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Volleyball: Lady M’s abundant on all-district squad
BY JUSTIN THOMAS, JThomas@acnpapers.com
In back-to-back seasons, Marcus’ volleyball team made the deepest runs in program history by reaching the Class 5A Region I finals.
Unfortunately for the Lady Marauders, each finals appearance ended in disappointment, including falling this season to eventual state champion Hebron.
But it was Marcus who edged out Hebron during the regular season to claim the District 8-5A Championship and the Lady Marauders were rewarded for their successful campaign by being well-represented on the all-district team.
Leading the way for Marcus was Katie Neisler, a first-team selection last season who shared Defensive Player of the Year honors with Plano West’s Rachel Brumitt this year. Other superlative winners were Lauren Douglass (Offensive Player of the Year), Regan McGuire (Blocker of the Year) and Cristie Liles (Coach of the Year).
First-teamers from Marcus included Liz Fortado, Sarah Hula, Mallori Sando and Mary Koehler.
Flower Mound’s Liz Theesfeld also earned first-team honors, while Jordan Anderson was named second team with Briana Allmon, Rebecca Green, Samantha Hawes and Macey Singleton receiving honorable mention nods.
Lewisville, meanwhile, was represented by Brandi Nickelson on the second team. Tami Leranth and Kristyn Nicholson were named honorable mention for the Farmers.
“We were very disappointed when we lost,” Liles said. “But after we’ve had some time pass and you start to look back, you realize what a great season it was. We went 43-6 and we had never really won more than 30 matches before. We finished in the top three in three different and very challenging pre-district tournaments. And then we went 13-1 and won district in one of the toughest districts. I’m just so proud of the team, especially considering the pressure they were under and the pressure they put on themselves after last season.”
Marcus had 13 returning players this season, including seven seniors, five of which were named all-district.
Neisler was named the district’s top defender but brought much more to the Lady Marauders.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Liles said. “She led our team in digs almost every game during district and I’m glad that the rest of the coaches were able to recognize that and what she brought to our team. But she is an all-around great player. She makes it look easy on the front row whether it be on offense or defense. And she really came through in the clutch for us.”
Never was that on display more than in the regular season finale against Hebron, where in Game 3, with Marcus leading two sets to none, Neisler prolonged a critical point with a key dig and then followed with consecutive terminations to close the match.
Neisler finished the season as the team leader with 264 digs and was fourth with 106 kills.
While Neisler was named the top defensive player, Marcus’ Douglass received the honor for offense.
“I’m so excited for Lauren,” Liles said. “For a junior hitter to win a superlative in an offensive-minded and talented district like ours is huge. Obviously, she led our team in kills most matches and was a player most teams realized they couldn’t stop. She was definitely our go-to player. She has a lot of size and skill but is also a smart player and because of that she rarely got her shot blocked.”
Douglass finished with 162 kills and 59 blocks.
McGuire, a sophomore, edged out Douglass for the lead in blocks (60) to earn top defensive honors but was also third on the team in kills (109).
“That was a no-brainer,” Liles said. “She came up big for us in so many matches. She brings so much intensity with her block it’s uncanny. Most of the time, you expect a sophomore to get Newcomer of the Year, not Blocker of the Year. But she didn’t play like a sophomore.”
While McGuire has the block down, she will use the offseason as a chance to improve on offense.
“She is working on getting quicker and faster within the offense,” Liles said, “because she is going to have a much larger role in the middle on offense for us.”
Another key player on the attack for Marcus has been and will continue to be Fortado.
As a junior, Fortado was second in kills (119), second in hitting percentage (.355) and fourth in blocks (28).
“She’s another player that I thought could have received a superlative,” Liles said, “but there just aren’t that many to go around and it was tough to choose. She was second or third on our team in kills and for a right side player to achieve that is quite an accomplishment. She can jump very high and has a great offensive skill set. We expect massive, massive things from her next season.”
Fortado has already made a verbal commitment to play at Arkansas when she graduates.
“It’s a good thing because she won’t have to worry about the pressure of recruiting and trying to come to a decision on where she wants to play,” Liles added.
Also named to the first team was a pair of senior setters for the Lady Marauders in Sando and Hula.
