By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

Twin Rivers' Briana Johnson rose from the floor and spiked the ball, sending it on a crash course for the court on the other side of the net.

In the final round of the spiking competition, she fired a spike at 47 mph, winning the competition at the B.A. Sports All-Star Extravaganza at the Bess Activity Center in Poplar Bluff.

She advanced to the finals of the event with a spike of 45 mph.

"I go into it like I am going to drill a hole in the floor pretty much," Johnson said. "After I hit, I look up at my dad and he tells me what I do wrong and he just says to nail it every time. I just have to go up and grit my teeth and hit it hard."

Johnson said there wasn't an overwhelming amount of pressure going into the final round of the event.

"Really, we were just out there to have fun," she said.

Johnson also participated in the All-Star match between two squads of the area's best. The two teams were sponsored by Noranda and AgXplore. The AgXplore team, which also featured Johnson's fellow teammate Kaylee Blue, won the match, 31-29, 30-25 and 31-29.

Blue and Johnson were allied at Twin Rivers and it was different to see Blue on the other side of the net wearing another color uniform, Johnson said.

"It was very weird because we have been playing together since kindergarten in everything that we do," Johnson said. "We have been best friends for a long time so it was pretty crazy seeing her over there."

Along with being part of the winning team, Blue won the controlled passing competition as well with a score of 11 in the final round. The participants had to hit a returned ball into a basket on their side of the net, getting three points for landing in the basket and one for hitting it.

"I was kind of scared," Blue said. "When the coach asked me, I didn't want to do it because I was a setter (in high school) but I was kind of excited I won it."

Like Blue who is headed to Three Rivers for college, many of the participants have locked down their college plans for next year. However, Johnson is still up in the air. She has a visit scheduled with Williams Baptist for basketball and also noted there are some schools interested in her for volleyball. She hasn't decided whether she wants to play basketball or volleyball but noticeably struggled when asked to forecast her future.

"I don't know, I like them both," she said. "It is really hard. I would probably play volleyball over basketball but I don't really know."

Family is a very important factor in Johnson's decision on where to continue her education.

"I would like to stay close to home because I have a little sister and I want to spend time with her," Johnson said. "I just can't be away from my family."

Johnson played both volleyball and basketball in high school and her competitive spirit is something she feels will benefit her against tougher competition at the next level.

"I really hate to lose and I am really an aggressive player," Johnson said. "I try hard in everything and I hate to mess up."