ALL-ETBLITZ.COM VOLLEYBALL TEAM! | Our second-annual best-of-the-best in the ETB area!

It’s no longer Christmas – it sure came quickly last year – but we do have some gifts left to open.

It’s the second-annual All-ETBlitz.com Volleyball Team, where we honor, recognize, pay tribute – whatever term you want to use – the best volleyball players in the ETBlitz coverage area, and to be clear, that includes players from these schools (in alphabetical order): Arp, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk and White Oak.

Coaches don’t select this. This is done in-house by ETBlitz, and based on a number of categories: statistics, team effectiveness, leadership – all of those factors, and more, are taken into account when these selections are made. There are some schools with more selections than others; we don’t count number of selections a school has and try to balance it out. The goal is to select the most deserving players, regardless of what school – and regardless, even, of what positions they played.

By the way, the same principles apply to next Sunday, January 12, with the release of the 2024 All-ETBlitz.com Football Team.

So, off we go. Let’s unveil the All-ETBlitz Volleyball Team for the 2024 season.

Most valuable player: KAMDYN SCOTT, TATUM

Kamdyn had 612 kills this past season, leading Tatum in that department.

She also had 367 digs, 74 blocks, 74 aces, and 28 assists, and was a multi-time Whataburger / ETBlitz.com girls Player of the Week award-winner.

And the best part about all of this: she’s just a JUNIOR, and Tatum gets her back next year!

Coach of the year: LEVEN BARKER, TATUM

From the “you-knew-that-was-coming” department. Coach Barker, who passed 750 wins in 2023 and apparently has 1,000 coming up next on his milestone list, guided Tatum to a 40-6 overall record. The Lady Eagles spent the bulk of the season ranked right under Bushland at the top of the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s Class 3A poll.

Tatum went 12-0 in District 16-3A, which also included really-good programs at West Rusk, White Oak and Sabine, as well as Troup, Arp, and Gladewater.

The Lady Eagles didn’t lose a single game, although White Oak pushed them to five sets twice. They also had an incredible 17-0 record at home – Tatum’s last home loss was all the way back in November, 2023.

And they had a 20-game winning streak going before their playoff loss in the regional tournament in Forney. Tatum went from August 31 to November 15 between losses, a 76-day period in-season without a loss. Just incredible.

And he has some incredible players: Scott, Karly Stroud, Kayden Foster, and his daughter, Taydem, among others. Of all the achievements this season, the 20-game winning streak might be the most impressive, especially considering some of the competition in the mix: West Rusk and White Oak twice each, and Beckville, and obviously more.

All-ETBlitz.com First Team

Here are our first-team selections. OF NOTE: The difference in first-team and second-team selections are sometimes very, very minute; sometimes, even the players that made what we call “special commendation” on this team are VERY good, or they would not be mentioned in this article.

Without further adieu, here we go.

Middle blockers: Addison Standley, Henderson; Addison McClanahan, White Oak; Shiloh Sluder, Troup; Kamyah Lacy, West Rusk.

Addi Standley, also a Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Player of the Week award-winner, helped Henderson finish second in very-tough District 16-4A, which included state-ranked Spring Hill, a team that dominated their schedule, for the most part, as well as Gilmer.

Standley finished with 438 kills, 181 digs, 92 blocks, 19 aces and eight assists, arguably the best player on a very-talented Lady Lions team.

And there’s Addi McClanahan, who also collected a good share of Whataburger / ETB awards already this season, and is our most-decorated girls award-winner in the history of this site (she won last year in softball, as well).

McClanahan, a senior, also plays on a very-talented team in White Oak – just look at the number of White Oak players mentioned in this article.

On the season, McClanahan led the entire ETBlitz area in kills (625). She also had 354 digs, 66 aces, and 50 blocks.

Sluder, a sophomore for Troup’s Lady Tigers, had 293 kills in 2024, to go with 239 digs, 46 assists, 37 aces, and 34 total blocks.

And Kamyah Lacy, a junior, helped the Lady Raiders to the third round of the 3A postseason before losing in five sets there to Boyd. Lacy had 274 kills, 83 digs, and 78 blocks.

Outside hitters: Lacey Wilson, Gilmer; Kaysen Foster, Tatum; Maleah Thurmond, Kilgore; Maddie Birdsong, Arp.

Wilson is a senior for a Gilmer team that finished fourth in 16-4A, and still won 10 games in that district, including a season split with second-place Henderson.

