O’Neal repeats on Alliance volleyball
T-R FILE PHOTO Marshalltown senior setter Lauren O’Neal (12) goes up to make the pass for sophomore middle hitter Brooklyn Smith during the Bobcats’ Iowa Alliance Conference volleyball match against Waterloo United on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Roundhouse. O’Neal was named a repeat pick to the all-Alliance first team, while Smith was voted to the second team.
T-R FILE PHOTO Marshalltown senior setter Lauren O’Neal (12) goes up to make the pass for sophomore middle hitter Brooklyn Smith during the Bobcats’ Iowa Alliance Conference volleyball match against Waterloo United on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Roundhouse. O’Neal was named a repeat pick to the all-Alliance first team, while Smith was voted to the second team.
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One of the top offensive combinations in Iowa Alliance Conference volleyball this season was rewarded accordingly.
Marshalltown senior setter Lauren O'Neal was named to the all-Alliance first team for the second year in a row, while sophomore middle hitter Brooklyn Smith scored second-team honors in a vote of the conference's coaches.
O'Neal was the league's leader in assists, securing 213 successful sets, while Smith finished fourth in the Alliance with 87 kills during conference play. Smith led the league with a .381 kill efficiency, recording her 87 kills on 168 swings with only 23 errors.
Smith ranked third in the conference in solo blocks (14) and fourth in total blocks (18), while O'Neal also ranked fifth in digs (79). O'Neal added 18 service aces to tie for eighth place in the league while serving at a 90.2 percent clip.
Smith's second-team selection was a promotion from last year's honorable mention status. The Bobcats' honorable mention recipients this season were senior outside hitter Bella Avise and junior utility Morgan Hilderbrand.
Avise finished 14th in the league with 45 kills during conference play, and she tied for 24th with 46 digs. She was Marshalltown's top server during Alliance action, ranking sixth with a 94.2 percent serving efficiency by going 81-for-86 with nine aces.
Hilderbrand served as an outside hitter and as a defensive specialist this season. She ranked sixth in the conference with 73 digs and 21st in kills with 36. The left-hander also shared the team lead with O'Neal with 18 service aces to rank eighth in the Alliance.
Marshalltown (10-20) tied for third place in the final Iowa Alliance Conference standings, finishing 5-3 in league play to share the spot with Fort Dodge and Mason City. Ottumwa went 8-0 to claim the conference crown, while Des Moines Roosevelt was the runner-up at 7-1.