Daily Light announces Ellis County volleyball team

The Waxahachie Daily Light is proud to announce its third annual Ellis County High School Sports Awards volleyball team as part of its countywide celebration of high school sports all-stars.

These student-athletes are featured in an all-color graphic on Page B3 of this weekend’s paper.

The Daily Light staff began what is now called the Ellis County High School Sports Awards program in 2019. These include awards for individual players and coaches of the year. This year, other awards have been added which are open for voting by the public at https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ellis-county-high-school-sports-awards/, including nominations for favorite high school team and favorite marching band.

Finalists for superlative awards for volleyball are being announced today; the winners will be announced during the 2021 Ellis County High School Sports Awards presentation show. This star-studded, on-demand broadcast, featuring the biggest names in professional sports and the top student athletes from Ellis County, will premiere Thursday, June 17 at 6 p.m. and will honor the top athletes from 14 high schools within the county.

This year’s Ellis County High School Sports Awards teams will have a slightly different format. Instead of first and second teams, all honorees will be presented equally as members of the Ellis County High School Sports Awards team and honorable mentions will be listed separately. Also, instead of coach of the year awards for each sport, we will be compiling a list of finalists for overall Coach of the Year awards in the spring that will encompass all sports.

The All-Ellis County volleyball team was chosen based on a combination of criteria: season statistics, team advancement in the playoffs, postseason honors achieved, previous All-Ellis County selections, recommendations from head coaches, and direct observation of players by the Daily Light staff.

This year’s All-Ellis County football team will be announced in next weekend’s Daily Light.

Members of the Ellis County High School Sports Awards 2020-2021 Volleyball Team are, listed alphabetically:

• Player of the Year Finalists

Kate Morgan, Sr., Waxahachie

Elizabeth Schmidt, Sr., Midlothian Heritage

Aryn Walton, Sr., Midlothian

• Team members

Kenna Buchanan, Soph., Midlothian

Jh’Kyah Head, Sr., Waxahachie

Tessa Henry, Sr., Ovilla Christian

Avery Long, Sr., Waxahachie

Macey Maxwell, Sr., Palmer

Jenna McMichael, Soph., Midlothian

Kate Morgan, Sr., Waxahachie

Audrey Nunes, Sr., Ovilla Christian

Meagan Price, Sr., Maypearl

Elizabeth Schmidt, Sr., Midlothian Heritage

Emma Smithey, Sr., Waxahachie

Aryn Walton, Sr., Midlothian

• Honorable mention

Rhali Adams, Jr., Midlothian Heritage

Killian Armstrong, Jr., Midlothian

Lex Berryman, Jr., Maypearl

Hayden Brunson, Sr., Midlothian Heritage

Karsyn Curry, Sr., Midlothian

Marlee Hopkins, Sr., Ovilla Christian

Zoe Huskins, Jr., Maypearl

Kennedy King, Jr., Midlothian

Brooke O’Neal, Sr., Red Oak

Megan O’Neal, Sr., Red Oak

Callie Ralston, Jr., Ferris

Keri Scott, Jr., Italy

Brooklyn Steinmetz, Jr., Italy

Grace Sweeney, Fr., Midlothian Heritage

Nanea Storm, Sr., Maypearl

London Upchurch, Fr., Ovilla Christian

Carsen Young, Sr., Maypearl