For Cinco Ranch, everything had been building to Tuesday.

The Cougars had put together a very successful year, notching a spot as one of the best teams in the state and going on a 16 game unbeaten streak on the way to clinching an undefeated district title.

But all of that was leading to where the Cougars really wanted to be, the playoffs. Cinco has been strong each of the past two years, making it to the regional quarterfinals in 2021 and the regional final last year, and this year they think they have what it takes to go even further.

That was on full display in the Cougars bi-district match against Fort Bend Travis, as Cinco dominated its way to a three set sweep (25-20, 25-13, 25-13) with the Cougars getting the win and advancing to area for the third straight season.

“We really have a lot of the same team that we had last year, but I think the biggest difference is we just want it more,” said senior middle blocker Emily Killam. “Going into playoffs last year we didn’t know what to expect and when we got to the fourth and fifth round it was almost a surprise. Now, we have a goal in mind. We want to get to state and we are playing with the intention to get there, not just the intention to get by.”

Travis threw everything it had at Cinco in the game and made the first set competitive, taking a lead late in the first set before the Cougars took a breath and regrouped to take the first set 25-20.

“They just calmed down their nerves and we played under control,” said Cinco Ranch head coach Danielle Wells. “We talked about defense a little bit and playing our type of game and the girls did a good job of that. They relaxed and just played a lot better once they got into the groove of the game and settled in.”

From there, Cinco never let Travis back into things. The Cougars went on to win the last two sets by over 10 points and clinch a sweep.

Cinco advances to play Jersey Village in the area round, time and date to be determined. Jersey Village comes off a 3 sets to 1 victory over Westside in the bi-district round.

“Tonight was great,” said junior outside hitter Gabi Martinez. “We’re all super excited to be back here in the playoffs and we know that we have a chance to go far. We’re ready to work hard and do everything we can to do that.”