State Tournament Top Performers – Day 1
The first day of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) State Championship is in the books as Divisions 1A and 2A started competing on Wednesday at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. Fayetteville and Blum, on class 1A, and Beckville and…
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Continue ReadingThe first day of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) State Championship is in the books as Divisions 1A and 2A started competing on Wednesday at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Fayetteville and Blum, on class 1A, and Beckville and Thrall, on 2A, have won their matches and advanced to the State Tournament matches on their divisions, which will happen on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Here’s a summary of what happened in all four matches of the day and a shoutout for the top performers of the first day of competition.
1A
Fayetteville 3-0 Sulphur Bluff (25-13, 25-16, 25-10)
Fayetteville was absolutely dominant from the service line with 19 aces against Sulphur Bluff’s three. The Lady Lions were also vastly superior on offense, with 30 kills to the Lady Bears’ 16. Texas’ top scorer in 2021, junior outside hitter Brooklyn Jaeger Brooklyn Jaeger 5'9" | OH Fayetteville | 2023 State TX surpassed the mark of 1,000 kills in a single season with the 18 she tallied and ended the match with a whopping 27 points (eight aces and one block). Sophomore outside hitter Kayme Schley also scored in double digits with eight kills and three aces while senior setter Mattie Konvicka tallied 22 assists. Sulphur Bluff’s top performer was senior middle blocker Skylar Stanley with eight kills and one block.
Blum 3-0 Veribest (25-13, 25-14, 25-10)
Blum’s offense was what took the Lady Cats to the State Tournament match as the outscored Veribest 47-16 in that area. The 2018 runners-up counted on a stellar performance of sophomores Addison Willingham (middle blocker), who produced 22 points (19 kills, one ace and two blocks), and Ruby Rumohr (right sider), who had nine kills to go with four aces and 30 assists. While Veribest had a hard time scoring on Blum, senior outside hitter Kennadi Wheeless had a match-high 21 digs.
2A
Beckville 3-0 Crawford (25-20, 25-12, 26-24)
Beckville knocked last year’s runners-up Crawford with considerable advantage from the service line (8-4 in aces) and at the net (47-36 in kills). Senior outside hitter played a phenomenal two-way match for the Bearcats, delivering 19 kills and 23 digs. Junior setter Sophie Elliott was also in great form as she produced 36 aces and 14 digs. Seniors Lexi Moody (setter) and Katie Warden (outside hitter) were Crawford’s top performers, with the first tallying 23 assists, 11 digs and seven kills and the second leaving the court with 13 kills and 19 digs to her name.
Thrall 3-0 Wink (25-19, 25-21, 25-20)
Thrall improved from last year’s State Tournament semifinal appearance with a dominating in serving (13-5 aces) and kills (46-28). Sophomore Melaina Grissom (11 kills, nine digs) and juniors Mia Mollenberg (11 kills, two blocks) and Aaliyah Couch (eight kills, 30 assists, five digs) led the way for the Tigerettes. Freshman Aizlyn Dewberry kept Wink in the game with 16 kills, seven digs and two blocks.