Sina Faulk, No. 4, left, of the Subway High School Girls All-Star Volleyball Team takes a shot on defending East All-Star players during their match Thursday night at UWF.
Thursday night was a little strange for Emily Emmons.
The Catholic setter once again stepped foot on a volleyball court and contributed to a win for her team.
What was different was the senior’s teammates and coaches as part of the Subway High School All-Star Volleyball game.
“I felt different on the court because I wasn’t with my girls,” Emmons said. “But these girls are great. They played really well, and we all meshed really well together.
“The East has won a lot — they always have a lot of talent — and it was different this year, having a lot of talent on the West team. We just used it to our advantage.”
The West All-Stars hung tough in a back-and-forth series, winning the contest in seven games — 25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-17 and 15-9.
Emmons’ Catholic High teammate, Sina Faulk, was named the MVP of the West Squad for her dominant offensive performance, capping a stellar season that saw her in the top of many of the area stat categories.
“I think it was really fun,” said Tate High coach Erika Burkett, head coach of the West All-Star team. “It’s really fun when you put them all together, the best players from each team.
“It’s just like a dream team.”
Side-by-side with Faulk and Emmons were Tate’s Regine Simmons and Jordan White, the Aggie duo helping push the team over the hump in the later sets.
Washington High’s Lauren Childers and Sydney Barrow also came up big for the West.
“It was so amazing how we all blended together,” Simmons said. “We only had two practices together, and we played like a team that had been playing together for a long time.”
For the East All-Stars, coached by Gulf Breeze coach Waynn Sellers, Niceville’s Sami Mims was named the team MVP.
Pace’s Caroline Mayne, Laini Vermillion and Michaela Dunn helped lift the team to wins in the early goings, while Navarre’s Monica Foster also made an impact at the net.
After dropping the first set, the East pushed the West squad to the brink before their opponents rallied to win three straight and take the match.
“We had different lineups,” Burkett said of her team’s adjustments. “All the girls told me what position they wanted to play, and we tried to let them do that. Even if it wasn’t the position they played in high school, we tried to let them get some playing time.”
“The girls play together on club teams and stuff like that, so they’re used to it.”
