Bolton and Koontz: Two of 5A’s Deep Diggers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberos in volleyball are like leadoff hitters in baseball. Often overshadowed by players with more power, but key factors in offensive production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at five players from 5A schools in the class of 2024 who play solid defense and make great first passes to set up their team's offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abby Koontz</strong>, 5'4”, L, Newton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Koontz finished her junior season with 594 digs. She has more than 1,000 digs over her past two seasons with the Railers. Koontz makes a solid first pass and plays solid defense. She also had 491 serve receptions during the 2022 season. She plays club ball for Shockwave.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119694' first='Mya' last='Bolton']</strong>, 5'3”, L, St. James Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bolton finished with 436 digs during her junior season at St. James Academy. Bolton accumulated 367 serve receptions. She plays club ball for [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='Power']. Bolton has solid passing technique and communicates well with teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Macy Natchtigal</strong>, 5'4”, DS, Great Bend</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Natchigal accumulated 392 digs during her junior season for the Panthers. She also had 419 serve receptions. She is a high-energy player and a leader on and off the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='221542' first='Willow' last='Deckinger']</strong>, 5”2”, L, Andover Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deckinger finished the 2022 season with 314 digs. She also added 418 serve receptions during her junior campaign. Deckinger has solid footwork and will lay out for balls to take away scoring opportunities. She plays club ball with Shockwave.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='367122' first='Morgan' last='Foos']</strong>, 5'5”, L, Goddard</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Foos compiled 249 digs during her junior season. Foos is a great passer and she has an accurate serve. &nbsp;She also had 341 serve receptions &nbsp;Foos plays club with the Kansas Networks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->