Tompkins vs. Dawson – Top Performers
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The high school volleyball season is underway in the state of Texas and we’ll try and be in as many matches as we can in order to bring the best coverage of the sport and all the info on the…
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Continue ReadingThe high school volleyball season is underway in the state of Texas and we’ll try and be in as many matches as we can in order to bring the best coverage of the sport and all the info on the most promising prospects of the Lone Star State to you every week.
The idea is to do things a little bit differently this year, so after every match I attend, I’ll be posting a quick article highlighting the players that stood out the most in that particular encounter.
Our stop on Friday, August 19, was in Katy, to watch the match between Tompkins and Dawson. The home team started the match on fire and although the Pearland squad fought back on sets two and three, the Falcons still managed to get a sweep (25-6, 26-24, 25-21) and improve their season record to 10-1. Dawson currently stands at 6-4.
Top Performers
Tendai Titley
Tendai Titley
One of the most complete players in Tompkins’ squad, Titley showed once again how valuable her versatility can be. After starting the season on the right, the 5’11” prospect, who played middle in 2021, was used as an outside hitter. She took full advantage of her versatility on offense, hitting from the left, the right, the middle and the back row with a very high efficiency level. Titley also did very well in changing the rhythm of her shots, going from hard-driven hits to tips. She was solid with her serving, her passing and her defense as well.
Presley Powell
Presley Powell
The talented setter was one of the key reasons for Tompkins’ easy win on the first set. Working with precise first contacts, she was brilliant with her ball distribution, moving her hitters around a lot. At times, it was not only impossible to know who was going to be set but also where that player would get the ball. When Dawson got back in the game, she changed her style, playing more conservatively, but not less efficiently. Powell showed great courage to bring the second set to an end on a setter dump after a lot of back and forth.
Tompkins’ main hitter was moved to the right this time and was equally impressive with her offense. From there, she was able to fire some unbelievable sharp angle kills and hit the ball with tremendous power from the back row. Tchouangwa showed all her athleticism and hang time on a ridiculous swat block on the second set a few plays before coming up big for her team with kills and serves on crunch time.
Dawson had a terrible first set and most of it was due to the team’s inability to deal with Tompkins’ strong serves but it would have been a lot worse if Galley wasn’t on the court. The dynamic libero not only handled well the few serves that went her way but also avoided a handful of direct points by recovering shanked passes from her teammates. She also played good defense throughout the match and had some more saves when covering her hitters.
The sophomore middle blocker wasn’t able to impact the game at all on the first set as her team struggled with serve-receive, but when things got under control, she was an entirely different player. Jones got her offense going on set two and immediately became one of the team’s most productive hitters. Her blocking also started to make more of an impact on the game, if not by scoring direct points, certainly by putting pressure on Tompkins’ hitter and forcing mistakes from them