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Viera sets the pace

Sports

Saturday, 24 December 2011 05:23

Harmony setter is Player of Year again
By Ken Jackson
For The News-Gazette
Last year, Genesis Viera was a great volleyball player at Harmony High School.
This year, the junior setter was a great player for the Longhorns.
Viera took the talents that earned her Osceola News-Gazette Volleyball Player of the Year as a sophomore and used them to elevate those around her, as Harmony became the first school in Osceola County history to play at a state volleyball tournament. Her leadership in that role again earned her Player of the Year honors.
The Longhorns (22-9) had to overcome a threat from rival Osceola in the regional playoffs and then beat two other district champions (Lake Minneola, George Jenkins) to earn a spot in the Class 7A state semifinals, played conveniently for the first time at the Silver Spurs Arena.
Viera and a cast of returning players like senior hitter Marie Gilbert, senior middle hitters Alicia Palm and Nia Frederick, junior hitter Kendall Pollock and a freshman libero, Alexis Trowbridge, bonded to become a force that few teams could consistently contend with.
Viera likened it almost to having a seventh player on the court.
“I felt like the team was really close,” she said. “Everyone wanted to work so hard to get as far as we could.”
HHS Coach Eric Trowbridge said he watched the scope of Viera’s talent widen and rub off on the rest of the team.
“Her biggest change over last year is her ability to relate to the talent around her,” he said. “She made it her ethic to make everyone around her better. She did a fabulous job at it.”
Viera may spend more time with volleyball than many coaches.
“I see her work and study habits every day. She’s up at 5:30 to go to her gym. She studies the game relentlessly,” Trowbridge said. “She’d come see me a couple times a week with stuff she’s seen on video of an offense or an opponent.”
Despite missing seven matches with an injury and an eligibility inquiry, Viera tallied 557 assists (in 74 games) and 65 service aces. With a year of eligibility remaining she holds Harmony’s career record of 1,632 assists.
With Viera leading the way, the Longhorns got past the hurdle of the regional semifinals (where the last two seasons ended) and earned a spot in the 7A Final Four.
“She’s like a coach on the court. Her ability frees us up as coaches to devote a lot of time where we need it,” Trowbridge said. “That probably had a lot to do with where we got at the end.”
Despite a valiant Longhorn effort, Winter Springs ended Harmony’s season with a four-game win at the Spurs arena in the state semifinal round. Viera said the match was a mix of emotions.
“I knew what we were in for against Winter Springs, then we won the first game and I told everyone I really felt we could do it,” she said. “Then it started going downhill and we couldn’t do what we knew we could. After we lost, we chose to look at that we made school history and county history.”
Viera said hard work will be required to return to the state tournament; three starters on the front line will graduate.
“I know we have big shoes to fill. But we replaced two seniors and a starting junior last year, too,” she said.
And, with another whole year of high school ball to be played, Viera has already orally committed to play collegiately at Conference USA’s University of Tulsa.
“They’d seen me play at tournaments and they have a good program in what I want to major in (sports medicine),” she said. “I’d made other visits, but when I went there, I knew it was for me.”
Viera was not alone in posting a solid season of stats in the county. Teammate Alicia Palm was second on the Longhorns with 151 kills and led them with 87 blocks. Charnelle Michel was the offensive force for a Gateway squad that reached the district semifinals.
And Osceola libero Colleen Arago closed a four-year varsity career by setting the single-season records of 612 digs and 141 aces as well as Osceola career records in both (1,807 digs, 389 aces).
“It’s good to know I put up those numbers and helped put our program on the map,” Arago said. “But looking back at it keeps me motivated to do better in the future.”

Player of the Year: Genesis Viera (Jr., HHS).
All-county team: Harmony: Nia Frederick (Sr.), Marie Gilbert (Sr.), Alicia Palm (Sr.), Kendall Pollock (Jr.). Gateway: Charnell Michele (Sr.), Kathleen Castro (Sr.). Osceola: Colleen Arago (Sr.), Natalie McClain (Sr.), Megan Hearn (Sr.), Madison McGehee (Sr.). St. Cloud: Sarah Sullivan (Sr.), Faith Udstad (Soph.). Poinciana: Jacqueline Palfy (Jr.). City of Life: Alexandra Cardona (Fr.). Liberty: Ashley Ramos (Soph.).