Towering Lady Dragons junior to play key role

Asjia O’Neal is 10 feet tall.

Well, not really. But Carroll volleyball measured her extension through one of its vertical drills earlier this summer and the results spoke for themselves. With designated height marks on the board, O’Neal touched 10 feet, 4.5 inches.

How did she reach that? For starters, the Lady Dragons junior middle blocker is 6-3. With the drill that restricted players to use just a short two-step start, she did the rest, covering the other four feet and 1.5 inches. O’Neal doesn’t know her wingspan, but at rest, her fingertips finish about two inches above her knee.

That’s daunting. That’s covering a lot of territory. That’s what Carroll is looking for as it prepares for the 2016 season. The Lady Dragons finished 2015 at 43-4 but lost to McKinney Boyd in the Class 6A Region I quarterfinal round.

O’Neal, who verbally committed to Texas this summer over offers from USC and Florida, is going to be one of the key components to the Lady Dragons pushing toward an appearance in the Class 6A tournament in November in Garland.

“I know it can be pretty intimidating,” O’Neal said. “I’m right there. All you see is hands. So I know teams are going to have to make some adjustments and how they work against me. I want my blocking to be effective. I want to make an impact.”

There has always been the anticipation of what O’Neal could offer as she came up through the program. As a sophomore, she split time with then senior Elizabeth Augistini. She also played pretty well between the outside and the right side. Regardless, she delivered when it was her time.

O’Neal had a killing percentage of 51.9 – third with 319 kills – and a hitting percentage of 41.1. Defensively, she averaged 2.5 blocks per match and finished with a team-high 111. If head coach Ryan Mitchell has it his way, he will want to see those numbers climb a bit higher.

“Asjia is an incredible presence at the net at every position but especially the middle,” Mitchell said. “Her size and athleticism impacts what the other team is able to do. Offensively, she is extremely dynamic and will be a focal point of what we do.”

It’s only now that O’Neal is beginning to understand what she can do offensively. With her frame, she used the club season to refine her arm swing and use her power effectively. It’s one thing to muscle a ball past the defense. But she has worked on using more control on where she places the ball.

That’s going to be important, because Mitchell plans on keeping the same fast-paced offensive approach. He knows he has the players to run it. He knows the other team is constantly going to be reacting.

“It definitely takes a lot more concentration, but my mechanics are better,” O’Neal said. “Once you get all of the work with the setters, you’re better off. I really worked on keeping my arms up at all times. I want to keep using that to my advantage. I know my hitting can really change a team’s demeanor.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Towering Lady Dragons junior to play key role."