State Finals: Division 4 Standouts

<p>The Division 4 clash turned out to be the most competitive. University Prep rallied past Exeter and pulled out the five-set victory 19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 15-11. Plenty of players showed up in big ways and we highlight them here.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159969" first="Ashlee" last="Kraft"], 5-9 Outside, Sr, University Prep (Redding)</strong> – Kraft won the ice-bath award from the weekend. The senior outside took an arm-numbing 82 swings as the Panthers rallied past Exeter for the Division 4 title. Those swings produced 26 kills. It wasn’t just her offensive play as she led the way with 22 digs as well in a brilliant performance.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160882" first="Morgan" last="Wilding"], 5-10 Setter, Jr, University Prep</strong> – The Panthers struggled at times passing the ball and it was part of the reason the match went five. But when the pass was there it allowed Wilding to run the offense and once her and the rest of the team found their groove in sets four and five there wasn’t any letting up. Though Wilding relied a lot on her outside hitters she consistently delivered hittable balls that gave the attackers a better chance of scoring. She wound up with 48 assists, which was one shy of her season high. She also put up 11 digs and a team-high 4 aces.</p> <p><strong>Elle Weaver, 5-11 Right Side, Fr, University Prep</strong> – Weaver was as big a part of the victory as anyone on the Panthers as she provided a much-needed offensive spark. Exeter had no answer for her on the right side. Weaver finished with 16 kills on 30 swings while hitting .400. Every time she came to the front row, she changed the dynamic of the Panthers’ attack.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160940" first="Reese" last="Ampi"], 5-6 Libero, Jr, University Prep</strong> – The Panthers really needed Ampi’s play-making ability on defense. She kept plenty of rallies alive and was consistent out of serve receive as well. Her 21 digs were just one behind Kraft for the team lead.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160301" first="Kaitlyn" last="Cabral"], 5-10 Outside, Jr, University Prep</strong> – Cabral was the steady contributor that every team could use. With Kraft taking a lot of swings and Weaver blasting down some balls from the right side, Cabral was plugging along and providing whatever was needed in between. She had 15 kills on 47 swings and also came up with 18 digs.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160305" first="Hannah" last="Baker"], 5-10 Outside, Jr, Exeter</strong> – Baker was part of an outside duo that put in work trying to help Exeter down University Prep. She had a team-high 54 swings, with 16 of them resulting in kills. She did well hurting the Panthers with her down the line attacks and also helped frustrate the Panthers hitters by making a team-high 21 digs.</p> <p><strong>Haven Rich, 5-7 Outside, Soph, Exeter</strong> – Rich teamed with Baker to give Exeter a great chance at winning the match. She was right there with 46 swings and 13 kills. She had 17 digs too. And her 5 aces led the Monarchs.</p> <p><strong>Jayla Iversen, 5-9 Middle Blocker, Soph, Exeter</strong> – Iversen put together a solid outing. She had 8 kills on 26 swings. She was also the team’s most effective blocker. She finished with a team-high 2 blocks.</p> <p><strong>Tiara Daly, 5-6 Right Side, Jr, Exeter</strong> – Daly didn’t get a lot of swings, taking 21 of the team’s 182. However, she was the most effective on the attack when it was said and done. She had 10 kills and hit .381.</p>