Clear Brook visits Clear Creek on Friday, Sept. 25, for a 6 p.m. match, still searching for its first District 18-6A volleyball win. The Wolverines are 0-5 in district play and 4-24 overall, according to MaxPreps, sitting eighth in the eight-team district.

The schedule offers few soft spots in a realigned 18-6A that added Barbers Hill, a team that went 40-6 in Class 5A last season.

Clear Creek has won two straight district matches after opening 0-3. The Wildcats beat Clear Falls 25-18, 20-25, 25-15, 25-21 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, improving to 9-22 overall and 2-3 in district. Clear Creek is chasing a 26th consecutive playoff appearance.

"The goal at this point is to end the first half 4-3," Clear Creek head coach Scott Simonds told The Galveston County Daily News after the win.

To reach that mark, Simonds said the Wildcats need victories over Clear Brook on Friday and Clear Lake on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Both matches carry weight in the district's playoff picture.

Simonds said the early 0-3 start tested his players after a preseason schedule loaded with top competition. He pointed to a similar situation two years ago, when Clear Creek started district 1-3 and finished 8-6 to earn a playoff berth.

"I'm proud of the group for not giving up," Simonds said.

Clear Brook's remaining first-half schedule runs through the top of the district. Friday's match gives the Wolverines a shot at a Clear Creek team that is 9-22 overall despite its recent momentum. A win would be Clear Brook's first in district and could shake up the bottom half of the standings heading into the second round of league play.