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Colleyville Heritage senior Anna Walsh lands volleyball player of the year honor

COLLEYVILLE – Anna Walsh probably couldn’t have predicted the sort of season that was in store for her.

Entering her first year as a six-rotation player, the junior middle blocker from Colleyville Heritage admits there were some early bumps in the road.

“I was out of control back there,” the 6-3 Walsh said of playing the back row. “I’d never played six rotations. It was definitely a learning process.”

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By the time the playoffs started, Walsh’s education was mostly complete. She led Heritage to the Class 5A Region I finals for the second straight year, avenging last year’s playoff loss to Coppell along the way.

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Walsh dominated throughout the five-set Region I quarterfinal against the two-time defending state champs, amassing 21 kills, 19 digs and 1.5 blocks.

“Anna is an emotional leader and player,” Heritage coach Jamie Siegel said. “She was sick during that match, too.”

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Walsh, who is committed to Virginia, is SportsDay’s pick for the 2013 player of the year. She finished the season with 600 kills on 1,233 attacks and was a .366 hitter. Defensively, Walsh added 50 blocks and 422 digs, solidifying her role as an all-around contributor for one of the state’s best teams.

“I wanted to play six rotations last year,” Walsh said. “I’ve always wanted to, but no coach has ever really given me the chance. Finally I got it.”

Heritage finished with a 42-7 record, and Walsh was named the District 6-5A co-MVP. She was also an all-tournament honoree at the Allen Open and Arlington Invitational.

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With one more year remaining in her high school career, the future is certainly bright for Heritage and its do-it-all player.

“When you have that player who is effective in all six rotations,” Siegel said, “that makes the difference between winning and losing.”

Follow David Just on Twitter at @DavidJustDMN.