Westlake senior Sara Shaw has been named Gatorade’s high school volleyball player of the year for Texas.

Shaw, a 6-foot-2-inch outside hitter committed to the University of Southern California, now becomes a finalist for national player of the year honors, the company said in a news release. The national player of the year will be announced later this month.

Shaw had 453 kills this season while helping Westlake advance to the Class 5A state title match for the third straight year. She is the all-time leader in kills at Westlake, and longtime Chap coach Al Bennett has proclaimed her “as the best player I’ve ever had.”

A member of the United States’ junior national team this past summer, Shaw also had 322 digs, 59 aces and 47 blocks for the Chaparrals, who finished with a 39-7 record.

“Shaw is the best hitter we came up against all year — probably the best I’ve seen the last couple of years,” said Amarillo coach Jan Barker, whose team defeated Westlake in the 5A state final. “She’s very difficult to block and she’s even a great back-row player. … Just a very talented player all-around.”

Shaw became the second Texas volleyball player of the year from Westlake. In 2004, Chaparrals middle blocker Kelsey Bryant received the award.