By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos Lady Falcons volleyball player Caydence Castillo is headed to Dallas College Cedar Valley to play both indoor and beach volleyball next fall.
“I think it is really going to help me focus on grades. It is also going to motivate me to do good and keep up with everything,” she said about the benefits of playing college volleyball.
The libero is ready for the challenge of playing outdoor volleyball as well as indoor.
“I have not done any outdoor besides play with my family at the beach,” she said during a signing ceremony Wednesday. “We do not even play with the real rules, just for fun. I am excited to learn everything about beach volleyball.”
To be a libero, a player has to be tough. They put their bodies on the line, and Castillo did that, Lady Falcons coach Anissa Lucio said. Castillo often played hurt.
“(Castillo) is an explosive, competitive player,” Lucio said. “She really helped us out on the court as our libero. She was somebody we depended on defensively. It was a joy to coach her, and she is going to do great things at the next level.”
Castillo is not sure if she is going to pursue a degree in business or education.
“We are super proud of Caydence because she has been playing volleyball since she was 7 years old,” said Amanda Castillo, her mother. Her father is Albert Castillo.
“In life and on the court, she has always given 100 percent,” Amanda Castillo added. “Whatever she wanted to accomplish, thank god she had the ability and health to do it.”
Like Jennica Leal, Caydence Castillo wished she had more time with Lucio. The two players will be at rival schools in Dallas.
“It is going to be weird,” she said. “We have always been on the same team since middle school. It is going to be something different this year.”