Texas HS: Jordan vs. Taylor

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are just a few district play matches yet to be played all around the state of Texas and in a few weeks we'll be entering the highlight of the high school volleyball season in the Lone Star State with the start of the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Tuesday, October 22, we followed a match with huge implications in the race for the playoffs in District 19, with the Jordan Warriors hosting the Katy Taylor Mustangs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/10/texas-hs-jordan-vs-taylor-photos/"><strong>Texas HS: Jordan vs. Taylor - Photos</strong></a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After dropping the first set, Jordan settled in the game and made good use of the homecourt advantage to win 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-20). Even though they remain outside the qualification zone in fifth place with eight wins and seven losses, the result has kept the team's playoff hopes alive. Taylor rank right above them in fourth with eight wins and six losses and still control their future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Performers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Damisi Osibodu","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Jordan","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515982"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The senior middle played an excellent match, being a huge factor in her team's victory. Osibodu had a fierce battle with Taylor's middle [player_tooltip player_id='435684' first='Madison' last='Barrera'] at the net and helped minimize the impact of her opponent with her strong play. She was extremely productive offensively, scoring at a very good rate with her swings in the middle and also displaying the versatility to hit from the left in one rotation. Osibodu also made an impact with her blocking, reacting quickly to get stops in 50-50 balls and overpasses and moving well to the pins to get in the way of Taylor's hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709126,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0698.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709126" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kalen Tuety","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Jordan","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515a35"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tuety gave a lot of stability to Jordan with her great ball control and consistent play on the backcourt. She has a major role in serve-receive and handled it well, covering a large portion of the court and delivering accurate passes to her setter. The outside hitter also contributed several digs at the middle back position, generating several transition plays for her team. Tuety had a larger offensive role than she's used to and stepped up to challenge, showing impressive vision and great awareness to score in difficult situations while also keeping her errors very low. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709125,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0691.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709125" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["504400"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515a90"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The junior right side was again a key player for Jordan, using her impressive all-around game to help her team succeed in a complicated and important match. Ribakovs excelled in her setting duties, making good choices with her ball distribution and keeping the team in a strong offensive rhythm. She also had a nice blocking presence, getting some stops and touches and forcing Taylor's hitters to make errors when they tried to go around her. Ribakovs' offensive game improved a lot throughout the match and she did a great job scoring in difficult situations in the fourth set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709144,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0764.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709144" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["232747"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515ad6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The senior right side showed her best game in the second half of the match and was instrumental in the team's comeback. O'Shay had somewhat of a quiet start but started getting more confident and asking for the ball as the match developed and was an important offensive weapon for her team, especially because of her ability to hit the slide set. She was on fire at the end of the match and scored nearly every Jordan point int heir final run, with strong and well-placed swings and a stuff block. Her leadership also takes Jordan a long way because she makes sure to keep her teammates energized and confident on the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709133,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0725.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709133" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["435684"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515b18"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The junior middle had an excellent display and was her team's most consistent and productive player on the court. At times, Jordan had no answers to her high contact point and powerful swings, which were for most of the time her team's main offensive weapons - she led the Mustangs in kills with 13 and made just one mistake. Barrera's blocking was arguably even better as she left the court with an impressive ten stuffs. Besides playing aggressively above the net, she was also reading the game extremely well and reacting efficiently to every ball that was in the air around her at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709124,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0690.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709124" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["534334"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515b58"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The sophomore right side hitter was very strong offensively, making a strong impact in her team's game at the net. Simoncic mixed things up very well, swinging hard when she had a chance and turning to tips and tooling the block when it wasn't that simple to put the ball down. Her versatility was another big asset to her team as her ability to hit different sets on the right, the left and even the middle opened up numerous possibilities to her team's setters. Simoncic also had a solid defensive presence at the net, ending the match with three blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709140,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0746.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709140" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Maria Millan","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Katy Taylor","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Stars","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67187a9515bd4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Playing as a defensive specialist, the senior made a difference for Taylor with her high energy and efficiency on the backcourt. Millan split the court with libero Sydney Herleth in serve-receive and was very effective, registering 14 passes. She was also very active playing defense in the middle back position and on several occasions was in the perfect spot to prevent the ball from hitting the floor when Jordan's hitters found a gap in her team's block, producing 13 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":709115,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/IMG_0620.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-709115" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->