Anderson, Thomas, Kindig earn Y-A League girls' volleyball Player of the Year honors

RYAN VANDERSLOOT

THE YORK DISPATCH

The beauty of the West York girls’ volleyball team this season was not in the fact that the Bulldogs had one singular superstar to rely on.

Tesia Thomas of West York crushes the ball past York Suburban blockers Elise Mears, left, and Lulu Mooney, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Thomas' ability to expand her all-around game as a sophomore this year earned her the Y-A League Division II Player of the Year. John A. Pavoncello photo

Instead the York-Adams League champs were so dominant due to the cumulative effect of many different standouts playing together as a unit.

One could point to the two West York seniors — outside attacker Kate Tate and setter Trilby Kite — as potential Player of the Year candidates. Tate finished second on the team with 263 kills while Kite dished out 814 assists for the season.

Others such as Gianna Krinock, Alayna Harris and Taylor Morley, who served off seven points in a row when West York was down 24-18 in Set 4 of the PIAA Class 3-A semifinals against Allentown Central Catholic, all proved invaluable at times as the Bulldogs claimed the Division II and league playoff titles.

While all of those would have likely been consensus-type picks, it was someone who only played organized volleyball for a little more than a year that claimed the top honor as sophomore standout Tesia Thomas was named the Player of the Year in Division II. The athletically-gifted and talented middle hitter finished with 278 kills, 76 blocks and 41 aces for a Bulldog squad that finished with a 27-3 record.

In addition to Thomas, Central York senior Marley Anderson was named the Division I Player of the Year while Delone Catholic senior Chloe Kindig was named the Division III Player of the Year.

West York head coach Joe Ramp hadn’t yet heard the news about Thomas when he was reached by phone Tuesday, Nov. 21. He, however, figured that one of his outstanding group of attackers would win the honor.

“Tesia and Kate had a battle to lead the team in kills, which I enjoyed,” Ramp said.

Ramp pointed out the quick improvement that Thomas made this year compared to last as something to behold. Used only as a front-row attacker as a freshman, Thomas learned to serve and play the back row this season.

“Yeah, we kind of opened up the playbook for her a little more once she was able to understand all of the different positions,” Ramp said. “As she grows with the game, we give her a little bit more leeway with things to do.”

Expanding Thomas' game: One thing that Thomas has shown almost instantaneously since she started playing in the summer of 2016 was to put balls away. With the ability to jump over a foot above the net, Thomas proved to be a difficult player to block last year as a freshman. This season she stepped it up to another level by leading the club in kills, despite nearly 300 less opportunities than Tate.

“Last year we were just more worried about getting her used to the varsity level,” Ramp said. “This year she was putting balls away and getting blocks, which is an area that she improved upon tremendously. And on top of that, her serve was a deadly serve when it was on.”

If Thomas was this good as just a sophomore, what can Ramp and others expect with another year of experience under her belt?

Central York's Marley Anderson bumps the ball as the Panthers face Spring Grove, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. Anderson's defensive prowess stood out enough to earn her Y-A League Division I Player of the Year honors. John A. Pavoncello photo

“Next year,” Ramp said before chuckling at the mere thought of Thomas’ potential. “Just to open up the playbook even more. Get her in the back row and let her play all the way around.”

Anderson shines defensively: While Thomas was a threat offensively, Anderson was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

As the Panthers libero this year, Anderson proved invaluable for a Central York squad that claimed the Division I title.

Panther head coach Nate Ocasio has coached a ton of outstanding attackers over his nearly decade-long tenure at Central. This year’s club, however, relied much more on defense to win matches. And, defensively, it all starts with the libero in the back row.

“First thing, Marley was our rock in our serve-receive,” Ocasio said. “She is a very good athlete with incredible body control and balance which is why I think she was so efficient and exceptional.”

For a libero to be named as the Player of the Year speaks volumes about Anderson and her importance to the team according to Ocasio.

“Everyone looks at the offense for these things,” he said. “So for someone who doesn’t really wow the crowd with booming kills, I think is pretty cool.”

Kindig top player on state runner-ups: Kindig, a setter, proved a key cog in Delone’s highly successful season.

The Squirette senior dished out 435 assists while registering 75 kills, 50 aces, 162 digs and nine blocks for a Delone team that won the Division III title, District 3 2-A crown and reached the PIAA Class 2-A championship contest where they fell to Freeport.

Delone's Chloe Kindig tries to get a shot past West York's Kate Tate during the York-Adams League girls' volleyball championship match at Dallastown Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Kindig's all-around game in helping the Squirettes reach the state finals helped her get named the Y-A League Division III Player of the Year. Bill Kalina photo

York-Adams League girls' volleyball all-stars

Division 1

First team

Player of the Year: Marley Anderson - Central York

Madisyn McMaster - South Western

Ali. St. Rose - South Western

Tatiana Matuszewski - Dallastown

Alexa Shorts - Central York

Emily Wilt - Central York

Emma Davis - Dover

Second team

Delaney Kolb - Dallastown

Abby Diehl - Dover

Kendra Miller - Spring Grove

Chayce Hoffman - Dover

Faith Shaffer - Spring Grove

MacKenna Caruso - Central York

Lydia Stump - Dallastown

Honorable Mention

Kaylynn Zeigler - Spring Grove

Madelyn Grimm - Red Lion

Airika McCaskill - Spring Grove

Taylor Laughman - New Oxford

Gabby Ream - Dallastown

Division 2

First Team

Player of the Year: Tesia Thomas - West York

Trilby Kite - West York

Chey Buckingham - York Suburban

Brooke LaCesa - Eastern York

Lauren Guyer - York Suburban

Ali Reinecker - York Suburban

Sammi Faloon - Gettysburg

Eryn McBride - York Suburban

Second team

Kate Tate - West York

Tess Lampe - Gettysburg

Alexis Stouffer - Gettysburg

Kambrie Hepler - West York

Alexis Tomassini - Gettysburg

Amber Bortner - Susquehannock

Jaden Walker - Susquehannock

Division 3

First team

Player of the Year: Chloe Kindig - Delone Catholic

Autumn Altland - Delone Catholic

McKenna Walker - York Catholic

Emily Staub - Littlestown

Abby Pilkey - York Catholic

Hanna Riley - Littlestown

Maddie Claybaugh - Delone Catholic

Second team

Megan Daugherty - York Catholic

Emily Hoffman - York Catholic

Gena Eiker - Fairfield

Jacqui Fisher - Bermudian Springs

Bella Kepner - York Catholic

Jess Dunbar - Littlestown

Lauren Trummer - Delone Catholic

Honorable Mention

Hailey Madara - Bermudian Springs

Ally Montour - Hanover

Kelsey Farver - Fairfield

— Reach Ryan Vandersloot at sports@yorkdispatch.com