Pomranke and Nave earn all-state honors

by Angie Asam – Staff Writer

Senior outside hitter Amanda Pomranke and senior setter Allie Nave of the Onaway Cardinal varsity volleyball team both earned all-state honors for their efforts this season.

?They have spent the last three years together on the varsity volleyball team and those three years are the only years Onaway has been a state-ranked team. They can say they were on all three state-ranked teams, and I believe they were a big reason why,? said head coach Steve Watson.

Pomranke was named second team all-state this season; she finished with honorable mention honors as a junior. She was a unanimous choice for the all-conference team and was named to the eight-member all-region dream team, which is made up of eight athletes from all classes in the region.

?She owns 14 individual school records for match, season and career and owns half of the career school records in volleyball,? said coach Watson. Pomranke owns the record for aces in a career (311), kills in a career (901) and digs in a career (1,609). This season she set a new school record for aces in a season with 107 and a new school record in kills at 326 this season. She had 801 attack attempts this season.

?She set the standard for Onaway volleyball players. She is the best volleyball player to ever walk the halls of Onaway High School. All the girls who play in the future will be emulating her, and she has done it all at only five foot five inches tall. She showed the true character of what it means to dedicate yourself to a sport you love. She was a tremendous leader and did a great job as captain. She was a joy to coach,? said coach Watson.

Setter Allie Nave finished with honorable mention all-state honors, something that is difficult to do as a setter. Megan Murphy of Onaway also was named all-state honorable mention as a setter a few years ago; however, Nave came along and broke most of her records.

?The setter position is extremely difficult, she runs our entire offense and controls the floor. I believe Allie set herself apart as a predominant setter in OHS history and is a premier setter in Northern Michigan and the state,? sa

id coach Watson.

Nave owns six school records including assists in a match, in a season and in a career. Her record for assists in a season is 806 and her 34 assists in a match is something she has tied several times. This season she had 739 set assists to make her career school record at 1,663 assists.

?Allie is the definition of what you want as a high school athlete. She is great in the classroom, she works hard, she has a great attitude, she is a competitor but keeps that amazing attitude. She is just a great kid, she is everything a coach could want in a student athlete,? said coach Watson.

The two seniors have earned all-state honors in other sports as well, as Nave has earned them in basketball and cross country and Pomranke has on the softball field. ?With Dani Cleaver, who graduated last year, and these two I think you have the three most decorated athletes in school history, regardless of gender,? said coach Watson. He continued to say when someone talks about the best Onaway High School athletes Amanda Pomranke and Allie Nave?s names would come up in the top five athletes, male or female.

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