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Volleyball fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area don't talk about Bruno, but they will very soon.

That's Bruno, as in Cedar Hill High School's first-year head volleyball coach, Anjonai Bruno, who comes to the district after three years as an assistant coach at The Kinkaid School in her hometown of Houston.

"I'm very strategic in how I game plan," Bruno said. "Being smart is better than being strong, tall, or athletic. Being able to know where to go and being quick is important. We'll be adding to the skills the girls already have. I've shadowed great coaches and worked under former Olympians. I've had a lot of great guidance."

Bruno succeeds Amanda Blackney, who led the program for the past five years, including a historic 2023 run. That season, the Lady Longhorns defeated perennial powers such as Mansfield and Waxahachie and reached the second round of the playoffs.

The new coach is set on establishing consistent trips to the playoffs. The Lady Longhorns will open the season on August 11 vs. Red Oak. They’ll begin district competition on September 8 at Corsicana.

"This will be a surprisingly successful season," Bruno said. "I'm trying to plan some fun things for the players and create learning experiences for them, not only as athletes but also as students and people."

Bruno, 26, has been coaching volleyball since graduating from Aldine Davis High School in north Houston in 2018.

The three-year varsity setter spent her college summers working with players at Davis. At Florida A&M, she was a team manager for the NCAA Division I Rattlers while earning a bachelor's degree in biology.

Bruno worked as a scientist for three years while coaching club volleyball in the Houston area. She soon realized that impacting the lives of players spoke to her more than being in a laboratory.

"Cedar Hill aligns with what I want as a coach and with the goals that I have as a person," Bruno said. "I want to strengthen the programs at feeder middle schools so the student-athletes there want to come to Cedar Hill High School."

 

Cedar Hill 2026 Volleyball Schedule

August 11 vs. Red Oak

August 14-16 at John Turner Tournament (Pearland)

August 18 at Little Elm

August 25 vs. Dallas Carter

August 28-30 at Godley Tournament

September 1 at Blooming Grove

September 4 vs. Mansfield

September 8 at Corsicana

September 11 vs. Lancaster

September 15 vs. Midlothian

September 18 at Ennis

September 22 vs. Crandall

September 25 at Midlothian Heritage

September 29 vs. DeSoto

October 2 vs. Corsicana

October 6 at Lancaster

October 9 at Midlothian

October 13 vs. Ennis

October 16 at Crandall

October 20 vs. Midlothian Heritage

October 23 at DeSoto