Joy Udoye, a senior at Cedar Park High School, is one of the top 10 Austin-area volleyball players to watch this high school volleyball season. Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
CEDAR PARK — Joy Udoye really is still in high school.
Though one could be forgiven for mistaking her for a college volleyball player just in passing, she still has a semester to go at Cedar Park. But her play on the court this fall resembled an athlete playing at the next level.
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Joy Udoye (center) is surrounded by her Cedar Park teammates after the Timberwolves won the Class 5A Division II state championship Nov. 22, 2025 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Steve Hamm/Special to American-Statesman
Udoye — who helped the Timberwolves to the Class 5A Division II state title with eye-popping stats of 581 kills, 364 digs, 34 aces and 30 blocks as Cedar Park finished 39-12 overall — leads the American-Statesman’s 2025 All-Central Texas Volleyball Team as our player of the year. This year’s team honors 54 area players from 24 different schools.
RECENT PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
2024: Laney Hennessee, Wimberley
2023: Henley Anderson, Dripping Springs
2022: Henley Anderson, Dripping Springs; Mackenzie Plante, Dripping Springs
2021: Chloe Charles, Vandegrift
2020: Jamison Wheeler, Lake Travis
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Being named Central Texas’ player of the year is the cherry on top of an impressive career for Udoye, an outside hitter who signed to play with Stanford and started all four years for the Timberwolves. A two-time first-team All-Central Texas pick, she and Cedar Park finished runner-up at state a year ago, something that fueled her and the team’s success this fall.
“We started off the season with that being our goal,” Udoye said. “We brought that into everything that we did. … Throughout all of our practices and our training, we kept that in mind.”
Joy Udoye (7) slams another kill for the Timberwolves as Cedar Park competed during third round action in the Class 5A playoffs against Rouse Nov. 7, 2023, at Vista Ridge High School. Rouse won the first two sets, then the fourth set, to dispatch Cedar Park from the quarterfinals, 3-1.
Paul Knight/Special to American-Statesman
Cedar Park’s Joy Udoye took game to new level
In an area loaded with talent — all eight players on the All-Central Texas first team have either signed with or are committed to a Division I school — Udoye is one of the best. And though she has been one of Central Texas’ top players for a few years, her coach feels she took her play to another level this season.
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“This was the best version of Joy that I witnessed,” Cedar Park coach Lori McLaughlin said. “She peaked at the right time as a senior. … And that’s a testament to her training and all the time she’s put in the last four years.”
Udoye: a standout six-rotation specialist
Udoye is more than just an outside hitter. She never left the floor for the Timberwolves as a six-rotation player and excels in passing, blocking and serving. But putting down a kill is her favorite thing to do, and she provided a matchup nightmare for opponents when hitting. Standing north of 6 feet with an impressive vertical and elite athleticism, her hitting power stands out.
Joy Udoye, a senior at Cedar Park High School, is one of the top 10 Austin-area volleyball players to watch this high school volleyball season. Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Though raw totals were down from a year ago, she still averaged more than four kills a set and a 26.1 hitting percentage.
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“I was more consistent this season … and I just feel so accomplished (after a kill),” she said. “I like the competitiveness that volleyball brings. … I just like going out on the court. I find it enjoyable and an escape from regular life.”
Joy Udoye: ‘Sometimes it still feels like a dream’
Udoye was born to be an athlete. With three older brothers who were involved in sports, she was constantly around some sort of activity. Sometimes, she was part of the roughhousing that older brothers tend to bring.
“That just brought a different type of personality out of me,” she said with a laugh. “And I would get to learn off of their (athletic experiences).”
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McLaughlin first saw Udoye at a camp after she took over the program in 2019. The coach thought Udoye was an eighth-grader when she actually was in sixth grade. Less than three years later, Udoye started as a freshman. And three years after that, she would provide the block on the match-winning point that gave Cedar Park a state title to cap off an exceptional individual season.
“Sometimes it still feels like a dream,” Udoye said. “You ask yourself, ‘Is this real?’ … But it was an amazing experience to win it with such a close team … and I had good connections with all of my setters and teammates.”
Cedar Park’s Joy Udoye prepares to serve during the Class 5A Division II state championship game Nov. 22, 2025 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.
Mike McLennan/Special to American-Statesman