Mike Ridaught
Junior setter/right side hitter Cassidy McDonald had an outstanding week for the Oak Hall volleyball team, leading the Eagles to a 3-0 record with wins over P.K. Yonge, Newberry and Bradford (Starke).
In three games, she finished the week with 67 assists, 26 kills, 35 digs, 37 service points and eight aces.
Her best performance was against P.K. Yonge when she racked up 18 digs, including 11 digs in the pivotal third set when the teams were tied at 1-1.
“Cassidy has been a strong leader this year while helping to propel the Eagles to a 20-3 overall record,” said Oak Hall coach Perry McDonald. “Her precision, fast tempo sets, tenacious defense and aggressive serves have helped provide Oak Hall with a powerful boost towards securing the No. 1 overall seed and a first-round bye in next week’s district tournament hosted by St Francis Catholic.”
Heading into last night’s match against at Columbia (Lake City), McDonald had 335 assists, 163 kills, 144 digs, 168 service points, 49 aces and 12.5 blocks this season.
The Class 2A Eagles won a highly competitive four-set match on the road against the 5A Tigers on Tuesday night, dropping the first set 25-19 but rallying to win the next three 25-22, 28-26, 25-23.
McDonald had her best performance of the season. She accumulated 31 assists, a career-high 20 kills, 10 digs, 11 service points, three aces and two blocks.
“Cassidy’s die-hard, never give up mentality helped Oak Hall overcome five and six-point deficits in sets two and three and then she rose to the occasion in set four to score five kills including one on match point to help Oak Hall secure its 20th win of the season,” McDonald said.
She becomes the seventh athlete to be selected for the weekly award.
Last week’s winner was Oak Hall quarterback Dakota Brower, who finished with 267 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in just one half of football as the Eagles set a school scoring record with a 74-32 win at home against Eagle’s View (Jacksonville).
Other winners include GHS quarterback Kane Smith, Buchholz football player Myles Graham, Hawthorne wide receiver Alvon Isaac, Chiefland running back Osten Jones, and Newberry volleyball player Hailey Tharp.
Coaches can email their nominations each week, along with stats, no later than Sunday night to mike.ridaught@mainstreetdailynews.com.