All-Phoenix: A-Okay honors in volleyball
Oct. 27—To hear Lexi Erb recall it, her love for volleyball came because she wanted to hit something.
Pound it, pummel it.
"I had to find my groove with it and fall in love with it," she recalled this week."Once that happened, I wanted to dominate, to knock someone out."
Not with her fists.
Let her coach explain.
"She came in with a force," said Okay coach Andrea Collins. She wanted to be the best hitter in the area and she worked real hard to get to that point and change things,"
She did just that, earning her second Phoenix Most Valuable Player award in three seasons. She averaged 10 kills and 2.4 aces per match, as well a 3.9 digs and two assists in helping Okay to make the Class 3A state quarterfinal round, going 19-12 on the year.
"I've known her forever knowing her mom, but from the get-go she wanted to be a big part of the team and not sit around and pick it up from the older kids," Collins said.
How much grit does that require?
Back after the 2019 season, her sophomore year, she fractured her ankle playing basketball. At the time she thought it was just a sprain, She tried to play through it, and even made a squad in the prestigious Club One volleyball organization out of Broken Arrow.
"I have a high pain tolerance and just dealt with it to that point," she said. "It would swell and hurt after every practice and it got to the point where I couldn't walk without it hurting, and it would be twice the size of my other."
She went to get it examined at that point, and she was diagnosed with a hairline fracture with cartilage damage. Surgery followed in January. She missed last season in basketball, but returned this fall for volleyball — and wound up with a stress fracture of the same ankle.
She battled through the year with a wrap and brace on it. Just this week, she had a cast put on this week.
She played through this fall with continued issues and yet excelled. Now it's just a situation of getting someone to notice that.
"I think the club opportunity was where some of those offers would come," Collins said. "Now we're just making emails and phone calls. She deserves a shot."
Bailey Walters gets the nod as Defensive Player of the Year. She was a selection to the team a year ago.
She had 6.5 kills, 2.3 aces, six digs and two assists per match this season.
"Without her presence on that back row, I don't think we'd have the numbers hitting with Lexi that we did," Collins said. "She's very consistent with what she gives us back there with her defense and good digs which makes our setter make good sets.
"Bailey spent a lot of time working on passing. If she makes a bad pass, she's mad at herself. She really worked at her game and it paid off."
This year's honors was special awards only with just three schools in the circulation area.
