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All-Area volleyball, large schools: Kate Rawls returns a better player and helps lift Wellington to new levels
Friday, December 23, 2011
SMALL SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
By JEFF GREER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Everything about Wellington outside hitter Kate Rawls was on another level this season.
She hit harder, defended and passed better, got stronger and, above all, played smarter. In a county stacked with talent from Jupiter to Boca, and in between, it was Rawls who played the biggest role on the best team in Palm Beach County.
She led her team to a fall of firsts: The Wolverines made the first state tournament and state final appearances in school history, just weeks after winning the school's first region and district titles.
And as the stakes got larger each match, each set, each point, it was Rawls who wanted the ball.
She finished the season with 266 kills, 161 digs and 40 blocks, including dominant performances in each of her team's post-season wins.
In 2010, Rawls was a good role player for Wellington. She made the Post's All-Area second team and posted solid numbers.
In the off-season, she played sand volleyball. A two-person game, sand volleyball changed Rawls for the better. She became a more complete player - as evidenced by her 2011 statistics - and eventually earned a scholarship to play sand volleyball at Georgia State.
And she set a new bar of excellence at Wellington in the process.
LARGE SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL FIRST TEAM
Madison Ahearn
Dwyer
Outside hitter, Junior
Can jump through the roof, hammered home 242 kills. Also had 254 digs and 133 service points.
Morgan Lear
Jupiter
Libero, Senior
One of the best liberos in the state, collected 435 digs and 162 service points for a young Jupiter team.
Lindsey Knapp
Boca Raton
Outside hitter, Senior
Polished veteran posted 257 kills, 201 digs, 43 blocks and 39 aces from Boca's talented front line.
Lauren Gainer
Boca Raton
Middle blocker, Senior
Tennessee-Chattanooga signee fought through injury problems to total 177 kills and 66 blocks.
Abby Jo Winsor
Wellington
Libero, Senior
Heart and soul of her team, had 322 digs and played the leading role in her team's gritty defense.
Andrea Galinis
Atlantic
Outside hitter, Senior
An explosive outside hitter who led a surprise Atlantic team to the Class 7A region finals.
Kelly Sullivan
Wellington
Middle blocker, Senior
Always a positive, energetic influence, tallied 208 kills and 48 blocks as an intimidating middle force.
LARGE SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL SECOND TEAM
CHIARA MAZZOLA, Wellington, Senior, Outside hitter
All-around talent had 142 digs and 92 kills in her first season at Wellington.
JILL SHEMANSKI, Jupiter, Senior, Middle blocker
Imposing in the middle, posted 271 kills and 159 blocks.
BAYLEY COOK, Royal Palm Beach, Sophomore, Opposite hitter/setter
Best player on Royal Palm had 236 assists, 180 digs, 171 kills and 75 aces.
RUTH HARRINGTON, Boca Raton, Junior, Outside hitter
At times Boca's top player, posted 263 kills, 180 digs and 42 aces.
CHELSEA BORETTI, Wellington, Sophomore, Setter
Young setter provided soft passes for hitters, tallying 795 assists.
MARJORIE BABJACK, Atlantic, Senior, Outside hitter
Not a natural outside player, but managed to stay consistent all season despite new position.
ANNE CORRIGAN, Palm Beach Gardens, Junior, Middle blocker
Good team leader and tough middle blocker had 337 kills and 121 blocks.
LARGE SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL HONORABLE MENTION
ATLANTIC - Veronica Hoercherl, Nicole Kloosterman; BOCA RATON - Sydney Kantor, Megan Rice, Libby Vilmar; DWYER - Shelby Erickson, Victoria Penrod; JOHN I. LEONARD - Alma Colas, Tamoya Merritt; JUPITER - Megan Higgins, Sophia Servideo, Taryn Tatum; OLYMPIC HEIGHTS - Taylor Ott, Ashley CheewaH; PALM BEACH GARDENS - Kelsey Parry, Victory Radanovich; PARK VISTA - Kaylee Bebee, Michelle Klein; ROYAL PALM BEACH - Brianne Cook, Gabby Marionakis; SPANISH RIVER - Brooke Mesner; WELLINGTON - Sydney Shinn, Abbie Jo Schlechter, Gabby Sehres; WEST BOCA RATON - Nina Woodward.
LARGE SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Bausch
Wellington
Hard to ignore his first-year results: First district and region titles in program history, first state tournament appearance.
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User Comments:
Dave commented on December 24, 2011 at 10:11 a.m.: report abuse
I don't know how you can overlook Danielle Vollender who is a junior at Palm Beach Central and is one of the best players in the county. Danielle is a 6 ft outside hitter who had over 200 kills while playing on a very young team. She also plays for Boomers 17 Black which is one of the top club teams in the state.
TonyStewart commented on December 24, 2011 at 10:29 a.m.: report abuse
Merry Christmas! Congratulations to all who are mentioned in this article. Brian Bausch did a great job steering a very talented TEAM to states.
This is for the Palm Beach Post and its Staff Writer, Jeff Greer, ... learn about volleyball(Chelsea Boretti sets nails, not soft passes)... learn about the areas top athletes...how do you not include the following highly recruited college bound players:
Danielle Vollender, Junior 6' outside hitter, who carried Palm Beach Central much of the season. Asked to play anywhere on the court and to lead an inexperienced team, she never wavered. The major colleges have recognized her talent, why didn't the Palm Beach Post ? Coach Elder, where is the love for your best player?
Kirsten Nowak, Freshman 6' Middle Blocker, Suncoast would have lost 50% of their games without this coveted player. Coach Bowman, where is the love for this future superstar?
What is the process for inclusional in this group of talent? How did top talent slip thru the cracks of this distinguished sports reporting newpaper?
