Ponte Vedra Volleyball Player Zeta Washington Voted ITG Next 2021-22 Northeast Florida Female Athlete of the Year
Ponte Vedra junior Zeta Washington, a standout volleyball player for one of the state’s top teams, has been voted our ITG Next 2021-22 Northeast Florida Female Athlete of the Year, presented by the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute. She received 33.13% of the votes.
For a Sharks team that went 29-2 to reach the Class 6A state championship, Washington’s impact on the court for Ponte Vedra this past fall was no secret. She recorded 313 total kills with a 59.6 kill percentage and a .474 hit percentage while also accounting for 61 aces and 60 blocks. She has a career kills total of more than 700 entering her senior year.
“Obviously Zeta’s stats brag for themselves,” former Ponte Vedra volleyball coach Robin Mignerey said. “Total kills, hitting percentage, service aces. She has been the Sharks’ biggest, hardest hitter the past few years. Thankfully, it’s hard to stop her, but also I would be remiss to say that while people were so concerned with Zeta, others on the team posed a threat as well, which factored together made this team successful. Zeta and her longtime teammate Jess have such a connection, it’s an unstoppable duo. It’s truly amazing to watch people game plan to try to stop Z, and it literally just fuels her.”
Current Sharks head coach Josh Goings said Washington’s on-court impact through games and matches come from the work that she puts in elsewhere. “Zeta is big on holding herself accountable so that she doesn’t let her teammates down, in practice or in matches.”
Washington is “one of the hardest-working young athletes in the gym and out of the gym,” Goings added. “If you tell her she probably won’t be able to do something, she outworks everyone times 10 to prove that she can. ‘Can’t’ is not in her vocabulary. Zeta is someone every coach wants on her team as an example of hard work and leadership; I am grateful for this. She is not just a great athlete, but an amazing human being.”
Washington has shown over the past three years why she’s considered one of Florida’s top volleyball players. Currently committed to Cincinnati, she has everything needed to succeed at the next level.
“Zeta’s physicality is top level without a doubt,” Mignerey said. “Since her freshman year I was impressed with her sprint speed, her arm strong quickness and power. Her ball striking skills are unbelievable – her eye-hand coordination to contact the ball so solidly with such speed is amazing She hardly ever mishits and her control has just become better and better.
“Z has been working on becoming more versatile. She has so much success hitting a particular set. As she gets to the next level she knows she has to run different options, and this year she showed so much improvement with that. That alone will carry over so well in college. She’s ready undoubtedly. It will be exciting to see how quickly she brings an impact to her Cincinnati team. I look forward to seeing her play and watching her step up to that next level.”
Heading into her senior season, all eyes will be on our 2022 Northeast Florida Female Athlete of the Year and her teammates. Goings’ expectations for Washington this year are no different than she’s been doing at Ponte Vedra throughout the past three.
“As Zeta enters her senior season it’s hard to find ways or suggestions to make her better,” Goings said. “She is an editor in chief, volunteers for her charity and the list goes on. The one thing I’m excited about is going to be her leadership by example that the Ponte Vedra High School volleyball team’s young athletes will be able to see.
“These young freshman to junior athletes will be able to see that hard work and dedication on and off the court can get you to anyplace you want in life,” Goings continued. “Lastly, I’ll say one more thing about Zeta Washington: She’s a great person on and off the court. On the court, though, she is an absolute beast.”
Congratulations to Ponte Vedra’s Zeta Washington, our ITG Next 2021-22 Northeast Florida Female Athlete of the Year, presented by the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute.