Wilson had 568 kills, 244 digs, 79 total blocks, and 63 aces for the Lady Buckeyes.

As for Foster, we’ve mentioned Tatum’s team achievements – now let’s mention hers.

She had 440 kills, 413 digs, 80 aces, 25 blocks and 23 assists, and is one of four Tatum players to make our All-ETB first-team. So impressive.

Thurmond was a key part of a Kilgore team that improved by leaps and bounds under first-year head coach Mika Hubbard. Maleah recently signed to continue her education and playing career at East Central University in Ada, Okla.

This year, she led Kilgore with 454 kills, and also had 191 digs, 38 blocks and 17 aces.

Birdsong had 354 kills, 320 digs, 45 aces, and 20 total blocks for Arp, one of the best athletes in a school full of good ones.

Setters: Taydem Barker, Tatum; Alli Sims, White Oak; Isabella Mata, West Rusk; Kaylee Stevens, Overton; Alex Werbeck, Gilmer.

When you have over 1,000 assists in your high school career, that’s a pretty good four years.

So what is it when you have over 1,100 in ONE SEASON?

That’s what White Oak’s Alli Sims and Tatum’s Taydem Barker both did.

Sims had 1,186 assists, 314 digs, 61 kills and 50 aces for the Ladynecks.

And Barker finished with 1,120 assists for a 40-win Lady Eagles team. She also had 214 digs, 64 kills and 47 aces.

There’s a lot of pressure when you’re the athletic director’s kid. Just ask Bella Mata.

But Mata lived up to it, and then some, for the Lady Raiders. She had 976 assists, 330 digs and 71 aces in the 2024 season.

We’ve got five players who made the cut here at setter for a reason, and that’s because they all deserved it.

Werbeck was strong for Gilmer: 890 assists, 217 digs, 58 aces, 42 kills and nine total blocks.

Stevens, just a sophomore for the Lady Mustangs, finished with 244 digs, 206 assists, 173 kills, 38 aces, and seven total blocks.

Libero / DS: Karly Stroud, Tatum; Keke Murphy, West Rusk; Karsyn Edwards, White Oak; Maurine Witt, Kilgore.

Here’s some attention for a player – Tatum’s Karly Stroud – that at one point this season, coach Leven Barker told ETBlitz.com was his most underrated player, who really deserves recognition.

She’s got it, along with all of the players on this team. In 2024, Karly finished with 581 digs, 60 aces, and 57 assists.

For the West Rusk Lady Raiders, KeKe Murphy had 772 digs, 61 kills, 52 assists, and 45 aces.

Edwards had 383 digs, 66 assists and 60 aces for the Ladynecks.

And Witt, a senior who was a big part of that up-and-coming Kilgore team.

All-ETBlitz.com Second Team

Middle blockers: Kelsey Vaught, Overton; Hannah Haffner, West Rusk; Aley Dixon, White Oak; Londyn Bodovsky, White Oak.

Outside hitters: Kate Charlo, Henderson; Emory Cover, Troup; Livi Brown, Gilmer; Carlie Buckner, West Rusk.

Setters: Elle Litchenburg, Kilgore; Keeley McCann, Sabine; Jayna Rucker, Gilmer; Qhenja Jordan, Troup.

Libero: Nolyn Norris, Henderson; Lucy Hopson, Arp; Caitlyn Stewart, Sabine; Peyton Thompson, White Oak.

Special commendation

Andee Bridges, White Oak (outside hitter)

Londyn Baker, White Oak (outside hitter)

Irelind Hunt, West Rusk (outside hitter)

Kimora Pryor, West Rusk (outside hitter)

Kara King, West Rusk (DS / outside hitter)

Sarah Roberts, Sabine (outside hitter)

Alexis Kemp, Gilmer (outside hitter)

Brie Jones, Gilmer

Mason Fenter, Overton (outside hitter)

Skyler Colvin, Overton (outside hitter)

Hallie Mayfield, Overton (outside hitter)

Bryleigh Nelson, Overton (libero)

Sadie Pahlman, Overton (setter)

Emmaleigh Stroman, Leverett’s Chapel (libero)

Bailey Ingram, Leverett’s Chapel (outside hitter)

Aubrey Poole, Arp (middle blocker)

Kaitlynn Raymond, Arp (outside hitter)

Landry Langley, Arp

Addison Carpente, Arp (setter)

Chayne Graves, Troup (setter)