CYPRESS — The world of 6A volleyball is one of the most competitive arenas to get a spot on varsity, much less earn court time.

However, there are a relative few whom get to play on varsity more than their junior and senior years. Cy Springs’ Ielan “Beast” Bradley got the call as a sophomore and like every Cypress athlete, has put in a ton of work in her three years on the Panther squad.

“You still have to make plays,” said head volleyball coach Alyssa Laker. “And she’s the type of kid when the ball is put up, she is going to make a play. On average, she has a 38% hitting percentage which is very high. When you have a kid like that, who is your go-to, she is the kid you set in a bind because she is going to make it happen. She has earned her kills because she’s making plays a lot of kids may or may not be able to.”

Friday night against Cy Ranch, she broke the thousand kill milestone.

(Twitter link is of her 1,002nd career kill.)

Ielan Bradley got her 1000th varsity career kill tonight! #BEAST #F3 #AllDayEveryDay #RetireTheJersey ? pic.twitter.com/G1fXsib74E

— Coach Behne (@coachbehne) September 14, 2019

“I just wanted to just go out there and be the best I could be,” Bradley said about her thoughts on stepping into those varsity shoes years ago, “and help my team out.”

Although Tuesday’s home match with Paetow from Katy didn’t lend itself to a lot of spiking for her, she gladly shared the workload to secure a three-set sweep, 25-23, 25-11, 25-23. The few number of kills she garnered brought her to 989, just 11 short of the milestone.

“I’m even more passionate and determined to get 1,000 kills,” Bradley said after the match. “I’ll be the first person from our school. It’ll be really big — and bring a lot of recognition — for our school.”

In the meantime, the Lady Panthers had a solid crowd with a lot of support from the student section.

“I love when people come to watch me play,” Bradley added. “It’s a different energy. They see you doing something, they might not be able to do.”

 

The Lady Panthers are scheduled to host Cy Woods on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, with games beginning at 5:15 p.m.

 

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