Texas High School Spotlight - Midlothian Panthers

Now that the high school season is well underway, we are starting our series of articles on those teams who have been lighting up the stat sheets and scoreboards.  We will be highlighting a few teams that have a chance to do something very special this year if it all works out.  Today we bring our attention to the Midlothian Panthers out of District 8-5A.   The Panthers are currently 29-3 overall and 8-1 in district so far on the young season.  They have some amazing senior leaders who have been through a lot in their volleyball careers.  They are looking for a fairy tale send off during their last year in high school.  We have written about some of these players before and here is a little from our recent articles about them if you need to remember who they are:   Kenna Buchanan [2023] 5-10 Outside (HS: Midlothian/Club: Dallas Skyline/Verbal: Texas A&M Corpus Christi)   Kenna is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings, but will be added for sure when we update them at the end of the high school season.  Miss Buchanan plays at Midlothian High School and also club for Dallas Skyline.  There is nothing that this young lady can't do on the volleyball court.  She fills up the stat book with passes, digs, blocks, kills, and even assists.  I'm sure she even calls timeouts and give out yellow cards.  Seriously, some players were just born to play the sport and Kenna is one of those athletes.  She can run a clinic on passing three balls to the setter out of serve receive and also how to dig like a libero whether in the front row or back row.  She leads the team in kills, but what is so impressive about her offensive arsenal is just how efficient it is.  She leads the team in hitting percentage also as she is hitting at a .369 clip at the moment…from the left side.  That is normally a middle's hitting percentage.  This electric baller can just score in bunches at will.  We are proud to be covering her and I can't wait to unveil the new updates to the rankings, because she will for sure be on them.      [player_tooltip player_id='176665' first='Jenna' last='McMichael'] [2023] 5-5 Libero (HS: Midlothian/Club: Dallas Skyline/Verbal:  Dallas Baptist University)   Jenna is currently ranked as the 83rd best overall prospect in the 2023 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.  She is a fantastic libero from Midlothian High School and also plays club for Dallas Skyline.  We wrote an article about her recently and here is what we stated, “Some defensive specialists or liberos excel in digging or they excel in serve receive.  Jenna can do it all in the back row. She is such a joy to watch as she holds her platform well after contact.  Her body control is on another level as she contorts it while digging to deliver pinpoint accurate passes/digs to her setter.  She is one of those fun to watch liberos that have no regard for their body as they lay out for balls well outside of her zone without hesitation.  We are proud to announce that Jenna has decided to play college volleyball at the Dallas Baptist University.  I think they have gotten a steal of a player as she has proven to be an elite ball control specialist.”  I was able to watch her play in person at Nationals this summer for club and she was super impressive.  She just has a nose for the ball and it shows in her numbers.  This year she has already tallied 393 digs and 487 service receptions.  I don't know if Midlothian will ever be able to replace this kind of production that she has had over her career.    Lauren Safrit [2023] 5-11 Outside (HS: Midlothian/Club: [program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage']/Verbal: Oklahoma Baptist)   Lauren is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.  She plays at Midlothian High School and also club for [program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage'] Volleyball.   She is a high flyer who is a member of the famed ten foot club meaning she can approach touch ten feet high in the air.  She is second on the team in kills and has tallied 299 kills on a very impressive .342 hitting percentage.  Every year she has gotten better and better on the court.  This kind of production and growth has led to her signing a letter of intent to play at Oklahoma Baptist University next season.  She has exceptional footwork on her flare out patterns from serve receive and during her approach.  This will translate to the college game really well.  It is working wonders for her during the school season.  I love how she keeps her shoulders over her knees during digs and serve receive.  This allows her to keep the ball moving forward toward the setter and it shows just how much hard work has gone into her technique.    Other notable players for this awesome squad are junior middle [player_tooltip player_id='307448' first='Angelina' last='Masojc'] who is blocking like a beast for the Panthers.  She leads the team in blocks.  Senior setter Karli Rector has been a stud dishing dimes to all of her wonderful hitters.  She is also third on the team in kills from the opposite position.  This team is one to watch in the 5A race for the title.  We will be watching very closely.    Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.  If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:nov8vb@yahoo.com">nov8vb@yahoo.com</a>.  Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.  Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.  Thanks for following Texas Family!

Now that the high school season is well underway, we are starting our series of articles on those teams who have been lighting up the stat sheets and scoreboards. We will be highlighting a few teams that have a chance to do something very special this year if it all works out. Today we bring our attention to the Midlothian Panthers out of District 8-5A.