Season in Review – UIL 1A: The Lethal Servers
The high school volleyball season in Texas ended just a couple of months ago and if you followed PrepDig.com’s coverage, you certainly didn’t miss anything that happened when the best teams of the Lone Star state clashed in their State…
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Continue ReadingThe high school volleyball season in Texas ended just a couple of months ago and if you followed PrepDig.com’s coverage, you certainly didn’t miss anything that happened when the best teams of the Lone Star state clashed in their State Championships in Garland.
The champions have all been deservedly recognized, so now we’ll take some time to highlight the most intriguing prospects that stood out during the season with consistent and efficient play for their high schools.
We start with the University Interscholastic League (UIL) 1A Division, which saw Neches secure its third-straight State Championship title. Serving can win games and these players probably did that for their teams quite a few times in 2020.
Mia Alvarado – Middle-Blocker – San Isidro – 2022
Mia Alvarado is a rare example of a player who ends a season with more aces registered under her name than sets played. That was the case for her with San Isidro in 2020, when she had 62 aces in 50 sets, averaging 1.2 per set – 11 of them came in the same match, against Juan Diego Academy early in the season. Serving well has been a constant in the 5’7” outside hitter/defensive specialist’s high school career as Alvarado also did well in that area in 2019, when she tallied 95 aces in 129 sets played for the Lady Tigers. She’s also very versatile, being able to play as a middle-blocker or outside hitter.
Kacie Kimbrough – Middle-Blocker/Outside Hitter – Neches – 2021
There’s a lot to like on Kacie Kimbrough’s game and serving is certainly one of these things. The 5’10” Neches middle-blocker is a true all-around player and that translates to her serving game as well. Kimbrough can not only produce at a high rate, having scored from the service line 84 times in her last season with the Lady Tigers, from she also performed when it mattered the most, registering a State Championship match-high three aces. Kimbrough is now headed to the University of Texas at Tyler with a variety of accolades, including the Texas Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Year award and nominations to the All-Tournament and All-State first teams.
Kayme Schley – Outside Hitter – Fayeteville – 2024
Kayme Schley made an immediate positive impact in Fayeteville’s game in her first year of high school volleyball and one of the areas she brought the most help to the Lady Lions was serving. The freshman outside hitter wasn’t shy of unloading her potential from the service line and ended the season with impressive 84 aces in 92 sets played, averaging 0.9 aces per set. Her serving game was instrumental in a mid-season win against McDade in which she had eight aces. Becoming more consistent and making fewer are the next steps for Schley, but she had a great start to her high school career.