The Bulldogs earned their 21st straight win, Amari Dudley ran at state and Wylie football will open the playoffs at home.

By Greg Jaklewicz

Volleyball | Wylie tops No. 6 Eagle Mountain in four sets

STEPHENVILLE • Wylie volleyball soared to a new height Friday night.

Coach Shay Cox’s team, ranked No. 7 in Class 5A, had lost twice in the third round of the Class 5A Division II playoffs before downing No. 6 Eagle Mountain 3-1.

Wylie won 29-27, 25-12, 23-25, 25-19 to advance to the Region I final.

The win sends Wylie to the Region I final against No. 1 Argyle. The match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Lipan High School gym. Lipan, a small-school basketball powerhouse, is just over 100 miles east of Abilene, south of I-20.

The win over Eagle Mountain was Wylie’s 21st straight win and pushed its season record to 37-4.

“A total team effort,” coach Shay Cox said. “We worked hard to sustain our pace, as well as our energy against a solid Eagle Mountain team. I am so proud of every player on the team.”

Eagle Mountain closed its season at 35-8.

Wylie faced a challenge in the Knights, who won the 2025 Class 4A Division II title with a 3-1 win over Wimberley.

Cox praised her back-row defense.

“(They) did a great job of getting the ball in our setter’s hands, and they went to work,” she said. “It was exciting to watch our hitters and blockers create, and deny, opportunities all night.”

Morgan Bearden had 10 of her team’s 27 digs, with Kiki Bolden adding nine.

Wylie had just two serving errors.

Blocks were hard to come by, with Haddie Mock registering the only one.

Up next for volleyball

The Bulldogs now will face the team that twice has ousted them in the third round.

Argyle eliminated Wichita Falls Memorial, the District 4-5A runner-up to Wylie, 3-0 in its Region I semifinal Friday.

The set scores were 25-10, 28-26, 25-21.

Argyle is 39-5, with one loss to Eagle Mountain in nondistrict play. The Eagles won both district meetings.

Cross country | Amari Dudley finishes 102nd at state

At Round Rock, Wylie sophomore Amari Dudley finished 102nd at the Class 5A girls cross country meet Saturday.

Dudley, who qualified from Region I as an individual runner, clocked a 20:19.5 over the 5,000-meter course at Old Settlers Park.

Mia Garcia of Abilene Cooper was 16th (18:37.7) to lead four runners from District 4-5A who finished among the top 10 at Lubbock. Teammate Lila Murillo was 26th (18:53.6).

Aubrey Duran of Abilene High, who ran at state last year, was 78th (19:50.1).

Region I champ Amelia Anderson of Lubbock High won the meet with a time of 17:47.1. Runner-up Savanah Moya of New Braunfels clocked a 17:56.0. They were the only two runners under 18 minutes on the challenging state course.

Football | Bulldogs open playoffs at home

The Wylie football team closed the regular season at 7-3 and was the second-place team in District 2-5A with a 49-32 win over Southtown rival Abilene Cooper on Friday.

It was Wylie’s fifth straight win over Cooper.

The Bulldogs face El Paso Del Valle at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Sandifer Stadium. Del Valle was third in District 1-5A, losing Friday to league champion Hanks, 35-28. Del Valle is 6-4 overall.

Wylie and Del Valle never have played in football.

The Bulldogs missed the playoffs last year. In 2024, district champion Wylie opened the playoffs with a 46-10 bi-district win over El Paso Andress, also at Sandifer Stadium.

Wylie also hosted El Paso teams in these recent bi-district games.

• 2023 · Wylie 55, Andress 7

• 2022 · Wylie 54, El Paso High 14