State Tournament: Players to Watch – Division 6A
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The biggest moment of high school volleyball season has arrived in the state of Texas as this week, from Wednesday to Saturday, the best teams in the Lone Star State will fight for the state titles in Garland. Four teams…
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Continue ReadingThe biggest moment of high school volleyball season has arrived in the state of Texas as this week, from Wednesday to Saturday, the best teams in the Lone Star State will fight for the state titles in Garland.
Four teams in each division will be on the court at the Curtis Culwell Center over the next few days and each of the 24 programs competing for the honor of ruling Texas features several players with extraordinary potential.
As we warm up for the State Tournament, let’s go over the top players in each division. Today we complete our series with Division 6A, which has Cinco Ranch, Grand Oaks, Harlan and Prosper on the lookout for the title.
Players to Watch
Ames didn’t miss a step after helping the US national team take gold at the U19 World Championship in August and has been pivotal in Prosper’s run to the State Tournament. One of the top middles not only in Texas but in the country, she’s been playing outside hitter this season, where she can make an even bigger impact in the game. Her size and power are certainly the elements that stand out the most in Ames’ game, but she’s a solid all-around player and has been contributing all across the board. The senior’s productive season includes 548 kills, 160 blocks, 466 digs and 663 passes.
Several individual standouts have taken Grand Oaks to the State Tournament for the first time in program history and Thompson was among them. The sophomore outside hitter made huge progress from her freshman season and has stood out in basically every skill, registering 472 kills, 258 digs, 471 passes, 61 blocks and 53 aces. Thompson is very long and uses her reach very well at the net. She combines power and vision like few others in her class when swinging and also displays tremendous ball control on the backcourt to stand out on the defensive side of the game.
Highlights
O’Brien led a talented Cinco Ranch squad to their first State Tournament appearance in 14 years by dominating a strong Katy district and winning Region 3. She’s a highly technical and intelligent playmaker, who manages to make her teammates better in a way that not many other setters can. Besides doing her job as the team’s setter in an incredible way, O’Brien is also capable of lifting her team with hustle and clutch plays and leads her teammates by example, setting extremely high standards with her effort and charisma on the court. The junior tallied 1,324 assists, 375 digs, 130 kills, 24 aces and 32 blocks on her way to Garland.
Harlan’s first trip to the State Tournament was heavily influenced by Joseph’s strong play during the season. Her physical and powerful offense was pivotal to the team’s success and she also displayed some interesting versatility up at the net, hitting quicker sets at the pin and also higher ones, in which her power gets the job done. Joseph has excellent ball control skills too and has done an excellent job on the backcourt. Her season output currently stands at 480 kills, 396 digs, 573 passes, 62 blocks and 50 aces.