SA Reagan Rattlers are The Queens of the Court in Central Texas

Our next installment of highlighting programs brings us back to San Antonio as we look at a powerhouse institution in Central Texas. San Antonio Ronald Reagan High School is no stranger to success as they have continued to dominate the Central Texas area rankings over the last few decades. We have highlighted two other teams so far in this newly realigned district 28-6A, young up and coming Madison and Brandeis. Now it's time for the Queens of the Court edition, as Reagan has owned this district for the past couple of decades. This program has reached the Regional Finals nine times in the last twenty years. The Rattlers are looking to make a deep run into the playoffs this coming season once they can get back on the court. After the new realignment in UIL for this coming season, it got a little more difficult as they now have at least five teams who could make the playoffs. This district is super STACKED with volleyball talent. Reagan is led by 2016-2017 Distinguished Educator of the year, Rachel Torvik. She played collegiately for Southwestern University. She was a graduate of Madison High (now district rival) where she was a two-sport athlete in soccer and volleyball. She has played club volleyball for and has been coaching with nationally known volleyball club [program_tooltip program_id='431050' first='Alamo' last='Volleyball Association']. Before Reagan, she served as the head coach of Judson High. She took over the program at Reagan and as won two district titles. She is no stranger to success and brings this solid resume to a powerhouse program. We had a chance to sit down with Coach Rachel Torvik and discuss her squad. Here is a little from our conversation.   Prep Dig TX: What do you love about the school? Coach Torvik: Reagan High School is a special place to be. Our athletes not only work hard on the court but in the classroom as well. We had 14 out of 14 of our Varsity kids make Academic All District with 7 of the 14 having a GPA over 100. The athletes come to Reagan ready to work and knowing the path that was set before them needs to be maintained.   Prep Dig TX: What is your coaching philosophy and how do you apply it to your teams? Coach Torvik: My Vision is to WIN STATE and my philosophy is to create a culture that allows these young ladies to be great teammates, students, and human beings ready to conquer any goal they set for themselves once the ball stops rolling.   Prep Dig TX: What is your expectation for district play this coming season? Coach Torvik: Our District has drastically changed with the addition of Brandeis and Clark. We are really excited about the change and are excited about the increase in competition. Winning District is the expectation. I believe there is going to be a battle for all 4 spots and there will be a team not making to playoffs for the first time in a long time.   Prep Dig TX: What else can you tell me about Reagan and this coming season? Coach Torvik: Reagan Volleyball is hungry. The last two seasons we lost to the team who went to state from our Region. We know we are returning a great group and are going to be hard to beat. It stung really bad being up two sets to Clemens and then eventually lose in 5 last season. We are ready to FINISH!   It will be a tough task to compete in this new district, but with the following players standing next to this competitive coach, it should be fun. Let's take a look at a few of the young ladies who are looking to continue the winning tradition for the Rattlers:   Chichi Ozigbo [2023] 5-10 Outside/Middle (HS: Reagan/Club: Alamo/Verbal: Uncommitted) Chichi is athletic and plays really high above the net. Coach Torvik says they are fortunate she is able to play more than one Role and they plan on using her on the Right Side as well as the Middle. We have recently published an article highlighting her skills and we are very impressed with this freshman. She is definitely a head turner with her offensive prowess. She can hit just as well as any upperclassman in the district. We look forward to seeing her progress in the coming years. She will be ranked very high once the rankings get updated in June.   Katie Hill [2023] 5-10 Middle (HS: Reagan/Club: SA Magic/Verbal: Uncommitted) Katie is a hard working kid whose effort is unmatched. She is very dynamic in her lateral movement and works hard in transition to be available to her setters. She loads up very well at the net both in defensive posture while blocking and during her attacking approach. I really like the way she holds her arms up high while her opponent is in transition. This shows that she has been trained well and that she is extremely coachable to retain that information and add it to her game. If she keeps that up, she will be great. She is a freshman on the rise. She is as of now unranked in our state rankings, but once they get updated in June, I guarantee she will be listed. Stay tuned to see where she falls on them.   Alyssa Manitzas [2023] 5-1 Libero (HS: Reagan/Club: Alamo/Verbal: Uncommitted) According to coach Torvik, Alyssa is a true student of the game. With her high volleyball IQ and solid footwork/base she is only going to continue to turn heads. We have written about Miss Manitzas in a recent article and agree that she has a very bright future ahead of her. Reagan has a great leader in the making with this one. I can't say officially where until I publish my updates in June, but Alyssa should easily be in the top 30 in the State overall rankings once they come out. I am truly looking forward to following her career in the sport.   Nyah Anderson [2021] 6-0 Outside (HS: Reagan/Club: SA Magic/Verbal: Miami) Miss Anderson has earned 6A TGCA All State honors and was the 27-6A District Offensive Player of the Year. Nyah turns heads everywhere Reagan plays. Her size and balanced movement is not only evident in the front row but in the back row as well. They have relied on her talent for the past couple of years and her senior season should be no different. They will look to her for her leadership and experience in this tough district. Nyah is committed to Miami and will provide the Hurricanes the same time of explosiveness that she has been bringing to her Magic volleyball club and the Rattler program. When she cocks her arm back, the other team better put up at least a decent block because if not, I feel sorry for the defender. They pretty much have no chance as she unleashes some awesome power on the ball. She has every shot imaginable as I have seen her hit sharp cross, deep cross, line, and even off speed tips to the deep corners in out of system plays. Julia Aleman [2021] 5-10 Outside (HS: Reagan/Club: Alamo/Verbal: St. Mary's) 2nd Team All District, All Tourney John Turner Classic Julia is long and quick to the ball. She is very explosive off of the ground and truly utilizes her core to attack. It is very refreshing to see a hitter engage her core as much as Julia does. It helps her absolutely unload a violent attack on the ball. She is able to use her lightning quick arm swing to throttle the ball to the opponent. She is a smart hitter who does a great job redirecting her swing. Julia also is a double threat because she is great in the back row as well. She is a true six-rotation outside hitter as she has some amazing ball control in the passing game. We fully expect Julia to land somewhere on our state rankings update in June.   [player_tooltip player_id="87398" first="Maddie" last="Correa"] [2021] 5-6 Libero (HS: Reagan/Club: Alamo/Verbal: Texas Tech) She comes in as the 10thranked prospect in the State for the 2021 class. We also recently wrote an article that contained information about Maddie's amazing skillset. Miss Correa has earned 5A/6A TGCA All Star honors and was 1st Team All District this past year. According to Coach Torvik, Maddie is their unquestioned leader. She is compelled daily to show up and lead vocally and by example. Being a coach's kid she has grown up in the Reagan Gym and absolutely bleeds Green. Coach Torvik is excited for Maddie to continue to excel this coming season and also when she attends Texas Tech University.   I have already written a few articles on some of these players and I follow them on Twitter. They are the real deal. I expect them to challenge for a State Championship this year as they have the total package. Seeing how they are still hard at work even though everything we are going through with the pandemic, I trust they will be ready for all challenges that come their way in this uber competitive district. We at Prep Dig Texas are extremely excited to follow the Rattler program and see what transpires on the court this coming season. Stay tuned for some fireworks!   If you have a club or high school program we should highlight, please send me an email at nov8vb@yahoo.comand we can discuss it.