Once again congratulations and Merry Christmas to all who are named, and those who were not.
santas lil helper commented on December 24, 2011 at 12:05 p.m.: report abuse
I'm pretty sure the players ger recognition when their team does well. Maybe winning districts or going to states.
how did PB Central fare this season??
My daqughter is recruited to a Div 1 school- Vilanova and was not mentioned in any article.
I am very familiar with the girls on the 17 boomers team, my daughter played for their 18's....I'm not familiar with the girl mr. stewart mentions. Could this be her first year playing for Boomers? shouldve left PB juniors well before her junior year.
confused commented on December 25, 2011 at 12:15 p.m.: report abuse
How do the two girls who had the most kills of any position get 2nd team? (Jill Shemanski, who is signed with Marshall & Anne Corrigan). Something doesn't seem right about that.. How is this determined?
you must be kidding,right? commented on December 25, 2011 at 2:26 p.m.: report abuse
JEFF GREER must have a relative working for the boca raton school district or a niece on the volleyball team. the two girls he picked from boca for the first team were never once in the top 25 in either kills or blocks according to the weekly stats report that came out in the post on tues. or wed. all season!!! Your NEPOTISM mr. greer is DISGUSTING and PATHETIC as are you and your reporting of high-school sports!! You need to go back and check your stats and records.I know you won't so I will for you. The middle blocker from palm beach gardens had 337 KILLS and 121 BLOCKS ..The middle blocker/hitter from jupiter had 271 KILLS and 159 BLOCKS, both with more than any girl you put on your first team. these two girls were number 1,2,or 3 all season long on your weekly stats report for kills and blocks. even the other outside hitter from your favorite high-school(Boca Raton) had 263 KILLS, 180 DIGS and 42 ACES again more than any girl on your "so called" first team.. How about you MAN-UP to your mistakes or explain your reasoning.. IF you can't get it right you should think about delivering the paper instead of writing for it. JUST A SMALL SIDE NOTE.. THE QB from jupiter was the highest recruited QB in florida with offers from UCLA, LSU, USF, Michigan State. and signed with Wake Forest and you put him on the SECOND TEAM!!! --Once Again---BRILLIANT !!!
^^^^ commented on December 25, 2011 at 4:36 p.m.: report abuse
Its coaches responsibility to vote and nominate! Don't bad talk Jeff Greer! He did a fabulous job this year reporting! So shut your mouth and get over it!
^^^ Clarification commented on December 25, 2011 at 8:59 p.m.: report abuse
Hey just want to say congratulations to all the girls, you all had a great year. But just clearing up the previous comments.
The coaches vote and nominate player for All Conference teams.
The Newspapers pick the All Area teams.
Happy New Year
sportsfan commented on December 25, 2011 at 10:55 p.m.: report abuse
Yes, while the papers do pick the teams, the coaches still have to nominate and vote on player of the year. Congrats to all the girls
Wtf? commented on December 26, 2011 at 5:06 p.m.: report abuse
For 1st team all-county there is no setter? What is that about?
And no offense but the wellingtons setter wasn't very good. when you have amazing hitters who can put down anything, obviously your stats are going to be through the roof. She will get better but there are many more setters who should've been recognized.
Plus many girls who were mentioned last year arent even on here!!
Many of those 2nd team players can out-play the ones on the first team.
cwilliams commented on December 27, 2011 at 9:05 p.m.: report abuse
Congrats to all the girls nominated for first and second teams.
It was a great season with many spectular games played by all the teams.I think the selections to the first team clearly show favoritism to some of the girls and certain schools. The stats that are posted weekly in the post apparently had no bearing on the girls who were in the highest standings weekly, as many were overlooked or not acknowledged. I know of several girls who will be playing D-1 volleyball that were put on the second team or overlooked completely.How disappointing for all athletes to have weekly write-ups and then be overlooked. I have to agree with several of the previous comments. The setter is an extremely important role, yet none selected to the 1st team? Was no one good enough to meet your questionable guidelines?Oh, exactly what are your guidelines? I think you can really do a better job than this! Maybe you should randomly poll players as they know who is deserving of these "awards.
respect commented on December 29, 2011 at 11:34 a.m.: report abuse
whoa...
This comment is for - YOU MUST BE KIDDING RIGHT...JEFF GREER Obviously does not favor one school over any other. If anything it always seems to be that Jupiter is favored!
With the exception of Anne corrigan and Ruth Harrington I believe Mr. greers got it right.
Remember these girls are juniors and mostly seniors got 1st team w/exception of OH from Dwyer (junior).
its obvious that the coaches nominate the girls, example Royal Palm Beach!!
MUCH OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF TALENTED PLAYERS ON EACH TEAM ...IF THERES NOT A LOT OF TALENTED PLAYERS ON A TEAM THEN GIRLS THAT ARE MEDIOCRE AT BEST GET RECOGNIZED.
COMPLAIN TO YOUR COACHES FOR NOT BEING NOMINATED...
Debbie commented on December 30, 2011 at 9:27 a.m.: report abuse
I really have no idea how the selections are made. Your guess is as good as mine. I suppose it is more of a popularity contest than anything else. Stats surely are not used in the equation. In my opinion, High School Volleyball is so over rated and is akin to pre-pre-pre-season club volleyball at best. The best players that are often overlooked for "All Area Volleyball" which is like kissing your brother or sister, shine during club where the VERY BEST volleyball is played and college coaches abound. Club players take solace as you will get your day in the sun and be able to showcase your talents to college coaches that know the game and talent when they see it. Full rides are the end game. With that said, Go Ocean Breeze 17s. That will be a dominate club team. I believe Anne Corrigan and Ruth Harrington play for that team.
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