High School Team of the Week – 27-3A Poth Pirettes
Over the next few months I will be rolling out some articles that will recognize teams who have been playing exceptionally well this volleyball season. I will still be doing our regular highlight articles on multiple athletes for exposure, however…
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Continue ReadingOver the next few months I will be rolling out some articles that will recognize teams who have been playing exceptionally well this volleyball season. I will still be doing our regular highlight articles on multiple athletes for exposure, however I wanted to do some special articles on a few teams that we are getting to know quite well with Prep Dig TX. This week we will give special recognition to the Poth Volleyball Team as they are our High School Team of the Week.
The Pirettes come from a school and town with a population of 2,225. Poth High School since 1995 has been a volleyball powerhouse. With an enrollment of 243 which barely meets the requirement range of 230-514, this school has consistently gone deep into the playoffs each year and they have won 9 state titles in that time frame, been to the state finals 12 times, and made it to the regional finals 18 times. They haven’t missed the playoffs once in the last thirty years. Most of these were while they were in 2A but they moved up to 3A in 2014 when Texas added a 6thdivision.
This season they dominated their district and took first place. They recently swept Edna in the first round (bi-district) 25-17, 25-12, and 25-18. Great overall team play led to the sweep. Then they matched up with Lago Vista in the Area round of the playoffs on Monday night. This match proved to be a bit tougher as Lago Vista has a few solid players on their side that kept the match interesting. Poth pulled out the tough four set victory, 25-22, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-21. Here are some of the players who shined bright in the victory.
Shianne Thomas [2021] 5-10 Outside/Right Side
In a previous article on Poth we wrote the following about Miss Thomas, “Shianne is a strong player for this gifted bunch. Last year she played primarily right side for this team. She is also very active as she regularly double blocks on any set near her zone. She has a great rapport with setter Kenna Conn as they hook up regularly for the attack. Her weapon on the right side is the speed of her arm swing. It is lightning quick and catches the block off guard as she scores a lot off of block deflections out of bounds. She also possesses quick footwork that help her floor activity. She will also be a significant player as a senior next year.” Miss Thomas is the other half of the outside attacker that has put on a show for the Pirettes. In the area round against Lago Vista she had 10 kills and 3 blocks to help her team advance to the third round of the playoffs.
Sydney Kroll Sydney Kroll 5'11" | MB Poth | 2022 State TX [2022] 5-11 Outside/Middle (Club: Team Red Athletics)
Sydney is currently ranked as the 49th top prospect in the 2022 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. In a previous article we wrote the following about Syd: “This dual threat volleyball player should be on quite a few college coach’s lists soon when the club season starts back up. She is a threat wherever you place her on the court. In High School, she plays primarily Outside, but in club she can play any position on the net. She travels almost an hour to play for a newer club out of San Antonio Team Red Athletics. They have the ability to use her at multiple positions and she excels at each one. She is able to play as a true six rotation outside hitter who never comes off the court and be a primary passer during that. She is also a tremendous blocking threat out of the middle. She possesses speed in her approach and awesome power in her swing. Syd is also an very accomplished softball player. If she wanted to, I’m sure she could play either sport in the NCAA. The sky is the limit with this one and she’s only a sophomore. Her Junior season should be very exciting to watch.” Miss Kroll is going to play at the next level. The only question is where will she end up. College coaches should take notice now. She will be moving up the rankings once I update them this month. This young lady has both power and finesse in every aspect of the game. Poth relies on her hard swings and when they score they shoot extra life into the team. In the area round of the playoffs, Syd led the team with 20 kills and also had 10 digs and 1 block. She is their main weapon and as of now she cannot be stopped.
Khloe Naegelin [2022] 5-6 Libero
Khloe is currently unranked in our Prep Dig State Rankings but that will change once I update them this month. In the previous article we wrote the following, “Another player that has been a joy to watch is libero Khloe Naegelin. Miss Naegelin is everything for this team in the back row. Her passing form is what us coaches call “textbook” as she freezes her upper body during and after contact on serve-receive. But where she truly shines is on defense. She is relentless in pursuing the ball. Just when the opponent thinks they have a seam to hit through, she is there to dig it out. She is a prototypical libero when it comes to her communication on the court to her teammates before the play starts. You regularly see her calling out her hitters and getting her team ready. I love to watch the emotion she shows her teammates when celebrating points. It is very infectious. “ Khloe was superb in the two playoff victories. In the last round, she had 21 digs and 2 aces to help Poth advance to the third round. She has an uncanny ability to pass perfect balls and command the back row. If Poth continues their march toward State, Chloe will be a huge reason why. Her defense and serve receive will keep them in any game they play. We are excited to see her game develop and we believe that she can play at the next level. She definitely deserves some looks from college coaches. Stay tuned to see where she lands on our State Rankings.
Jayci Svoboda [2023] is a newcomer to the varsity team this season but brings a lot of club experience to the team. She has stepped up in the late stages of set four in the Area round against Lago Vista and had 7 total aces in the match. She had three key aces in the last part of the game when Lago Vista had Poth on their heels. Those aces and a setter dump ended the game and the season for Lago Vista as Poth capped their comeback in set four to seal the victory. When asked how she handled the pressure of that situation, Jayci said the following, “ This could be our last game, Play for the seniors.” Makenna Albert [2022] had a fantastic showing as the other half of that 6-2 offense that head coach Patti Zenner commands. Mak serve tough all match to keep the Lago Vista team off-balance. She is a very athletic setter who we will be watching very closely over the next few years as she showcases a college skill level. Freshman Sadie Dryzmala has really stepped up to the plate and played like an upperclassman for the Pirettes as she had 4 big kills and one block against Lago Vista. We see a lot of potential in her and cannot wait to see how she grows in the game.
Let’s Congratulate Poth Pirettes on being named our High School Team of the Week!
We will be publishing more articles weekly to give recognition to those teams and athletes who are playing great in their matches. Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. If you have anyone that you think deserves to be recognized as a player of the week, feel free to send me a message with their information. Or if you have anyone that you think have what it takes to be added to our database, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com. As always, thanks for following our publication.