Concho Valley Volleyball to be Showcased This Week at Nita Vannoy Tournament

SAN ANGELO, TX — The 49th annual Nita Vannoy Memorial Volleyball Tournament will be held in San Angelo this week, featuring teams across West Texas and the Concho Valley.

The tournament is a bit smaller this season than in recent years with 23 teams, but there’s still a variety of schools from Class 1A to 6A.

San Angelo Central, which won the tournament in 2023 and ‘24 and finished as the runner-up last year, is one of the favorites to win the title, along with Seminole (ranked No. 8 in Class 4A) and Wall (a 3A state semifinalist last year).

Last year’s champion, Lubbock-Cooper, isn’t in the field.

Other Concho Valley schools include San Angelo Lake View, TLCA San Angelo, Paint Rock, Sterling City, Bronte, Miles, Grape Creek, Veribest and the San Angelo Saints homeschool team.

“I think we have a good mix,” Central head coach Julie Williams said. “Obviously, we’d like to grow it and get some bigger schools to come back. But we have a lot of local teams, which I appreciate them always coming to the tournament. They’ve been very faithful year in and year out, and it’s good for their fans for them to be close so they can see them.”

Friday’s matches will be held at four gyms around town — Central and Lake View high schools, and Lone Star and Lincoln middle schools.

The top team from each pool will advance to the Gold Division on Saturday, while second place will advance to the Silver Division, third place will advance to the Bronze Division, and fourth place will advance to the Bronze Challenger Division.

The championship match of the Gold Division will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Central.

The Nita Vannoy Tournament is named after the former Central coach who started the tournament in 1977.

Vannoy coached for more than 30 years, including 13 years at Central, highlighted by a state tournament appearance in 1984. She also led Irving High School to the 4A state title in 1973.

Central heads into the tournament with a 5-2 record, which includes wins over Mesquite Horn, DeSoto and Arlington Bowie at the Duncanville Tournament of Champions.

The Lady Cats’ two losses were against Plano West and Longview.

“We did a lot of good things (in Duncanville),” Williams said. “I was proud of the girls. They didn’t really shy away from the teams too much from the Metroplex. … I think we’re on the right track. We have a lot of young talent and new people playing in different roles on varsity. I think it’s going to be a fun team to watch. I’m looking forward to seeing how far we can grow and what we can do.”

After going 33-11 in 2024, the Lady Cats fell back to a 16-16 record last year. They return six players from that team, including senior outside hitter Adyson Gilbert, who was a first-team All-District 2-6A selection last season.

“She just continues to improve and do great things for us. She’s a great leader on and off the court,” Williams said.

Junior setter BK Rodriguez is another key returner.

“She’s somebody to watch this year,” Williams said. “She set for us last year, and she has great hands and great court instincts, and she plays really good defense.”

An exciting newcomer is junior middle blocker Shivayah Watson.

“She’s led us in kills a couple games already this year, and she’s led us in aces. She’s a really good server,” Williams said.

“We’ve got some good talent coming off our JV. We have seven juniors on our varsity, so we’re pretty stacked. We have some pretty good players all-around with a lot of athleticism and volleyball smarts, which is always a good combination to have.”

Across town, the Lake View Maidens improved from a winless season in 2024 to a seven-win campaign last year. They’re off to a 1-4 start this season.

Here’s a look at Friday’s schedule:

Nita Vannoy Memorial Volleyball Tournament

Pool 1 (at Central HS)

8 a.m.   Central JV vs. Presidio

9 a.m.   Sterling City vs. Paint Rock

10 a.m.   Sterling City vs. Presidio

11 a.m.   Central JV vs. Paint Rock

Noon   Presidio vs. Paint Rock

1 p.m.   Central JV vs. Sterling City

Pool 2 (at Lone Star MS)

8 a.m.   TLCA vs. Permian JV

9 a.m.   Bronte vs. Odessa Compass

10 a.m.   Bronte vs. Permian JV

11 a.m.   TLCA vs. Odessa Compass

Noon   Permian JV vs. Odessa Compass

1 p.m.   TLCA vs. Bronte

Pool 3 (at Lincoln MS)

8 a.m.   Seminole vs. Miles

9 a.m.   Alpine vs. Grape Creek

10 a.m.   Alpine vs. Miles

11 a.m.   Seminole vs. Grape Creek

Noon   Miles vs. Grape Creek

1 p.m.   Seminole vs. Alpine

Pool 4 (at Lake View HS)

8 a.m.   Wall JV vs. Angelo Saints

9 a.m.   Hawley vs. Rankin

10 a.m.   Hawley vs. Angelo Saints

11 a.m.   Wall JV vs. Rankin

Noon   Angelo Saints vs. Rankin

1 p.m.   Wall JV vs. Hawley

Pool 5 (at Central HS)

2 p.m.   Central vs. Sweetwater

3 p.m.   Veribest vs. Plainview

4 p.m.   Veribest vs. Sweetwater

5 p.m.   Central vs. Plainview

6 p.m.   Sweetwater vs. Plainview

7 p.m.   Central vs. Veribest

Pool 8 (at Lake View HS)

2 p.m.   Lake View vs. Fort Stockton

3 p.m.   Wall vs. Fort Stockton

4 p.m.   Lake View vs. Wall