All Valley Volleyball: Player of the Year Weaver mastered other roles

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Hayley Weaver, Los Fresnos

This wasn’t the year that Los Fresnos was supposed to advance to the Region IV-5A tournament. Still, that didn’t stop Hayley Weaver from doing whatever she could to get ready for the season.

A setter by trade, Weaver knew the Lady Falcons didn’t have much depth in the middle. Weaver isn’t a prototypical middle blocker, but she worked on becoming a serviceable blocker. She did more than that. She became an excellent blocker. She willingness to learn a new position made her a valuable leader, and the Lady Falcons followed suit by making their first-ever appearance in the regional tournament.

“I knew that I had to take that responsibility for myself,” said Weaver, who was selected as Valley Freedom Newspapers’ All-Valley Volleyball Player of the Year. “I think that helped me become a better leader.”

You’d get no argument from Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods about that.

“Her character is tenfold,” Woods said. “She goes to the extremes to have everyone get along well. She’s always positive, never negative.  I’ve never heard a negative thing come out of that girl’s mouth.”

Weaver took care of things on the court as well. Weaver tallied 1,039 assists, 72 blocks, 217 digs, 67 kills and 36 aces. 

The Lady Falcons graduated their two middle blockers from last season — Avery Danielson and Ashley Benavides, both All-Valley picks a year ago. The Lady Falcons returned three regulars, which included seniors Gloriana Villarreal, an outside hitter, and libero Ileah Ortiz. They formed the nucleus and welcomed a team that was short on experience, but long on talent. The veterans and youth mixed well and it was enough to propel the Lady Falcons to the regional tournament for the first time in their program’s history. After falling short in season in which they were expected to make long playoff runs, Los Fresnos reached the regional tournament in which they weren’t supposed to get there.

“In the past years, Los Fresnos has always been known as being a big threat,” Weaver said. “We’d be No. 1 in the Valley, and then lose in the playoffs. It was so frustrating to know that we didn’t live up to the expectations that had been set.”

Los Fresnos entered the playoffs as the No. 1-ranked team in the Valley. Unlike previous seasons, the Lady Falcons were the last Valley team standing. In a season in which the Lady Falcons won their fourth district championship in a row and extended a district winning streak to 46 matches was trumped by their playoff breakthrough,

“To be ranked No. 1 and showed that we deserved to be,” Weaver said of the biggest thing she’ll remember about the 2011 season. “We were really excited and really proud to represent the Valley.”

Newcomer of the Year: Shalani Stockton, McAllen Memorial

She just wanted to make the team.

Earning a key role on an established program as a sophomore?

Yeah, right.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to McAllen Memorial sophomore Shalani Stockton, who not only made the Lady Mustangs varsity, but thrived as a middle blocker. She beat out an established varsity player for the spot and was named District 30-5A Newcomer of the Year. Stockton’s rapid rise on the varsity level this season also helped her earn Valley Freedom Newspapers All-Valley Newcomer of the Year.

“I started working hard last summer just to make varsity,” Stockton said. “I was really surprised to get as much playing time as I did.”

Stockton tallied 41 blocks during district play and helped the Lady Mustangs earn a share of the District 30-5A championship with Sharyland. It was Memorial’s third-straight district championship.

“Shalani came out huge for us this year,” McAllen Memorial coach Lorena Lopez wrote when she nominated Stockton for the All-Valley team. “Shalani improves every time she hits the floor and will be one to watch for years to come.”

Stockton had watched several other Lady Mustangs win those two previous district championships from the stands. To be a part of this year’s championship team was special. Stockton credited teammates Chelsea Lyons, who was VFN’s Newcomer of the Year two seasons ago, and Nina Islas for making her feel welcomed. They had played for the same organization in club volleyball, but never on the same team.

“I really wanted to play with them,” Stockton said. “At the beginning, I was especially intimidated, but I knew that I had to step up my game to meet theirs.”

Stockton began last season on the freshman team. When middle blocker Jennifer Kowalski missed most of the district season last year because of a broken finger, everyone moved up a spot, and that pushed Stockton to the junior varsity. That’s when she got out of her comfort zone and learned to push herself by playing with teammates in which she wasn’t familiar. That experience helped her make the varsity team.

“I was so excited, especially since I had to fight for a position,” Stockton said when she found out she had made the varsity team this season.

But once she earned that varsity position, she worked just as hard to hold on to it.

“There was this relief that I made the team, but I knew that any slip and I would lose my spot,” Stockton said. “There was always that worry that I would get sent to the bench.”

As it turned out, that was never a problem.

Coach of the Year: Adrian Cavazos, Edinburg North

The Edinburg North Lady Cougars kept moving forward, and that march turned into a record-setting season.

The Lady Cougars set a school record for victories (32), earned its first district championship and its first-ever journey into the third round of the playoffs. Edinburg North’s run finished in the Region IV-5A quarterfinal round after an 18-match winning streak, but not before the Lady Cougars had won the District 31-5A title with a 14-0 mark, a perfect district record that was another first for the program.

For guiding the Lady Cougars to so many milestones, Valley Freedom Newspapers selected Edinburg North coach Adrian Cavazos as its All-Valley Coach of the Year.

