Texas HS: Tompkins vs. Friendswood

District play is quickly progressing in the high school volleyball season in the state of Texas as in just over a month from now we'll know the teams that will earn the right to compete at the State Tournament, where the champions will be crowned.   We, at Prep Dig, are excited to cover 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 8, we took a quick break from district play and caught a rare non-district match in Katy, with the Tompkins Falcons hosting the Friendswood Mustangs.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/10/texas-hs-tompkins-vs-friendswood-photos/">Texas HS: Tompkins vs. Friendswood - Photos</a></li> </ul>   Playing at home, Tompkins were steadier during the match and managed to win 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-23) and improve their season record to 23-12. Friendswood saw their 18-match winning streak come to an end and now stand at 30-7 for the season.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Performers</h2>    The senior's excellent decision-making in every aspect of the game led her to have a nearly perfect performance against a strong Friendswood team. Dumas featured in her usual dual role as a setter and right side hitter and used her vision to produce in both areas. She ran a very efficient offense, feeding the right hitters at the right times and moving them around when she had a chance. Dumas did great when dealing with tight passes, using her length and skilled left hand to score on setter dumps. Offensively. she was smart enough to not challenge Friendswood's big blocking and was very productive with tips and rolls hots. The senior ended the match with 12 assists, seven kills, seven digs and one block, in a great all-around performance.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9197.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701918" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    Funk was dominant in the middle and an important piece for Tompkins on both sides of the ball. The junior was very efficient with her swings, scoring at a good rate, while also making very few errors. Funk was Tompkins' third main scorer with six kills and was nearly unstoppable in the shoot set. The middle also appeared very well on the defensive side of the game, getting blocks in key moments of sets - she led the team in that area with four stuffs.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9158.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701907" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    The freshman wasn't very active in the first set, but got into a great rhythm after that and ended the match as Tompkins' leading scorer with nine kills. St. Rose used her length well to score, but was also very good at finding nice angles to beat blockers and defenders. She displayed impressive composure at the end of the match, calmly putting down the game-winning point after Friendswood had scored four in a row to almost get back. St. Rose also did a solid job on the backcourt, handling the five serves that went her way efficiently and also adding four digs.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9157.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701906" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    The senior libero was as efficient as usual on the backcourt, helping create the conditions for Tompkins' game to flow. Merrell was impressive in serve-receive, at times covering more than half of the court, and led the team in passes with 27 of their total of 53, and just three errors. The libero was also very good when she had to set in transition, hand setting from the back with great precision to both pins. Merrell led the Falcons in digs, with 13, and aces, with three, besides having had good runs at the service line on multiple occasions.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9223.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701927" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    The sophomore played a hybrid role, coming in for the back row rotations and splitting her time between setter and defensive specialist. Merrell's ball handling was very solid as she remained accurate even when dealing with passes off the net and ended the match with ten assists, despite only having played two sets. She also handled the two sets that went her way efficiently and contributed four digs.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9113.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701892" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    The junior had some ups and downs, like her team, but was always Friendswood's most important player, especially on offense. Shelby used her firepower to score from the left, right and the middle back position and benefited from her incredible athleticism to put the ball down in difficult situations. Shelby also did a very good job of quickly recovering from errors as she never really had a long bad stretch, despite being set very often. The junior also had a strong blocking presence, was active on defense and didn't have any major struggles with her passing.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9127.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701897" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    The senior right side was very efficient offensively, getting a solid rate with her swings. Sims was set in key moments of sets and responded well, finding ways to score and firing her teammates up. She was particularly efficient hitting a shortened set on the right, where she would make a nice move and hit the ball with power and precision at the line. Sims was also very good with her blocking, getting stops and pushing Tompkins' pin hitters to make mistakes as they tried to avoid her at the net.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9238.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701932" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>    Friendswood had some passing struggles in some moments of the match, but the junior libero helped them navigate them with her solid play. Patton led the team's serve-receive efficiently, covering a large area of the court and helping teammates when they were in trouble. She was also productive when playing defense and had a consistent performance from start to finish.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_9207.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-701922" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Friendswood</figcaption></figure>

District play is quickly progressing in the high school volleyball season in the state of Texas as in just over a month from now we'll know the teams that will earn the right to compete at the State Tournament, where the champions will be crowned.