Texas HS: Fulshear vs. Foster

The high school volleyball playoffs are just around the corner in Texas and next week the race for the coveted spots in the State Tournament will intensify with elimination matches taking place in every corner of the Lone Star State.   We, at Prep Dig, are excited to be covering another season here in Texas and will try to be in as many matches as possible over the next two months to follow the journeys of the many rising stars in our state, providing coverage that includes articles, photos and social media highlights.   On Tuesday, October 29, we were there when the top two teams in District 20, the Fulshear Chargers and the Foster Falcons, battled.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/10/texas-hs-fulshear-vs-foster-photos/">Texas HS: Fulshear vs. Foster - Photos</a></li> </ul>   The Chargers have been dominant since the start of the season and won the district title with a perfect campaign of ten wins and no sets dropped after they topped their longtime rivals 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-22). Foster finished second, with eight wins and two losses.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Performers</h2>    The senior setter created the conditions for Fulshear's sweep with an impeccable performance. James' setter was nothing short of outstanding as she excelled in her distribution, feeding her middles, who were having great offensive nights, as much as possible, while also benefiting from it to move her pin hitters around and get them in great positions to score, which led her to end the match with an impressive 39 assists. The setter was very prolific at the net, using her athleticism to get to tight passes, her craftiness to score on setter dumps and her length to get three blocks. In a great all-around performance, James also contributed on the backcourt, serving well and playing solid defense - she had one ace and nine digs.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1510.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-712715" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fulshear vs. Foster</figcaption></figure>    The sophomore was a beast at the net and was one of Fulshear's main offensive options in the match. Watson started the match in a very strong rhythm, scoring most of her team's first points with swings and blocks, and never slowed down. She was extremely productive offensively, making contact with the ball at a high point and hitting it hard to register five kills, and remained steady from start to finish. Her defensive presence was also remarkable as she moved extremely well at the net to get four blocks and also handled with great efficiency the tight balls and overpasses that went her way.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1535.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-712721" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fulshear vs. Foster</figcaption></figure>    Fulshear's scoring machine had a very solid shift, scoring at an excellent rate and producing some of the most impressive swings of the match among her 18 kills. When Warren was in a rhythm, there wasn't much Foster could do to stop her, even though they tried to do it at times using three blockers to get in her way. The senior made very few errors and used her incredible athleticism to put the ball down at the pin. Warren also had a strong night on the backcourt, tallying 15 passes and generating nine transition plays with her digs.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1527.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-712720" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fulshear vs. Foster</figcaption></figure>    Much of Fulshear's strong offensive performance had to do with the fact that James had good passes to work with the entire time and Black had much impact on that. The senior libero played a flawless match, leading the team's serve-receive efforts masterfully with 19 passes and helping keep the team's stability throughout the match. Black was excellent with her ball control, passing very well and getting 16 digs. She also did a fine job from the service line and was accurate when she had to set in transition.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1437.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-712698" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fulshear vs. Foster</figcaption></figure>    The junior outside hitter was the only one of Foster's offensive players to perform at her usual level and carried the team's offense with 17 kills. Lechler was set very often at the pin and the middle back positions and handled the load well, finding ways to score and keeping her errors low. She did a good job of finding nice spots near the end line, tooled the block efficiently and scored with finesse on other occasions. Lechler was also very active on the backcourt, doing a solid job in serve-receive and tallying five digs.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_1419.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-712694" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fulshear vs. Foster</figcaption></figure>    Originally a setter, Carrejo was used as a right side defensive specialist and played her role efficiently. She had good runs from the service line every time she came in, registering one ace and sending tricky, strategic serves across the net. Carrejo also handled her passing duties well and contributed three digs, adding to the team's backcourt volume.

The high school volleyball playoffs are just around the corner in Texas and next week the race for the coveted spots in the State Tournament will intensify with elimination matches taking place in every corner of the Lone Star State.