TC's Volleyball's Kailee Wakatake named State Player of the Week
San Diego Mesa College sophomore outside hitter Kailyn Jager, the state leader in kills per set, and Taft sophomore libero Kailee Wakatake, the state leader in overall digs, are the Week #3 selections as CCCWVCA State Players of the Week.
Jager, a 6-foot talent from La Costa Canyon High (Carlsbad), transferred to Mesa after playing her freshman season at MiraCosta, where she helped the Spartans to a #16 playoff seed as the team's top hitter (SoCal Region leader in total points in 2022). This season, she is averaging a state-best 5.13 kills and is again topping all Southern California players in points (195).
Jager collected 71 kills in a 4-0 week for recently state rated #7 and still undefeated Mesa, beating the likes of #5 Irvine Valley, #6 Ventura and #11 Cypress. She scored 21 kills with 17 digs in the Irvine, then hit .474 with 11 kills while serving six aces in the triumph over Cypress. She had a .301 hitting percentage for the week, totaling 38 digs, 13 blocks (eight solo) and nine aces.
Wakatake, a 5-1 defensive wizard from Kalani High in Honolulu, Hawaii, was the Central Valley Conference Libero of the Year as a freshman. She tops all liberos in total digs with 273, averaging 6.35 per set. Last week, she amassed 149 digs in six matches (25 a match) as she helped Taft to a 4-2 week. Her high was 29 in a 5-set win over Shasta.
Wakatake totaled 38 digs earlier this month v. Ohlone. She is passing at a 2.52 rate and served six aces last week.