- November 23, 2024
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Matanzas' Brianna Whitfield celebrates after scoring a point. Photo by Ray Boone
Matanzas volleyball's Brianna Whitfield hits a shot against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Matanzas volleyball's Brianna Whitfield. Photo by Ray Boone
Matanzas volleyball player Brianna Whitfield had 96 kills on the season entering the Pirates’ matchup against Atlantic Wednesday, Sept. 11. After already recording three kills earlier in the first set, Whitfield rose into the air for a slam. Her shot ricocheted off the outstretched arms of the Sharks’ middleblocker out of bounds for Whitfield’s fourth kill of night — and her 100th of the season.
Whitfield registered 164 kills during the 2018 season. Now, seven games into her junior year, she’s at 112 after her 16-kill night against the Sharks.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It shows the work I’ve been putting in is paying off.”
"I've been working on seeing the court when I go up to hit. I have to know my shots. I have to know what to do with the ball. You can't pound it every time. I'm really trying to focus on being a smarter hitter."
BRIANNA WHITFIELD, Matanzas volleyball
The work has been strenuous and constant.
Whitfield gets up at 5:30 a.m. nearly every day and drives to the beach volleyball courts at Holland Park with her dad to work on her game. She works on her passing and hitting, mainly. After about 100 balls, she goes home, takes a shower and then goes to class.
The routine is the same regardless if she played a match the night before.
“It’s exhausting, but when I get out there and hit the sand, it’s all worth it because I get to come out here and produce for my teammates,” she said. “It motivates me to get better, to keep going, to keep scoring points.”
Whitfield said she lost her passion for the game midway through the club volleyball season last year, but she has since regained her focus.
One of her goals? Surpassing her kills total from last season.
“I’ve grown a lot,” she said. “Now I know volleyball is my focus. This is what I want to do.”
