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In her career at Belton, the accolades and praise have always come easy for Grace Weaver.
As a junior, she was the 12-5A offensive MVP and the Killeen Daily Herald Player of the Year.
The wins came a bit tougher, though.
The last two seasons, Belton had slow starts initiated by tough schedules.
However, they made the playoffs anyway, battling back from a 6-18 start in 2009 and an 0-6 start this season.
Behind Weaver, this season the Lady Tigers had perhaps their best year under head coach Justeen Coulson.
The Lady Tigers went 22-18 overall and made the area round of the playoffs for the third straight season, but the biggest improvement was in District 12-5A play.
Belton went 12-2 in district and swept the season series with Copperas Cove, to take second place behind A&M Consolidated.
"It has been a long journey," Weaver said. "Every year this team has been completely different and we have had to mold to what we needed to do and it has taught me a lot.
"I have learned how to be a different type of leader each year and (this senior class) has helped the program so much and … there is so much more interest now. And a big part of that is that we have shown the younger girls how classy athletes should be. "
Weaver, of course, is at the heart of it all, shattering the competition with not only her strong outside spike – she won the Daily Herald's hardest hitter contest with a booming 45-mph kill – but also with her back row defense. She finished the season with 526 kills, 443 digs and 41 aces for the Lady Tigers. It is that overall effort that made her the choice for the Killeen Daily Herald's MVP for the second straight season.
Coach of the Year — Rickey Phillips, Gatesville
2010: After watching his talent Hornet teams fall in the region quarterfinals three times in the last five seasons, Phillips and Gatesville (35-7) broke through, beating rival Lorena in a back-and-forth Region III-3A quarterfinal to advance to the program's first-ever region tournament.
FIRST TEAM
Amy Rosenbaum
School: Copperas Cove
Class: Junior
2010: The 12-5A most valuable setter finished with 634 assists, but Rosenbaum was much more than a setter for Cove. Being the Lady Bulldawgs' tallest player put her on the front row, where she finished with 167 blocks and 258 kills. The Baylor commit added 103 digs and 100 aces.
Janey Phillips
School: Gatesville
Class: Senior
2010: Phillips just missed being named the 19-3A most valuable player, but was named the district's best hitter. The all-around threat led Gatesville to its first-ever appearance in the region tournament, finishing the year averaging 3.1 kills, 1.2 digs and 1.02 aces per game.
Glynna Johnson
School: Gatesville
Class: Junior
2010: At 6-foot-3, Johnson was the area's biggest threat anywhere near the net. She averaged 4.8 kills per game to lead the area, and added 1.5 blocks as well. Johnson was named 19-3A's best blocker, helping Gatesville run through the district undefeated for the second straight year.
Madison Morris
School: Lampasas
Class: Senior
2010: The UTEP signee was named the District 25-3A Offensive MVP, as Morris led the Lady Badgers to the playoffs after narrowly missing out on the postseason last year. Morris had a team-high 373 kills (3.2 per game) and 79 total blocks and finished second in assists and third in aces.
Jenna Sebek
School: Salado
Class: Senior
2010: The District 25-3A Most Valuable Player was on a mission after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee in the middle of last season. Leading the Lady Eagles to their first solo district championship, Sebek finished with a team-hight 389 kills (3.3 per game), with 274 digs, 81 blocks and 77 aces.
Brennan Boydstun
School: Salado
Class: Senior
2010: Before tearing the ACL in her right knee a week before the end of the regular season, Boydstun was a stabilizing force for the Lady Eagles, leading the area with 926 assists (8.5 per game), to go with 304 digs and 129 kills, Boydstun was named District 25-3A setter of the year following her all-state season a year ago.
SECOND TEAM
Kaitlin Poe
School: Gatesville Class: Junior
2010: The 19-3A first teamer averaged 8.1 assists per game and was an all-tournament pick in helping Gatesville win its own tournament.
Phyllicia Cross
School: Copperas Cove Class: Senior
2010: Cross missed three weeks during district play, but she still led the Lady Bulldawgs in kills (428), averaging 3.82 per game. Cross had 500 digs (4.46 per game) to go with 53 aces and 78 blocks.
Carle Foster
School: Killeen Class: Senior
2010: Foster was a 8-4A first-team selection and helped the Lady Roos reach the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Brooke Malcik
School: Belton Class: Senior
2010: Malcik led the area with 831 assists, the majority of them to MVP Grace Weaver.
Hailey Morrison
School: Lampasas Class: Junior
2010: The 25-3A first teamer led Lampasas with 363 digs and finished second in both kills (279) and aces (73).
Bianca Patterson
School: Harker Heights Class: Senior
2010: Patterson, who signed with Navarro College, set a Lady Knights record with 260 kills this season and led Heights to the cusp of a playoff berth and a winning record.
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