“I’m so proud of them,” Liles said. “They were both so great I’m glad they both made first team and you didn’t have to pick one over the other.”
Sando led the team with 267 assists with Hula right behind with 263. No other Lady Marauder recorded more than 21 assists.
“Sarah makes great decisions with the ball and is also a great defensive player,” Liles said. “And Mallori was the heart and soul of our team. She was such a great leader and played with so much emotion that it really relaxed everyone else. We are really going to miss both of them.”
Koehler provided the Lady Marauders with versatility, finishing second in digs (236) and fifth in kills (67).
“She is one of the most coachable players I have been around,” Liles said. “If you ask her to do something or put a ball in a specific place, she did it.”
Koehler’s versatility came into play during the regional quarterfinals against Southlake Carroll, where she was forced to play setter following an incorrect lineup submission.
Bunting, meanwhile, was named second team.
“I can’t imagine a better second-teamer than her,” Liles said. “She was great on the court but brought so much more because of her leadership ability. She did a lot of talking and fired the team up.”
On the court, Bunting was third on the team in blocks and sixth in kills.
With the losses of key seniors, the Lady Marauders will certainly take to the court with a different look. However, with key returnees such as Douglass, Fortado and McGuire, as well as other key additions, the Lady Marauders will again have high aspirations.
“We have four key players back with experience,” Liles said. “And I think we will have a lot of depth next season.”
While Marcus will be losing seven players to graduation, Flower Mound will be losing nine, including first-team selection Theesfeld.
“She has been a consistent player for us since she was a sophomore,” said Marci Brinkman, Flower Mound coach. “She really deserved this honor and I was proud the rest of the coaches recognized her ability and what she did on the court. She was one of our top players statistically across the board, but really picked up her intensity and vocal leadership this season.”
Next season Theesfeld will be on the court at the College of Charleston.
One returnee for Flower Mound will be Jordan Anderson, who was named to the second team as a sophomore.
“She really started to establish herself during district play,” Brinkman said, “and she actually finished with the top hitting percentage on our team. She is very powerful and is working on developing more consistency in her attack.”
Allmon, another sophomore, was named honorable mention.
“She was awesome this year,” Brinkman said. “She is very coachable and gives us versatility because she can play at outside hitter and middle blocker.”
Green was named honorable mention for her ability on the attack.
“She really started putting balls down toward the end of the season,” Brinkman said. “She had a ton of kills against Plano West. She was a middle blocker but also got to play a lot of outside hitter in our system.”
Supplying the assists and also receiving an honorable mention nod was Singleton.
“She gave us a lot of intensity on the court,” Brinkman said. “She wants to win no matter what and it shows.”
Samantha Hawes received honorable mention after leading the squad in digs.
“This was her first year on varsity but she took over as our libero,” Brinkman said. “After the pre-district tournaments, she really settled in a groove and gave us consistent passing. She could really read hitters well and determine where the ball was going. And she showed so much hustle to track down balls we thought she had no chance of getting to.”
Lewisville, meanwhile, failed to earn a win in district but will be returning each of its three all-district members.
Nickelson, a junior, was named second team while junior Leranth and freshman Nicholson were named honorable mention.
“Brandi is just a great athlete,” said Jay Samide, Lewisville coach. “She was leader in kills but she was also one of our top players for serve-receive.”
Samide said Nickelson was playing at her best near the end of the season, including notching 19 kills against Plano Senior and 14 against Marcus.
“I think the other coaches wanted to serve to her to try and wear her down,” Samide said. “But it didn’t really work. She is strong and sees the ball very well and was also probably our best defender.”
Samide added Nickeslon is working on improving her consistency and power during the offseason.
Leranth was second to Nickelson in kills and blocking.
“She played two different positions for us,” Samide said. “She is great on the block on the right side but can also contribute for us in the middle. I think she will play both again next season it’s just a matter of what develops on our team looks and who we are playing.”
Nicholson, meanwhile, got the honorable mention for her skills at setter.
“She did an excellent job,” Samide said. “And she should only get better as she gains more experience and more experience and familiarity with Brandi and Tami. And hopefully we will be able to put some more attackers around her to make things easier.”
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