State Finals: Division 2 Standouts
Chris Tobolski
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<p>After dropping the first set Redwood turned it around and defeated Carlsbad in four sets 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20, to capture the Division 2 state title. See which players rose up for their respective teams.</p>
<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="162754" first="Kaley" last="Mathews"], 6-0 Setter, Jr, Redwood</strong> – It certainly took Mathews and her hitters a set to get it going but once they did there was a lot to like about the way Mathews distributed the ball and started keeping it away from the big block at times Carlsbad showed. She finished with 35 assists, chipping in with 8 digs. Mathews was also the biggest threat from the service line. She led the team with four aces and zero service errors.</p>
<p><strong>Sophia Shaw, 5-7 Libero, Sr, Redwood</strong> – After an explosive first set from Carlsbad, the match quickly turned into a defensive affair and that meant Shaw scooping up would-be attacks as she picked up on the timing and placement of the Carlsbad hitters. She had a match-high 21 digs in a strong showing.</p>
<p><strong>Jaden Hendrickson, 5-11 Right Side, Soph, Redwood</strong> – Hendrickson starred offensively for the Giants and they really needed her production on the right to help balance out the attack. She had just one swing in the lopsided first set but finished with 24, 11 of them kills. She hit a team-high .375.</p>
<p><strong>Emma McDermott, 6-1 Outside, Jr, Redwood</strong> – McDermott was the workhorse on the outside, taking 40 swings. She ended with 15 kills as she became more effective as the match wore on. She was also a key cog in serve receive as well on defense, where she put up 11 digs.</p>
<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="162805" first="Cayla" last="Payne"], 6-3 Middle Blocker, Jr, Carlsbad</strong> – When the passing was there, the Lancers went to Payne. It’s just the passing wasn’t on enough to go to her more. Payne was Carlsbad’s most effective weapon as Redwood struggled stopping her attacks out of the middle. She put up 8 kills on 17 swings, hitting .412. She also touched her share of would-be attacks from Redwood, ending with a team-high 1.5 blocks.</p>
<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159951" first="Rylee" last="Schulz"], 6-0 Outside, Sr, Carlsbad</strong> – As the Lancers’ passing starting to breakdown, they became more and more reliant on Schulz to shoulder the load offensively. She took 19 swings in the fourth set on her way to 54 for the match. She did record a match-high 23 kills and added 7 digs. </p>
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