PHOTO CREDIT: JENNIFER GAUER PHOTOGRAHPY
BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @Gosset41
For most of the 2007 season, Lauren McPherson was pregnant with her daughter Kinsley. No one would have imagined then that those two would etch their name in UIL volleyball state history 15 years later.
This fall, McPherson enters her 20th season as a coach at Blum.
She started as an assistant in 2005 and three years later, she took over the Bobcats. Kinsley, now a junior, was born in May of 2008 and the two have been best friends since. McPherson coached her first game as a head coach three months later in August.
“We are very close. She is my best friend and I love all the time we get to spend together and I am already having a hard time that it’s starting to come closer to the end, “Lauren said. “Shopping is our favorite thing by far. Then I would say getting our nails and toes done, eating different places and traveling.”
“My mom is my best friend because of the time we spend together. I can go to her about anything,” Kinsley added.
Of course, Kinsley became a volleyball baby and was constantly around the game growing up.
“I probably picked up my first volleyball as soon as I could walk or whenever my mom put it in my hands as a baby,” she said. “When I was little I always wanted to be involved if it had something to do with her team and a volleyball.”
A few years down the road and Lauren created their first club team in Blum. She knew right away that Kinsley had a future in the sport.
“When we made our first club team in Blum, Kinsley was in the fourth grade & the team was made up of girls that were in the fifth and sixth grades,” Lauren said. “Even at this young age, she had such good awareness and her arm swing was so good even then. She couldn’t jump very well and was smaller at the time so she had to learn even then how to put the ball in a good spot.”
Blum has become the latest Texas high school volleyball dynasty with state tournament appearances in five consecutive seasons and six in the past seven years. This includes playing in the last four Class 1A championship matches and winning back-to-back titles.
The Bobcats brought home the program’s first title in 2022.
Kinsley was a freshman
During a dominant three-game sweep against D’Hanis, Kinsley registered a game-high 17 kills on a 0.325 hitting clip and voted state champ MVP.
She also had 17 kills in their semifinal win over Lamesa Klondike.
Kinsley had officially arrived.
She snapped a long drought at the UIL state tournament. Kinsley became the first freshman to win MVP honors since 2010 – a span of 11 seasons that saw the UIL crown 122 champions.
After going 33-13 in 2022, Blum went 40-7 last season. The Bobcats beat Neches (25-15, 25-15, 25-16) in the semifinals and then knocked off Harrold (25-12, 25-15, 19-25, 25-13) in the title match. Kinsley would finish the season with 434 kills in 120 sets played along with 82 aces and 424 digs.
Sharing the court the past two years have been special for the McPherson girls – and they get two more years before Kinsley graduates.
“It’s been great. We’ve definitely had our fair share of arguments, but I’m glad I get to experience this with her.,” Kinsley said. “While I’m getting ready to start looking into colleges, I feel like I’m going to look for my mom in those coaches – like their styles and how they think about the sport and their team.”
Added Lauren, “They have been so special. Her freshman year was like a fairy tale. Now there were some ups and downs early, but watching her out there do the things she did as a freshman was amazing. Her sophomore year she just picked back up where she left off. She has watched the ups and downs of this program her whole life and to watch her take so much of the load for the last two years has been the best to watch. I am so excited to see what she does the next two years.”
McPherson opened the 2024 season with 43 kills vs Grandview (second most in program history) and surpassed 1,000 career kills. She also was selected to the all-tournament team at the Brock Classic.
