Stat It Up- The Series: #21-25 Ace Leaders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's the last of the top 25 series! We have the next five of our ace leaders in the state for 2022, and these girls are pretty good! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#21, Carly Thomas</strong> <em>(Harlan)</em>- A six rotation sophomore from Harlan, Carly Thomas, scored 79 aces in 62 sets. Carly Thomas is a literal athlete where she also plays basketball and softball. Her gift in life is to make every sport she participates in look effortless. One of the best parts of her volleyball game though is serving. Thomas can make a difference behind the service line and really puts a lot of focus into the serve. She was the backbone of this team and will be fun to watch for two more years! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#22, Marlie Fanning</strong> <em>(Fort Campbell)</em>- Another six rotation sophomore, Marlie Fanning was the clear star for Fort Campbell where she tallied 76 service aces but also led the team in every other category with 75 kills, 85 assists, and 132 digs. If Fanning could pass, set, hit and serve every ball, I promise she would do exactly that. Fanning stays committed on and off the court. You can trust that even when she's not at volleyball, she is putting in the work and keeping up with her physical and mental health. As an all around player, she flew around and touched everything she could whether it was attacking, passing, setting, or serving. Her athleticism was truly inspiring to watch this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#23, [player_tooltip player_id='157458' first='Natalie' last='Waddell']</strong> <em>(Knott County Central)</em>- The glue for Knott County Central in 2022 [player_tooltip player_id='157458' first='Natalie' last='Waddell'] was the go-to and stud from every angle. She had 121 aces in 96 sets, but this was not the ending of her success. Waddell also led the team with 220 kills and gathered 57 blocks and 103 digs. From the service line, Waddell was powerful, consistent, and unafraid. She never strayed from the challenge to score whether it was serving a high deep floater, change of pace, or bombing a ball. Waddell was the girl you wanted serving at 24-24 and could trust no matter what. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#24, [player_tooltip player_id='276174' first='Brooke' last='Harris']</strong> <em>(Pineville)</em>- In general, no one ever gives enough credit to the three rotation defensive specialists, and freshman, [player_tooltip player_id='276174' first='Brooke' last='Harris'], for Pineville is a perfect example of this situation. She came into the game and made a noticeable difference every time. As a DS, she counted 107 aces in 85 sets. Harris had a great floater that she could control from every side of the court. She was not scared to go for the ace which made her the great server she is. As just a freshman, she was impactful and well respected. Her future is pretty bright. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#25, Loretta Mills </strong><em>(Knox Central)</em>- We finish the series with senior setter, Loretta Mills, who tallied 111 aces in 89 sets. Loretta Mills served as the team's quarterback this year where she was their leader, mentor, and friend. Anyone could tell that Mills was well-respected and looked up to by all of her team which means way more than how many aces or digs she got in a game. Mills was named to the all-district and all-region team this past season after they won the district championship. Her name will carry a meaning to Knox Central for years to come. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->