We had a big showing for our third week of the Big Bend Preps Athlete of the Week contest, coming down to the wire between two candidates. By the time the polls closed on Thursday night, it was Lincoln senior Dyani Steward who came out victorious.
Picking up 35 percent of the 20,711 votes submitted, Steward is this week’s Big Bend Preps Athlete of the Week following her performances against Leon and Sneads, which saw Lincoln win both games.
In back-to-back matchups, Steward recorded 30 kills, 26 digs, and three aces, playing a key role in victory over the Lions and Pirates.
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Steward has 17 kills and 12 digs in a five-set win over Leon, the Trojans’ first win over the Lions since 2014, and 13 kills and 14 digs in a four-set win over 9-time 1A state champion Sneads. Steward is currently leading Lincoln in kills this season with 54 on the year, averaging 3.4 a set.
Lincoln has quickly emerged as one of the top teams in the Big Bend, with the pair of big-time wins, sitting at 2-2 on the year. It had this week off before it jumps back into action next week, traveling to Leon on Tuesday and hosting Pensacola Catholic on Thursday.
Congratulations to Steward and finalists Ellie Riner (Maclay), Tremaine Hughes (St. John Paul II), Kenzie Hultquist (Florida High), Mikael Myrick (Leon), Ahmari Borden (Munroe), Connor McCann (Chiles), Patti Patterson (St. John Paul II), Oliva Greenburg (Maclay), Luke Urban (Florida High), Lillee Tang (Leon), Patrick Koon (Leon), Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) and Gracie Koeppel (Maclay).
The Tallahassee Democrat/Big Bend Preps runs an Athlete of the Week contest every week, recognizing one standout high school athlete out of eight nominees. Voting for AotW opens on Monday and closes on Thursday.
The Athlete of the Week will be announced at noon on Friday.
Past Winners
Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
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