The Cedar Park Christian Eagles are back and raring to go after winning their first-ever 1A tri-district title last year and making the state tournament.

Returners are senior Cydnee Dufenhorst (outside hitter/right side), junior Mattie Shelford (6-foot outside hitter), junior Lyndsay Palmer (setter), junior Kayla Zacharias (libero) and junior J.J. Abbott (middle/right side).

Some new impact players are senior Kayla Roth (middle), sophomore Kat Estrada (setter), junior Amy Merkle (middle/outside hitter), junior Ari Gardner (6-3 middle/right side), senior Jenna Jo Duffy (middle/right side) and senior Sam Lundberg (right side/middle/defensive specialist).

“We have an experienced team that is focused and ready to play at a high level this year. We also believe in a very tactical approach, which often gives us an edge over our opponents. The girls’ desire is to be an example of Christ on and off the court,” said coach Julie Nelson.

Last year, Cedar Park finished 19-4 overall (1-2 at state) and won 16 of its games in 2-0 or 3-0 set shutouts in league and tournaments.

Palmer was an All-Emerald City League first-teamer, Dufenhorst and Shelford were second-teamers and Zacharias was an honorable mention.