Foster vs. Friendswood – Top Performers
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.
On Friday, September 2, we were at the matchup between Foster and Friendswood. Despite playing on the road, the Mustangs came out on top of an amazing five-set match, beating the Falcons 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 15-6). Friendswood is now 19-9 for the season while Foster dropped to 15-8.
Top Performers
Cierra Pesak
Cierra Pesak
The Friendswood libero was probably the player who displayed steadier volleyball throughout a match of numerous ups and downs. Pesak was impeccable with her passing despite covering half of the court for the entire match and generated countless transition opportunities for the Mustangs with her several digs. She was very calm on the court and it was clear her presence on the backcourt brought an important level of stability and confidence to her teammates. She also had some good serving runs.
Nadiya Shelby
Nadiya Shelby
A new face with Friendswood this season, Shelby has immediately one of the team’s main offensive pieces. That was in full display against Foster, when she carried the team’s offense in a match in which some of the more veteran players weren’t very consistent. Shelby was barely bothered by Foster’s blockers and showed a well-developed offensive game, hitting the ball hard in every single direction. She also displayed excellent blocking presence, tallying some important stops at the net.
The physical right-side hitter was a constant offensive producer for her team. She made very good decisions throughout the match, changing her rhythm offensively and hitting at a very high level. Sims scored in difficult situations in key moments of the match and did a great job of recovering quickly from the few mistakes she made. She also had a good blocking performance, stopping Foster’s hitters every once in a while.
Highlights
Jackie Onyechi
Jackie Onyechi
The explosive Onyechi had a slow start offensively, much due to her team’s passing struggles, but did a great job in impacting the game with her blocking and still helping her team. She got her offensive going on the second set and never looked back, hammering balls down from the middle and the right. Despite the loss, Foster was vastly dominant in the middle and much of it was due to Onyechi’s strong performance against much taller blockers.
Emerson Lechler
Emerson Lechler
The freshman outside hitter clearly wasn’t bothered with the pressure of the match and stepped up to play a big role in the Eagles’ offense in the absence of Koryn Johnson. Lechler showed a strong personality and great determination to challenge big blocks and overcome them on several occasions. She displayed a great combination of length, power and finesse and once she got her offense going, it was clear her confidence level strongly reflected in her passing and defense.