Just like two teams shared the Foothill League title this season, there are two athletes sharing the 2019 Foothill League Player of the Year Award.
Allison Jacobs of West Ranch and Ruby Duncan of Hart both earned Player of the Year accolades.
Jacobs was excited to receive the award, especially because it comes three years after her sister earned it.
“It feels great to receive the award, especially since my sister (Katie) had gotten this honor during my freshman season,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs finished her final season as a Wildcat with 21 blocks, 16 aces and a team-leading 381 kills.
West Ranch finished 20-5 overall and tied with Hart for the league title after being swept by the Indians on Oct. 17 to finish league play. The Wildcats bounced back to make it to the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs before dropping a match in five games to Paloma Valley.
It was difficult to pick a specific moment in the season, but Jacobs was able to narrow it down as she thought about her favorite memory of the season.
“My favorite memory has to be when we played Paloma Valley because even though we lost, we still came together as a team and had fun,” she said.
The other athlete to win the award this year is Ruby Duncan, who felt that this was a great way to finish her senior season.
“It feels really nice knowing that my senior year was my best performance. It’s a nice way to end the season and my high school career,” said Duncan
Hart finished 12-6 on the season, only losing once in league play 3-0 to West Ranch on Sept. 26. The Indians returned the favor by sweeping them on senior night Oct. 17 to tie with the Wildcats for the league title.
“It was the last time playing in my home gym, I had family and friends watching me and I had my team surrounding me,” said Duncan. “We were also playing for a league title and that just made it that much better and more intense.”
The Indians fell to Los Alamitos in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.
Jacobs will continue her volleyball career at UCLA, while Duncan will be playing at The Master’s University.
First Team
Megan Soto, Sr., Hart
Lina Elsee, Sr., Hart
Jacqueline Ibarra, Sr., Saugus
Kaelyn White, Sr., Valencia
Alyssa Grodell, Sr., Valencia
Kaitlyn Jizmejian, So., West Ranch
Erin Eskoff, Jr., West Ranch
Second Team
Jordyn Nunez, Sr., Golden Valley
Grace Eck, Sr., Hart
Sabrina Sveiven, Jr., Hart
Lauryn Thompson, Jr., Saugus
Jaela Bernard, Sr., Valencia
Gwen Garate, Sr., West Ranch
Olivia Hoffman, Sr., West Ranch
Honorable Mention
Ariana Vargas, Sr., Canyon
Saliyah Ravare, Jr., Golden Valley
Kylie Tengberg, So., Hart
Milani Lee, Fr., Saugus
Macy Kirkwood, Sr., Valencia
Kiley Gustin, So., West Ranch
