Press Pass Sports banner showing a female athlete reaching up in celebration; 'Player of the Week' text and sponsor logos are visible in the design. — Presley Ward of Tascosa is the First United Bank Girls Athlete of the Week. [Joe Garcia III/ Press Pass Sports]

Presley Ward, Tascosa volleyball, Sr.

On the court: Ward had quite the heroic effort last week in lifting her Tascosa Lady Rebels to a thrilling four-set win over arch-rival Amarillo High during a District 3-5A match last Tuesday. The victory was huge in a multitude of ways for Tascosa. It first, put the Lady Rebels in a first-place tie atop the league standings with AHS. It then snapped a Lady Sandies 74-match district win streak and it was Tascosa’s first win against AHS since 2010. Feeding off an electric home crowd, Ward stepped up with a memorable effort landing a game-high 29 kills and hit the floor for 17 digs to earn a double-double. Ward followed that helping the Lady Rebels to a sweep of Caprock last Saturday with 13 kills and 12 assists for another double-double. On the season, the senior has totaled 285 kills to go with 355 digs.

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Coach Carley McCracken: Presley has been a leader for us and she is the ultimate competitor. She spreads that competitive edge like wild fire across the team and she loves stepping up in the big moments like she did against Amarillo High. What I love about Presley, is she’s not just competitive on the court, but she’s just as competitive in her school work. She wants to be the best at no matter what she’s doing. She is a complete joy to be around.”

Ward: “Beating a team the caliber of Amarillo High was a turning point for us. That shows we’re changing the culture and it gave us a ton of confidence in our mental game as well as our game on the court. I feel like we still have a lot of work to do but I love the direction we’re heading in. As for myself, my role has changed quite a bit and I’m happy about that. I’m more of an offensive player this year when last year I was counted on more for defense. I think I’ve also done a better job at becoming a vocal leader.”