Liberty-Liberty North crosstown rivalry ends in a classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though October is cancer awareness month, this crosstown rivalry matchup between Liberty and Liberty North was the perfect setting for it. You can feel the intensity and energy in the air. The student body from each respective schools brought a different flavor on who's the better “Liberty” school. The gym is packed in pink coloring and on the back wall are signs for family and friends who lost their lives to cancer or have beat any kind of cancer. Liberty dons their pink jersey while Liberty North has "Fight for a cure" special jersey for the match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had one of the best settings in Liberty (Prep Dig KC Metro #3) hosting Liberty North (Prep Dig KC Metro #6). I saw them at the MoKan Challenge and both fell short on the championship title. The I-35 crosstown rivalry, which separates the school less than 10 minutes apart, will be the talk of the town and bragging right until they (potentially) see each other at the district playoffs. In a back-and-forth match, Liberty took the match in 5 with scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 15-12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":231569,"width":348,"height":195,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/trim.6896FF88-F48A-4C6D-918E-33D2DEC271C8.mov" alt="" class="wp-image-231569" width="348" height="195"/><figcaption><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Electric atmosphere from the student bodies</mark></figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a reminder, we are here to highlight the players at Prep Dig. Here are the notable players from the crosstown rivalry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Liberty Blue Jays</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='99216' first='Ashley' last='Mullen'] - S - 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always, Mullen is the glue to the Blue Jays offense. She's smart on her decision-making to create opportunities for her hitters against a tough Liberty North blocking scheme. Mullen had 49 assists in the match and provided the extra offensive touch for Liberty with some kills on her own. She's good for a few one-handed dump and swings when the opportunities present itself. Mullen kept Liberty in the match with a match-high 32 serves in the stats sheet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aisha Aiono - MB - 2023<br>[player_tooltip player_id='99215' first='Brooklyn' last='Young'] - MB - 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The middle blocker options for Liberty is plentiful with [player_tooltip player_id='99215' first='Brooklyn' last='Young'] and Aisha Aiono. Both were dominant for the Blue Jays as they defend the net. Young collected 8 blocks and 12 kills (0.417 hitting percentage) while Aiono had 4 blocks and 14 kills (0.481). The lengthy front row of Liberty create havoc and kept Liberty North's hitters at bay with a 0.148 hitting efficiency.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='152129' first='Jocelyn' last='Renfro'] - OH - 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Renfro is often overshadowed by most of her teammates but the senior outside hitter took the spotlight with her plays. She was able to find holes and locate shots against Liberty North, collecting 15 kills with a 0.270 hitting percentage. Renfro also changed her serving regimen and varied her serves. Often times she used a much more powerful top-spin serves but during the match she used more of her semi-float jump serves and had the most aces for the Blue Jays with 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='152138' first='Phoenix' last='St. Louis'] - DS - 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Louis came in as a serving and defensive specialist. She's second to [player_tooltip player_id='99216' first='Ashley' last='Mullen'] serving numbers and shows why she's deserving to be on the court. Though not recorded as a statistical component, St Louis had some hustle second ball plays to keep the point alive. She was the spark plug the Blue Jays needed in serving and defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='153930' first='Abigail' last='Mullen'] - OH - 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The younger Mullen did it all for the Blue Jays. She's getting used to playing on the left pin and was a force on the net with her big blocks. Mullen led the team in kills (17) and digs (22), and participated in 6 blocks. Her block reach is troublesome for opponent's hitters as she can penetrate high and over the net. Standing at 6'3", Gail is not afraid to hit the floor to get the defensive digs as well as some serve-receive balls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Liberty North Eagles</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='119226' first='Carlie' last='Cisneros'] - OH - 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":231571,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/3260D99B-7258-482F-9A23-5151AAF11FCF-732x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-231571"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's little introduction needed for Cisneros as she is the Eagles go-to hitter in every match. She attacked the ball 53 times and recorded 15 kills. It's amazing how versatile Cisneros is as she ran different hitting options for the Eagles to score points against Liberty's tough blocking scheme.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='152821' first='Lauren' last='Wright'] - S - 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>More often than not, Wright starts the game on rotation 1 for the Eagles. The junior setter kept the defense guessing with her set distribution to her hitters. She's vertical every time she sets and have this little "jump-set" motion to ensure that she's in position for a solid contact. Wright's float serve was troublesome for Liberty's receiver as she had 6 aces in 15 serves (I'll take a 40% ace percentage any day!).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='152148' first='Rory' last='Stanley'] - MB - 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stanley was named MaxPreps Player of the Game for Liberty North's side and it was deserving so. She was active at the net collecting 8 kills and a team-high 6 blocks. Stanley was a viable option when Liberty North's offense started to be limited.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='153934' first='Emma' last='Christian'] - S - 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christian sets behind Wright in the Eagle's 6-2 offense. The sophomore setter shinned defensively, collecting double-digit digs (10), just behind older sister Abby Christian. In terms of aces, Christian did not get as many as Wright but her serves kept Liberty out-of-system. She finished the night with 16 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Did we miss someone we should be aware of? Please email PrepDigMarshall@gmail.com or Twitter&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.x.com/prepdigmarshall" target="_blank">@PrepDigMarshall&nbsp;</a>with your inquiries!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->