Monday Match to Watch: Midlothian Heritage vs Kennedale

<p>It’s a big week for high school volleyball in the state of Texas as the 2021 season officially starts, meaning the Lone Star state’s top prospects will all be back on the court after an exciting club season that ended about a month ago.</p> <p>The first week of matches will features hundreds of matches spread out all across the state and in order to help you following what’s going, we’ll publish one article every day, from Monday to Friday, highlighting one match and indicating which players you should keep an eye on and why.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Midlothian Heritage vs. Kennedale – 6.30pm</strong></p> <p>Midlothian Heritage was solid during the last high school season, securing a 19-9 win record and it will be interesting to see how the Jaguars shape up without graduated outside hitter and team captain Elizabeth Schmidt, the team’s best player in 2020.  </p> <p>Kennedale had an even better season a few months ago, winning 24 of their 28 matches and advancing all the way to the State Championship semifinals, where they fell to eventual champions Decatur. Star outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="87440" first="Bryley" last="Steinhilber"] has graduated but the Wildcats should still have enough talent to be among the best in the division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch – Midlothian Heritage</strong></p> <p><strong>Grace Sweeney – Outside Hitter – Club: NRG Volleyball - 2024</strong></p> <p>Even though she was a freshman last season, Grace Sweeney emerged as a viable option to replace Schmidt’s offensive production for the Jaguars, being awarded as the district’s Newcomer of the Year. The versatile 5’8” outside hitter, who’s also a basketball student-athlete, has had a strong season with 140 kills, 170 digs, 303 passes and 21 aces and is certainly poised for even more this season as the team’s centerpiece and with more experience under her belt.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Rhali Adams – Libero – Club: Ace Volleyball – 2022</strong></p> <p>If Sweeney is expected to lead the Jaguars at the net, Rhali Adams will certainly be the one in charge of the team’s backcourt efforts. The 5’3” defender is one of the key pieces of Midlothian Heritage’s playing system with her outstanding technical skills. Adams was instrumental to the team’s great campaign in 2020 as she contributed with 211 dig and 338 passes besides 39 service aces.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14849380/5f817811b535b910903eb42e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch – Kennedale</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="140400" first="Madeline" last="Pyles"] – Outside Hitter – Club: Madfrog – 2022</strong></p> <p>If someone can take on Steinhilber’s scoring load for Kennedale this season it’s for sure [player_tooltip player_id="140400" first="Madeline" last="Pyles"]. The 5’10” outside hitter, who’s part of one of the strong club teams in the country in Madfrog, produced at nearly the same level of the departed star, tallying 338 kills, 174 digs, 75 passes, 54 aces and 41 aces for the Wildcats. A University of Montana commit, she’s a powerful hitter who uses her physical and technical tools to make a difference.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/7120625/607d84c30dc00019c0ddbf60" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Gracyn Reed – Setter – Club: Texas Image - 2022 </strong></p> <p>Gracyn Reed’s game certainly contributes to the proliferation of highly-productive hitters among Kennedale’s roster. The left-hander, 5’8” setter is extremely intelligent with her ball distribution and saw four of her hitters score in triple digits last year and fifth register 97 kills. Reed is just a natural at the position with her great touch and clever play and ended the last high school season with 675 assists (adding up to her career total of 1567. She’s also a terrific sever and defender, having tallied 69 aces and 129 digs in 2020.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OON_qPoyZfo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>