Madisonville Volleyball 2016
Senior Laden Lady Mustangs Aim High
By Chris Boothe
Messenger Sports
MADISONVILLE – One year ago, the Madisonville Lady Mustangs were riding high. They finished the regular season with a 22-15 record, and were playoff bound. With a young squad, things were looking bright, but an unfortunate loss to Lorena in the Bi-District Championship would cut the Lady Mustangs season short.
Fast forward to 2016 and the Lady Mustangs bring back a bevy of talent, including 18-4A Defensive MVP Tra’dayja Smith. While that is the marquee name, it is far from the only star coming back in Madisonville for another season. The Lady Mustangs return three 1st Team All-District players, one 2nd Team All-District player, and one Honorable Mention athlete.
While Madisonville did lose three All-District seniors to graduation, the future remains bright for 2016.
Smith was the glue for the Lady Mustangs. Opposing offenses did their best to avoid Smith, but it was to no avail, as her speed put Smith everywhere, and keeping opponents at bay.
Tyana Brown, Lexi Leveston, and Quincy Surface were all 1st teamers a year ago, and all three are back again in 2016. In fact, the trio has come out firing this season, combining for 10 kills in just three sets played. Smith, is on a tear as well with six kills alone in that same stretch.
Surface has been killing opponents from the serving line, with a 100 percent serve rate, and seven points serving, the senior has been the steady hand for the Lady Mustangs this season.
The offensive ability of the Lady Mustangs, as shown above, will be more than strong enough to win a few games throughout the season. While there are several tough games ahead, the offensive and defensive prowess looks to be more than capable to carry Madisonville to a few wins this year.
Another duo coming back for another season is senior Camryn Frederick and junior Kaylee Reynolds. Both earning All-District honors last year, the pair come back and look to play an even bigger role in 2016.
The schedule isn’t doing any favors for the Lady Mustangs who have matchups against powerhouse programs including A&M Consolidated, Normangee, Tarkington, and Longview. That doesn’t even count tournament appearances in Fairfield, Leon, and Centerville. All three of those tournaments have been historically strong with this year being no different.
In district play the Lady Mustangs will have Athens, Palestine, Fairfield, and Mexia on the docket. Battling with Palestine, Fairfield, and Mexia will be a tough task for the Lady Mustangs if they hope to make their triumphant return to the playoffs.
That said, with more returning experience than anyone in the district, and veteran leadership, the Lady Mustangs look poised for a strong run. The must first survive a tough non-district slate, but that should have them prepared for a district run, and a potential deep playoff run in 2016.
