Playoffs: Cinco Ranch vs. Bellaire – Top Performers
The high school volleyball playoffs keep progressing in the state of Texas and the second round of the postseason has been pretty exciting with the area round promoting some interesting matchups between some of the heavyweights of the Lone Star…
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Continue ReadingThe high school volleyball playoffs keep progressing in the state of Texas and the second round of the postseason has been pretty exciting with the area round promoting some interesting matchups between some of the heavyweights of the Lone Star State.
As we continue to bring you the best high school volleyball coverage, we’ll be following some of the key matches of the most critical encounters of the postseason and will keep detailing how they played out and who were the top players on the court.
On Thursday, November 3, Conference 6A – District 19 runners-up Cinco Ranch Cougars and District 18 winners Bellaire Cardinals battled at the Merrell Center, in Katy. The Cougars had a dominant performance and swept (25-16, 25-11, 25-11) their opponents to make it to the next round, where they will meet the winners of the duel between the Stratford Spartans and the Seven Lakes Spartans.
Top Performers
Gabi Martinez
Gabi Martinez
Cinco Ranch’s dynamic right side hitter played an excellent match in the area round. She was very effective with her offense, hitting different sets and using power and finesse to score. Martinez found great angles to score while making very few errors. She also helped with a few blocks and aces and made good defensive plays.
Kayla Atkinson
Kayla Atkinson
The Cougars’ libero was impeccable all night. Atkinson was very active on defense and always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone else on the backcourt. She also handled well the serves that went her way and did great when she had to set in transition. Atkinson had a long run of ten serves on set three that helped Cinco Ranch secure the win.
The star sophomore setter was extremely intelligent with her ball distribution as, with the match under control for most of the time, she did her best to keep all her hitters involved. O’Brien also had a great blocking performance, using her size and length to stuff opposing hitters quite a few times. She also made good defensive plays and fired a couple of aces.
Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo
Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo
Bellaire’s high-flying outside hitter led her team technically and emotionally in the most important match of the season. Mbeche-Odhiambo used her tremendous vertical and power to score from the left, right and the backcourt and was very stable with her passing for most of the time. She also pushed her teammates with encouraging words until the end.
Sage Canon
Sage Canon
Despite the defeat, Bellaire was really difficult to score on and much of it was due to Canon’s strong play on the backcourt. Her positioning on defense was excellent and her ball control was even better. Canon also did well with her passing and served tough.