral site between the Denton County program and the East Texas side. Neutral-site regional semis reward the team that settles first. Aubrey has lived in this round for seven straight years. Lindale's body of work says it belongs there too.
