Fort Bend Travis vs. Manvel – Top Performers
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The early days of the high school volleyball season have arrived in Texas and for the next four months, every week will be filled with exciting matches across the Lone Star State. Prep Dig will be following the action closely…
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Continue ReadingThe early days of the high school volleyball season have arrived in Texas and for the next four months, every week will be filled with exciting matches across the Lone Star State.
Prep Dig will be following the action closely and every match I get to attend will be followed with a Top Performers Report, highlighting the prospects who stood out on the court, and a photo gallery.
On Tuesday, I went to Richmond to watch the non-district match between the Fort Bend Travis Travis and the Manvel Mavericks.
Both teams were missing key players, but Manvel handled their absences better and walked away with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-13) victory to improve their season record to 11-6. Travis are now at 4-8.
Top Performers
Originally a right-side hitter, English has been playing on the left for Manvel at the start of the season and has been proving to be a more-than-viable option there as well. She was very effective offensively and was arguably Manvel’s main scoring option during the match. English displayed a well-diversified offense, using her amazing vertical and her heavy left arm to overpower opponents, but also managed to hit around the block and change her pace with off-speed plays to put the ball down. She played with a lot of confidence at the net and that helped her side out in several out-of-system plays. English didn’t have to pass a whole lot, but held her own when she did it.
Kadia Jackson
Kadia Jackson
A new face in Manvel’s starting lineup this season, Jackson was very solid in the middle against Travis. She was set frequently and had great efficiency with her swings. The sophomore hit all sorts of different sets down the middle and displayed good resources to tool the block or score off of tips when she wasn’t in a good position to swing. Jackson was also very active with her blocking, moving well at the net and taking up a lot of space from opposing hitters. She also tracked overpasses extremely well and won most, if not all, 50-50 plays she was involved up at the net.
The offense was one of Manvel’s strengths against Travis and the team’s attacking system was brilliantly orchestrated by Massie. Always very calm and relaxed on the court, she made great decisions with her ball distribution and remained accurate during eh entire match. Massie also did a great job of keeping all her hitters involved and moving them around when she got to work with free balls, creating all sorts of challenges to Travis’ defense. She also stood out by going beyond her role as a setter and coming up with a big play every time her team needed it, be it scoring off of a setter dump and getting a dig in an important moment.
Amirah Cotton
Amirah Cotton
Cotton played with a lot of energy in the middle and had a good battle with Manvel’s strong middles. Very physical, she got off the floor well and swung hard every time she was set, often overpowering the opposing blockers. She kept her intensity level until the end and was also very active and efficient with her blocking. Because of their passing issues, Travis couldn’t use Cotton as much as they would have wanted, but she still had a very good match, doing the best she could to keep her team in the game.
Jade Mclemore
Jade Mclemore
Mclemore quietly put on a solid shift against a strong Manvel team. She didn’t have a lot to do with Travis’ passing issues, not being frequently targeted by opposing servers and delivering solid passes every time that happened. She also made strong plays on defense and helped recover some balls her teammates couldn’t control on serve-receive and defense. Mclemore also did a good job with her setting, stepping up and putting the hitters in a good position to score whenever the setters got the first ball.