It’s hard to imagine the Lake Travis volleyball program making a bigger leap than it did last year, but less than a year after making it to the state tournament, the Lady Cavaliers (43-3, 10-0) have new expectations and welcomed pressures.

A lot of the credit for that transition has to go to Lake Travis head coach Julie Green, who is 80-13 since taking over the program, despite her hiring being met with a fair amount of speculation.

But on the first night of the Lady Cavaliers’ second playoff run under her direction, Green could not stop talking about the maturity and determination of her players. Because now the expectation for Lake Travis is to make it to the state tournament. That changed overnight.

“I can’t speak for the kids and what they think. But I know their expectations are so much higher than those that anyone else has for them,” she said. “No matter what anyone else thinks, they know what we’re capable of and that’s part of why I don’t have to worry about a letdown. They deserve a lot of credit for the position we’re in, what we’ve accomplished and what we still want to accomplish.”

What they’ve accomplished to this point is the team’s first outright district title, thanks to a district run in which Lake Travis didn’t drop a single game. An impressive feat that few other teams in the state have matched this year. And they capped it off with a dominating win over top 25-4A foe Hutto 25-12, 25-13, 25-20. Amy Neal led Lake Travis with 16 kills, Cassie Wang had 25 assists, Morgan Hendrix had three aces, Mackenzie Mayo had 17 digs and Taylor Smith had 2.5 blocks.

“Anytime you set a goal like winning district, and you reach it, it makes all the other ones look attainable,” Green said. “The girls all play at a high level in every single game, and we didn’t drop a single a game all district. Now, we look at our last goal of winning state, and seems much more within our grasp now. On top of that – to not a drop a game shows great poise. That speaks volumes about the girls’ mentality. It’s so easy to lose focus and drop one game and still win it. But they never let that happen. They never let anyone sneak up on them.”

Lake Travis followed that up with a five-game win over 5A No. 7 A&M Consolidated on Friday, a win that was a big confidence builder after not being challenged for a month in district play.

“It was a good game for our kids, I think they kind of underestimated them going in, but they won the first game easily and then A&M really started to play,” Green said. “We were going point-for-point, and we had to make adjustments. We got five games out of it and got a big game five win. We need an opportunity to win a game in five like just for our psyche so we know we can do it in the future.”

Neal had 30 kills. Hendrix had 14, Smith had 11, Katy Beals had 10 and Piper Toler had nine.

“Everyone just played great,” Green said. “Mayo had 28 digs, she was a beast.”

An easy three-game sweep of Crockett in the opening round of the playoffs – 25-8, 25-11, 25-11 – kept Lake Travis rolling and made the end goal that much closer.

But the big question for the Lady Cavaliers is whether new expectations will affect their approach. Green doesn’t think so.

“It was definitely a fear early on in the season – that we wouldn’t get a whole lot better just because we were playing at such a high level,” she said. “But they’re so competitive with each other, and they’ve taken the initiative to keep challenging themselves. Right now, they love what we’re doing and where we’re going. Sometimes it’s hard to keep kids focused this deep in a season, but they’re so enveloped in the process, from scouting to practice. They’re a much better team now than they were three months ago.”

The only thing that hasn’t been defined yet in the program’s rise to prominence is what qualifies as a successful season. Is it too soon to expect state titles, or is that already the gold standard? It’s tough for Green to fully answer because in many ways, it’s still uncharted territory for herself, as well.

“Last year, I reached a point where I was OK with everything we’d done, and while I didn’t enjoy losing in the semifinals, I was so proud of the girls and how far we’d come. It felt like a success,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of what we’ve done this season and love the girls for what they’ve done. But I’m not close to that point yet, and I think we’re capable of a lot more. If I get to that point before the title game, then I’ll accept it. But we’ll be disappointed if we don’t get to the championship, no question.”

And if, in fact, the expectation is state titles and the team just doesn’t know it?

“It’s different this year, for sure. There’s more pressure,” Green said. “But at the same time, I think pressure is good and I think the girls play well under pressure. They’re ready.”

The Lady Cavs continue their march against Boerne Champion in Wimberley at 6 p.m. Friday night.