Volleyball Welcomes New Faces
There will be a plethora of new faces on the court for the Wranglers this season, as second year head coach Dayana Acevedo Rios welcomes in thirteen new players, twelve freshman and one sophomore transfer.
Three players return from last year's team that went 15-7 overall, and all three saw significant playing time. Daniela Rodrigues (Lisbon, Portugal) and Myllena Torquetti (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) were both selected to the WJCAC All-Conference Team, while Ainara Fernandes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) saw action in all twenty-two matches last season. Outside of those three players, only Alyssa Vasquez (Andrews, TX) has on court experience after transferring from Cedar Valley.
Competition for playing time has been fierce through the first two weeks of practice. Dahlia de los Santos (San Antonio, TX), Dynasty Andrews (Fort Smith, AR), and Liliana Mechura (Lake Travis, TX) will all see time at Middle Blocker this season.
At the Outside Hitter/Right Side position, Rodrigues, Torquetti, and Fernandes are joined by Kayla Williams (Killeen, TX) and Bella Green (Orem, UT). Vasquez could see time in both the front row or time as a defensive specialist. The offense will run through two new Setters this season in Raphaela Felisberto (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Kadyne Emmot (Waipahu, HI).
On the back row, Camila Canedo (Curitiba, Brazil), Kayla Gillaspie (Burnet, TX), and Naomi Phillips (Canyon Country, CA) will all compete for the Libero/Defensive Specialist position.
The Odessa College Volleyball team will open the 2022 season this weekend August 19th and 20th as they travel to Roswell, NM to compete in the NMMI Classic.
The Wranglers will play their home opener the following weekend on Thursday August 25th against Salt Lake Community College at 5pm on day one of the OC Volleyball Classic.