“All the firsts,” Cavazos said of the things he’s going to remember the most about the season. “We had a great group of girls. We started off slow, but we came together. We had some people accept their roles. There was never any regression. Every time we played, we took a step further than before.”

Jessica Martinez, a senior middle blocker-outside hitter, played for Cavazos for four seasons on varsity. Martinez said Cavazos was the biggest reason for the team’s historic season. He’s also had a profound influence on her as a player and a student.

“I grew up with him,” Martinez said. “He helped me grow as a person. We are all so proud of him. I know he wasn’t playing on the court with us, but he put us in all the right places.”

Signs for a record-setting season weren’t there for the Lady Cougars at the beginning. The Lady Cougars returned a talented core of four starters, but the rest of the team had little or no varsity experience.

A signal the Lady Cougars were on track to a highly-successful season happened defeated Harlingen South for the first time in school history during the first round of district play. The toughest test came right after when the Lady Cougars rallied from a two-game deficit to defeat Edinburg Economedes with uber-talented Leigha Brown in five games. The Lady Cougars were on their way.

“We had an amazing season and he kept us humble,” Martinez said of Cavazos. “He was always telling us to think about the next match, the next point. He kept our feet on the ground, and that’s what helped kept us going.”

David Hinojosa covers high school volleyball for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email dhinojosa@themonitor.com

ALL-VALLEY CAPSULES

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

HAYLEY WEAVER

LOS FRESNOS

Class: Senior

Postion: S

Stats: 1,039 assists, 217 digs, 72 blocks

Notable: Two-time 32-5A Setter of the Year

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

SHALANI STOCKTON

McALLEN MEMORIAL

Class: Sophomore

Position: MB

Stats: 41 blocks (district only)

Notable: 30-5A Newcomer of the Year

COACH OF THE YEAR

ADRIAN CAVAZOS

EDINBURG NORTH

2011 Record: 32-7

Notable: Edinburg North went 14-0 and won their first district championship in school history. The Lady Cougars also advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time.

FIRST TEAM

LEIGHA BROWN

EDINBURG ECONOMEDES

Class: Junior

Position: MB

Stats: 600 kills, 247 blocks, 243 digs

Notable: 31-5A MVP

CHELSEA LYONS

McALLEN MEMORIAL

Class: Senior

Position: S-RS

Stats: 226 assists, 169 kills, 115 digs

Notable: 30-5A MVP

VANESSA SALAZAR

EDINBURG NORTH

Class: Junior

Position: L

Stats: 717 digs, 39 aces

Notable:  31-5A Libero of the Year

KASSANDRA SANCHEZ

SAN BENITO

Class: Senior

Position: MB

Stats: 701 kills, 203 blocks

Notable: 32-5A MVP

ELISE SMITH

SHARYLAND

Class: Junior

Position: OH

Stats: 193 digs, 177 kills (district only)

Notable: Unanimous First Team

ARIANNA TANGUMA

EDCOUCH-ELSA

Class: Junior

Position: OH

Stats: 511 kills, 369 assists, 413 digs, 71 aces

Notable: 32-4A MVP

GLORIANA VILLAREAL

LOS FRESNOS

Class: Senior

Position: OH

Stats: 369 kills, 266 digs

Notable: Unanimous 32-5A First Team

SECOND TEAM

Player;School;Position;Grade;Notable

Aleena Cubriel;Edinburg North;OH;Sr.;31-5A First Team

Laura Eberly;Sharyland;OH;Sr.30-5A Outstanding Blocker

Jennifer Duran;Harlingen South;S;Sr.;31-5A Setter of the Year

Jenna Garza;Sharyland;S;Jr.;30-5A Setter of the Year

Gabby Gonzalez;Port Isabel;S;Sr.;32-3A MVP

Sydney Herrera;Harlingen South;MB;Sr.;31-5A Defensive Player of the Year

JeNeva Jimenez;Mission Veterans Memorial;OH;Sr.;32-4A Offensive Player of the Year

Jessica Martinez;Edinburg North;MB-OH;Sr.;31-5A Offensive Player of the Year

Priscilla Marquez, Brownsville Veterans Memorial;OH;Jr.;32-4A First Team

Sarah Ortiz;Brownsville Hanna;MB;Sr.;32-5A First Team

Katie Rodriguez, Mission Veterans;S;Sr.;32-4A First Team

Keila Rodriugez;Brownsville Rivera;LJr.;;32-5A Libero of the Year

Selina Sandoval;Edcouch-Elsa;Sr.;L;32-4A First Team

Monique Swift;McAllen High;MB;Sr.;30-5A Outstanding Hitter

Clarissa Torrez;Weslaco East;L;Sr.;32-4A Libero of the Year

 Final Top 10

1. Los Fresnos (36-3)

2. Edinburg North (32-7)

3. McAllen Memorial (32-5)

4. Harlingen South (22-8)

5. Sharyland (31-15)

6. San Benito (24-9)

7. Edcouch-Elsa (30-6)

8. Mission Veterans Memorial (25-7)

9. McAllen High (26-15)

10. Port Isabel (21-7)