Texas HS Match to Watch: Manvel vs. Friendswood

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school volleyball season is going at full pace in the state of Texas and during the next four months, hundreds of matches will be played across the Lone Star State until we know the new state champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig will be covering multiple matches every week and featuring the players that stand out the most for their performances over the course of the season, but we'll also preview some matches that have the potential to be very interesting ones. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As district play nears the conclusion of round one, some big matches are set to take place over the next few days and this is one of them in Division 5A - District 18:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Manvel vs. Friendswood - September 22, 6:30 PM - @ Manvel HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Manvel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Manvel Mavericks have been flawless since the start of district play, winning their four first matches without dropping a single set. Considering the entire season, the team has a 50% win rate, with 16 wins and 16 losses. Playing as an outside hitter this season, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='254283' first='Nevaeh' last='English'] has been leading the Mavericks' offense this season with 222 kills. Junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='179904' first='Kenedy' last='Massie'], with 684 assists, 219 digs, 138 kills and 44 aces, and sophomore middle [player_tooltip player_id='226814' first='Jasmyn' last='Walker'], with 175 kills and 32 blocks, have been pivotal for the team on both sides of the ball. Defensively, senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='254078' first='Bea' last='Angeles'] has been as productive as usual, with 347 digs, 344 passes and 28 aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/ManvelVBall/status/1693018509247209499?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/ManvelVBall/status/1693018509247209499?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friendswood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Friendswood Mustangs also remain perfect in district play, having collected straight-set wins in each of their four matches - they did lose a non-district match to Dawson ten days ago, though. This was one of just nine upsets of the team in 26 matches so far in the season. Sophomore outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='318140' first='Nadiya' last='Shelby'] has been a scoring machine for Fulshear, with 303 kills registered - as well as 318 passes, 141 digs and 30 aces. Sophomore Caroline Adams has been a revelation at setter, with 741 assists, 175 digs and 41 aces. Sophomore outside hitter Taliah Benson has proved to be a viable offensive option with 146 kills, while junior Preslee Alaniz leads in blocks (84). Defensively, sophomore libero [player_tooltip player_id='453167' first='Haley' last='Patton'] has the most digs (294) while senior defensive specialist Andi Vaught leads in passes (339).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/FwoodVolleyball/status/1700495603736711654?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/FwoodVolleyball/status/1700495603736711654?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->