Texas HS Playoffs: Fulshear vs. Montgomery – Top Performers
In this article:
The Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) High School Volleyball Playoffs continue to progress ahead of next week’s State Championship and on Friday, the Regional Tournaments started around the Lone Star State. On that day, I was at the Merrell Center,…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) High School Volleyball Playoffs continue to progress ahead of next week’s State Championship and on Friday, the Regional Tournaments started around the Lone Star State.
On that day, I was at the Merrell Center, in Katy, where the Regional Tournament of Division 5A – Region 3 is being held, to watch the duel between the Fulshear Chargers and the Montgomery Lady Bears.
Undefeated in the last 20 matches, Fulshear (39-4) advanced to the Regional Finals with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-16) win over Montgomery (32-18), who ended a very positive season.
Top Performers
Fulshear’s main offensive player, Warren had a very productive night, keeping her efficiency high during the entire match and not finding many obstacles to put the ball down. Her impressive athleticism gave her a huge advantage over Montgomery’s blockers as they didn’t get anywhere near her contact point. Warren used her power to put the ball down in most of her attempts, but also turned to other resources when she had to, while also making very few errors. The junior outside hitter also passed very well and made good plays on defense.
The junior setter had a very solid night in several different aspects. She took full advantage of the fact that Fulshear dominated from the start to run the team’s offense in a way that kept all of her hitters involved. James was great with her decision-making, remained accurate at all times and did a good job on the few occasions in which she had to work with passes off the net. The setter played with a lot of energy, had a good serving run in set two and contributed to Fulshear’s offense with some setter dumps in set three.
Fulshear’s second outside hitter, Witte also had a very strong game, paving the way for the team’s dominant victory. She was always a reliable scoring option at the pin and managed to put the ball down in a variety of ways. When she had a chance, Witte would swing hard, using her power to beat Montgomery’s defenders. When the opposing blockers managed to challenge her above the net, she found smart solutions to it, using tips and tooling the block. Witte also was very solid with her passing the entire time.
Highlights
Yosola Adeleke
Yosola Adeleke
Adeleke was very strong in the middle for Fulshear, making an impact in the game on both sides of the ball. She was very active defensively at the net, getting some stuffs and several touches that slowed Montgomery’s offensive actions down, besides also handling well overpasses. Adeleke was also very efficient offensively, scoring in most of her attacking attempts – the junior was very productive when hitting the slide set.
Montgomery had a difficult night with their passing and their offense, which made Lynch’s life harder against Fulshear. Despite the adversities, she remained calm and focused and never stopped trying to find solutions to the team’s game, testing all of her hitters and understanding which options to use at each moment. The senior setter managed to remain consistent with her locations and also did a good job on defense and at the service line. Lynch ended the match with 14 assists, five digs and one block.
Highlights
Grace Ellis
Grace Ellis
Ellis had a tough battle with Fulshear’s Adeleke at the net, winning some and losing some over the course of the net. The senior middle had good moments with her blocking, getting touches and stuffs when Montgomery had their best moments in the match. She also displayed good offensive versatility, hitting from the middle and the right. Ellis had the second-most kills in the team with four (and a team-high 36.4 kill %) and also led in blocks with two. Montgomery’s passing issues prevented the team from using her more often offensively.