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Reynolds repeats as county volleyball MVP
As a sophomore, she had 450 kills with 222 digs, 25 aces and 50 blocks. "I was not expecting it at all, and I'm really excited about it," said Reynolds. "I thought I did better last year. We played more matches this year and I had less kills overall. "I just worked on not just hitting it straight down but hitting it in the corner. I really want to improve on my hitting percentage but also my digging and defense because that's also important." Teammate Megan Joost, a senior, earned Setter-of-the-Year honors for the second season in a row. She finished the season with 908 assists, 34 aces and 20 kills. "I'm really happy with the way I played this year," said Joost. "I had more sets than last year." Joost hopes to play at the college level next year. This year's Defensive Most Valuable Player went to El Campo junior Meredith Bard. She had 256 digs with 70 blocks. "I'm proud of this honor and it shows that hard work pays off," said Bard. "I think club really helped me. "I played club for TEXstar and (my coach) really taught me to go after the ball and do my best to get it. And I wanted to be in a good leadership role because I knew there would be a lot of juniors on the team." Wharton freshman Shaniqua Dogins earned Newcomer-of-the Year honors. She had 223 kills with 55 blocks and 27 aces. "I was really surprised and excited," said Dogins. "The match goes at a faster pace compared to playing at the junior high level." The other individual award - Senior of-the-Year - went to Louise's Sarah Williamson, who had a sensational season. She totaled up a whopping 602 kills in 37 matches. Williamson also contributed with 18 blocks, 29 aces and 80 digs. "I guess it's really important," said Williamson. "I was kind of a leader last year too. It was really cool being a leader of the team, but we all picked each other up." First year Louise coach Bryan Branch was selected Coach-of-the- Year. He led the Lady Hornets to an undefeated District 28-A record. After drawing a first round bye in the playoffs, Louise beat Thrall in an area round match and then lost to Shiner in the regional quarterfinals. "To me, it's very humbling and almost embarrassing," said Branch. "I'm honored and everything, but you show me a good coach and I'll show you good kids and good players. Like I said 100 times, all the credit goes to the players. Many parents have told me I've done a good job this year. I keep saying, 'Well, I just tell them what to do and they go out and do it.' I don't make one pass or one serve or one hit or one kill. They just go out there and they're very coachable. "Coaching that group of kids was very easy. There wasn't any turmoil, it was just, 'You do this' and they'd try to do it the best they could. All the credit goes to them. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Like I said early in the season, volleyball appeals to me in that it is a very fundamental game. I like teaching skills and fundamentals. "You can concentrate more, in my opinion, in volleyball than you can in basketball. There's less game planning than there is for basketball. The team that can pass better, hit better and serve better is going to win. So, that's the skills you get to work on." "I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. Coaching that group of kids makes it fun." First team selections included Wharton senior Brittany Gutierrez, who played the libero position. She had 241 digs to go along with 39 aces, and 11 kills. "It feels good," said Gutierrez. "I think I had a real good year." Gutierrez signed a letter of intent to play softball at Sam Houston State University two weeks ago. Also making the first team were Boling junior hitters Charae Grosser and Ebony Ashley. Grosser totaled 282 kills in 88 games. She also had 439 digs, 116 blocks and 81 aces. "This means a lot," said Grosser, who missed six matches with an injury. "I had more kills this year and I got better playing on the back row." Ashley finished with 248 kills with 572 assists, 96 aces, 226 digs and 129 blocks. "I was surprised," said Ashley, who participates in four sports. "I felt like I had a good year and helped the team." Also making the first team was El Campo senior hitter Ashley Zboril. She had 302 kills with 33 aces and 15 blocks. She was joined on the first team by Louise's Kristen Machicek and Amber Bain. Machicek a junior setter, totaled up 1,312 assists. She also had 18 aces and 12 kills. "I'm very proud. It feels pretty good," said Machicek. Bain, a sophomore hitter, finished with 629 kills, 21 aces, 188 blocks and 25 digs. "No, I really didn't expect it," said Bain. "I came into the season and I wasn't very good at all. I guess I got a lot better. It's not just me, it's Coach Branch too." Second team selections included Wharton junior hitter Vernequa Tayor, who played all positions. She had 116 kills with 309 digs, 36 aces, 30 assists and 14 blocks. Boling's MacKenzie Baker and Whitney Rachunek also garnered second team picks. Baker, who battled an injury late in the season, had 43 kills, 291 assists, 87 aces, 53 digs and 19 blocks. Rachunek had 194 kills with 550 assists, 78 aces, 280 digs and 64 blocks. She was joined by East Bernard's Bev Kresta and Haley Dawson. Kresta, a senior, had 173 kills with 61 aces, 199 digs and 13 aces. Dawson, a junior, had 146 kills with 32 aces, 201 digs and seven assists. El Campo's second team selections included senior sisters Kelsey and Kaylan Gangl. Kaylan had 168 kills with 20 blocks and 28 aces. Kelsey had 187 kills with 12 blocks and 33 aces All-Wharton County Volleyball Team MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Heather Reynolds, Wharton, Sophomore Senior Of The Year Sarah Williamson, Louise Newcomer-of-the-Year Shaniqua Dogins, Wharton, Freshman Defensive Most Valuable Player Meredith Bard, El Campo, Junior Setter-of-the -Year - Megan Joost, Wharton, Senior Coach-of-the-Year - Bryan Branch, Louise First Team
Second Team
Honorable Mention BOLING - KELSEY STOLLE, SR; KATIE WOMACK, SR; JESSICA MOORE, JR EL CAMPO - KRISTI MICHAELSEN SR ;STEPHANIE KORENEK, SR; ALEXIS COOPER, SR. EAST BERNARD - TARA HLAVINKA, JR; CANDICE DUSEK ,SO; LAURA KUBES, SR LOUISE - LAUREN GRESHAM, SR.; KATIE BROWN, FR; GABBY FOSTER, SO WHARTON - SHARNEACE JOHNSON SR; JALESSA JONES, SO; , LIZ REYES,JR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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