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Clay Today All County Volleyball

‘Small-sized’ Marshall has big impact for Panther volleyball

Randy Lefko
Posted 12/1/16

ORANGE PARK - Ridgeview High head volleyball coach Destiny Brightman elevated Aniya Marshall in 2015 from her junior varsity team in order to have an extra set of legs and hands for the Panthers …

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Clay Today All County Volleyball

‘Small-sized’ Marshall has big impact for Panther volleyball


Posted

ORANGE PARK - Ridgeview High head volleyball coach Destiny Brightman elevated Aniya Marshall in 2015 from her junior varsity team in order to have an extra set of legs and hands for the Panthers regional semifinal playoff game against state runnerup Bishop Kenny and the pint-sized middle blocker instantly became a key component at the net for the Panthers.

“We put her in against one of the best teams in Florida last year and she did an excellent job against two of the best hitters around,” said Brightman, who, in 2016, orchestrated a second district title for the Lady Panthers. “We expected good results from the move, but this year, Aniya has exploded to the scene as a dominant net presence. Last year, as a sophomore with little varsity experience, she showed her true competitiveness by not backing down to the strong Bishop Kenny lineup.”

Dominant to the tune of 175 blocks; 53 solo blocks and 104 assists, for the junior 5-foot-7 middle hitter for the Lady Panthers. Repeat: 5-foot-7 middle hitter for the Lady Panthers.

In the land of 6-footers plus that hover above the net line of most high school volleyball teams, Marshall’s outstanding jumping ability and timing got her to the ball more times than not when enemy hitters were attempting to penetrate the Ridgeview defensive set. Marshall had a high game of 22 blocks in the Panthers 3-2 loss to 8A-power Fletcher High with another 18 against 7A-Fleming Island. For the season, Marshall recorded an astounding six double digit block games. In the Panthers playoff run; a district title against Orange Park, and two region playoff games; Stanton and Bishop Kenny, Marshall stayed steady with her numbers with 10, 12 and 14 blocks at the net.

“From her humble quiet personality, She is a beast at the net,” said Brightman. “We were able to move the ball around more offensively this year because of her presence.”

On top of her defensive expertise, Marshall was able to contribute to the Panther offense with 67 point-scoring kills which was a team-leading total from the middle hitter position.

The Clay Today All County first team is chock full of big hitters, strong setters and cat-like defenders with Fleming Island senior Ally Smith, Ridgeview High senior Jauhna Smith and St Johns Country Day School senior Molly Urney manning the front net hitters.

Ironically, both Smiths; Ally Smith of Fleming Island, and Jauhna Smith of Ridgeview, took some initiative to balance their game for their upcoming college careers with both spending more time in the back defensive line. That being said, both were still considered threats anytime they got to the net with Ally Smith smashing 175 kills and Jauhna Smith popping for 177 kills. Urnek, set free with the graduation of Madison Dill, took over the reigns as the Spartans top scorer with her area-leading 230 kills.

The Golden Eagles, unfortunately, were in probably the toughest district in Florida and could only get to their district semifinal, but Smith is still regarded as one of the more consistent hitters in the area.

For Ridgeview, Jauhna Smith probably would have liked more net space throughout the year, but the athletic smasher kept her net skills perfected with a strong 231 digs for Brightman with 32 service aces. Ironically, when the Panthers needed Smith’s prowess up top, she delivered with double digit kill numbers in Ridgeview final three games; the district final against Orange Park, the region opener against

Stanton Prep and the region semifinal against Bishop Kenny.

Urnek came back strong from a 200-plus junior season to bolster her stock for the Lady Spartans who finished as district runnerups to 3A state champion St. Francis (24-1) who blitzed everyone to the title.

On the back defensive line, the Clay Today All County first teamers include Ridgeview senior Anyssa Guzman, Middleburg High’s Hannah Roney and Fleming Island High’s Lauren Bates.

Guzman, who was a Clay Today second teamer last year, was the spark for the Panther attack with her diving saves and high-energy fueling the Panthers attack. Guzman finished with 286 digs, 34 service aces and just 15 errors for a 94 percent success ratio off enemy attacks. Guzman’s energy was highest with 32 digs against Stanton and eight games with 20 or more digs. For Middleburg, who finished as district runnerups, Roney also returns to the Clay Today All-County team member with an improved stat package. More importantly, Roney became an integral leader as the Lady Broncos had one of the toughest schedules in the area and a slew of injuries to key personnel throughout the season. Roney, signed to play basketball at Belmont Abby University, hit for 223 kills, had 290 digs and had 49 services aces off 174 points via her services.

Bates, following sister Sydney Bates (now at Towson State University), kept the Fleming Island defensive line resilient in the barrages from state-strong Creekside (region finalist), Buchholz and Bartram Trail with her 329 digs and her 389 service receives. Bates only registered an impressive 57 errors on service receives for coach Amy Walker.