Seven Lakes vs. Tompkins – Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday, September 1, I was at the Katy ISD matchup between the Seven Lakes Spartans and the Tompkins Falcons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a rollercoaster of a match, Tompkins secured a 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 16-25, 25-13, 15-9) road win to improve their season record to 15-8 and get their second win in three district matches. The Spartans are now at 14-12 for the season and 1-1 in district play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697796730882826680?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697796730882826680?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["203987"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A new addition to Tompkins this season, Dumas was very involved with the team's production against a strong Seven Lakes team. As with most of her teammates, her game had ups and downs during the match but she stepped up and was outstanding when it mattered the most, at the end. Dumas was very good in her dual setting/hitting role, making excellent decisions with her distribution and siding out a good rate, besides helping in serve-receive occasionally. She was nearly flawless from the fourth set on, getting a block and having a strong serving run that laid the groundwork for Tompkins' comfortable victory in the tie-breaker, which was sealed with a clutch setter dump from her.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b45252e5a"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697775538339721453?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697775538339721453?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["254089"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Tompkins' libero and captain was pivotal to their victory with her consistent and reliable game. In a match full of ups and downs from both sides, Merrell was arguably the most steady player on the court and her consistency created the conditions for the Falcons to come back and win the match after trailing 2-1. She covered basically half the court in serve-receive and was incredibly efficient, making very few mistakes and delivering excellent passes during the entire match. Merrell made some impressive digs from the left back position and also served well throughout the match, especially on set one, when she had back-to-back aces. She also had a very positive leadership role with her teammates, keeping them calm under pressure.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b45252f5a"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697749580098556371?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697749580098556371?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124136"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The senior setter had to change her game to adjust to the team's new 6-2 system after the arrival of Dumas and her performance against Seven Lakes pointed out how complete of a player she is. Besides doing an excellent job with her setting and ball distribution, as usual, Dellesky was also involved with Tompkins' serve-receive and offensive systems and was very efficient in both areas of the game. She handled the few serves that went her way very well and, despite not being extremely explosive or powerful, sided out at a good rate, tooling the block and finding good spots on the court. One of just a few seniors in Tompkins' roster, she did a very good job leading the team against Seven Lakes.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b45252fee"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["254092"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"After spending some time on the right at the start of the season, Funk was back in her original middle position and had an excellent performance against Seven Lakes. Her offensive efficiency was tremendous as the sophomore middle was nearly unstoppable during the entire match and converted the vast majority of the sets she got, being Tompkins' most efficient hitter in the match. Funk also stepped up with her blocking at the end, getting stops in critical moments of the match.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b452530b6"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697772319245000851?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697772319245000851?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":"","_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b45253128"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124148"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Playing a third different position for the Spartans in three seasons, Burns was excellent on the right for Seven Lakes. Very tall and powerful, she started the match on fire and was very difficult to stop offensively. She scored at a very good rate from the right, the back and the left and carried the team's offense during most of the match. Burns also got some blocks early on and ended the match with 17 kills, four blocks and one ace. She also had an active role in the team's serve-receive, registering 19 passes. Her game dropped a bit in the tie-breaker and she was even subbed off for a few points, but it was an overall great performance from the senior.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b452531b8"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697751906544742402?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697751906544742402?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Temi Sam-Olibale","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Seven Lakes","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The explosive Sam-Olibale had a rough start to the match, struggling with her passing, but slowly got back to the game. Once she stabilized her passing, her game flourished, especially offensively. The outside hitter was on fire on set three, having great success against Tompkins' blocking and defense, especially when she hit line. Her game remained steady until the end and she left the court with a triple-double of 15 kills, 21 digs and 32 passes, as well as three blocks and two aces.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f2b452532b6"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697758061148930429?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1697758061148930429?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->