HARLINGEN — Being called out by a teammate during tournament play woke Harlingen High senior Juli Bryant.
The talent is obvious. The lengthy left-handed hitter absolutely smashes the ball. At times, she was unstoppable for the Cardinals.
Unless she was in her head.
“It really opened my eyes,” Bryant said. “I was taking this for granted and being the same Juli from the past few years, and there was no room for that anymore. It was a lot different than a coach telling me stuff. If Casey (Vidal) did not say that at that tournament, I would still be in my head.”
What Vidal told Bryant was, “Are you going to play for us or not?”
Bryant did, and finished the season with 405 kills, 187 digs and 23 aces as the Cardinals captured the District 32-6A title for the second consecutive season as well as a bi-district playoff victory.
Bryant is the Valley Morning Star’s Player of the Year for the 2022 season.
“I am glad I finished the season better than I started with,” Bryant said. “No attitude, better posture and a better captain, it ended all good.”
Harlingen High head coach Joslynn Torres said the 18-year-old finally reached her potential.
“She finally came around mentally,” Torres said. “It was like, OK, if she has a bad hit, or two, we will be good. She will get out of it and we will be good. The past few years, that was not the case, I would have to take her out.”
Bryant’s talent was vital to the success of the program, Torres said.
It landed her an opportunity to play at the next level as well. Bryant is verbally committed to play volleyball at the UTRGVand said she is planning on signing in January.
“She deserves all the success in the world,” Torres said. “She has grown so much just as a person and that growth has transferred on to the court, even in basketball she is doing amazing things for them. I am really excited for her.”