New Braunfels, Boerne volleyball move to third round following sweeps
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New Braunfels and Boerne moved one step closer to a state quarterfinal clash after recording sweeps in a playoff doubleheader Tuesday night at Littleton Gym.
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New Braunfels turned away Burbank, 25-7, 25-14, 25-18 in a Class 5A Division II second round playoff. That preceded Boerne's 25-14, 25-14, 25-19 victory against Fox Tech.
New Braunfels (30-18) next faces Victoria West in the regional semifinals later this week. Boerne (31-6) will meet Sharyland Pioneer in the same round. Those winners matchup in the state quarterfinals early next week.
New Braunfels is aiming for back-to-back state semifinal runs. This time, the Unicorns are trying to get there with a new coach, Danielle Coleman, who replaced Kate Norris, who accepted a job at the newly opened Tomball West.
Coleman comes to New Braunfels with a strong resumé, which includes a four-season stint at La Vernia where she guided the Bears to last year's Class 4A Division I state final with a 43-10 record. The Express-News selected Coleman as its 2025 Coach of the Year for those efforts.
"Honestly from the start, it was a little tough switching to how Coleman does her thing," New Braunfels senior Shaylie Schaefer said. "She does different things, and it's been very impactful to our program, and it's showing on this run we are making in playoffs."
Schaefer and senior libero Hayden Jeffers were the key returners for the Unicorns. Prior to the season, they gathered together to navigate how they'd lead their inexperienced teammates through the coaching transition.
"We had a deep conversation, and we had to show them how to do this and be there and be supportive every time, even when they are having hard times," Schaefer said. "We had to be there more on the mental side because we definitely had the physical capability."
HS VOLLEYBALL SCOREBOARD:Check out San Antonio's second-round playoff scores
After some early bumps in the form of a 16-16 non-district record, the Unicorns found their legs in District 25-5A play where they went 12-2 with a pair of losses against Smithson Valley, which went undefeated during league play. They were familiar with Coleman's stint at La Vernia, so they knew they were in good hands. It was just a matter of adjusting.
"To say it was easy would probably be a lie," Jeffers said. "You never know when you have somebody new, and I feel like it could not have gone better. We love her so much. She definitely makes us work hard."
That work ethic showed Tuesday when the Unicorns cruised with a huge first set and battled through some early back-and-forths in sets two and three before locking it up. Senior Dylan Boddicker led the Unicorns with 11 kills.
Meanwhile, Boerne is enjoying its best season since 2012, when they Greyhounds won 34 matches and advanced to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. More significantly for the 2026 Greyhounds, they are making their first playoff run under third-year coach Staci Lawrence.
New Braunfels Unicorns Shaylie Schaefer (11) blocks kill from Burbank Bulldogs Madylynn Flores (9). New Braunfels defeated Burbank 3-0 on Tuesday, Nov.3,2026 at Littleton Gym. (Ronald Cortes)Lauren Magnus, Ava Seamans and Bella Pettet were sophomores on Lawrence's first Boerne team two years ago. After going 19-17 overall and 3-13 in district last year, the Greyhounds focused on getting their team chemistry in a good spot.
"We really worked on our team culture and working on stuff off the court," Magnus said. "That just made our skills on the court a lot smoother. It's been really fun to grow together (with Seamans and Pettet) and just be here for all three years and watch our hard work get shown out."
The Greyhounds put on an efficient performance against Fox Tech (18-16). Seamans had seven kills on 11 swings. Brook Summers had 10 kills. Magnus had 25 assists.
Boerne controlled most of the match and rarely fell behind.
"We did a really good job at communicating and keeping high energy throughout the game," Magnus said. "It kind of got slow in some parts, so we had to keep high energy and talking."
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