Creek’s Smith has become a jack-of-all-trades

LEAGUE CITY — There’s no denying that Clear Creek’s Ashley Smith has one of the strongest swings in the entire Houston area.

But after the last two weeks of play, the junior outside hitter is quickly establishing herself as one of the area’s top all-around players.

“She’s an extremely talented player, mostly because she’s always adapting,” Clear Creek coach Scott Simonds said. “Ashley is definitely our vocal leader on and off the court.”

In two games last week, Smith put up numbers that most outside hitters would be happy to accomplish in a month. In victories over Clear Brook and Brazoswood, the TCU-commit had 57 kills on 79 attempts, good for a hitting percentage of .620.

But perhaps most impressive was her versatility around the court. With the absence of libero Natalie Piznar, Smith stepped up for 23 digs, three blocks and two aces. She started to struggle a bit from the service line against Clear Brook but made quick adjustments to overcome her early mistakes.

Through Smith’s leadership, the Wildcats are undefeated in District 24-5A, and they’ll travel to Pearland to face the undefeated Lady Oilers in a match that could decide the district’s top seed. Smith is just 12 kills away from her 500th of the season, and she hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

Clear Creek’s supporting cast of junior setter Courtney Richardson, junior middle blocker Ariel Froeschl, senior hitter Kaela Ibrahim, junior hitter Jessica Weaver and senior middle blocker Bailey Robertson also anchor the Lady Wildcats’ attack and defense.

“So many of my teammates are playing so well right now, and hopefully we can keep it up,” Smith said.

Lady Knights Near The Top Of 24-4A

The Clear Falls Lady Knights quickly have taken the district by surprise, and they appear to be a shoe-in for a playoff spot in their first year of varsity play.

The young and senior-less Lady Knights have stormed to a 5-1 record, losing only to the Friendswood Lady Mustangs. The combination of freshman Alyssa Enneking and sophomore Katie Bludau leads the attack with 221 kills and 207 kills, respectively. Bludau has 54 aces, while Morgan St. Germain has 38 and 335 digs.

The Lady Knights travel to Ball High tonight to take on the winless Lady Tors for a 6:30 p.m. start.