Adidas Lone Star Classic 18s: The Setters Who Ran The Show

<p>The George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston was for the second week in a row the stage for a big and important volleyball tournament this past weekend as the facility hosted the 2021 Adidas Lone Star Classic 18s, a national qualifier for USA Girl’s Junior National Championship.</p> <p>Clubs from Texas and several other states were in action for three days at the venue with a total of 180 teams competing across three divisions. Prep Dig was at the event and followed closely the Texas teams competing at the 18 Open Division, the most competitive one, and brings to you this week the reports on the prospects that stood out at the Lone Star Classic.</p> <p>Setters are the hearts and brains of their teams and these prospects showed a great deal of talent and maturity when coordinating their offenses.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87450" first="Grace" last="McLaughlin"] – Skyline 18 Royal – HS: Lovejoy - 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87450" first="Grace" last="McLaughlin"] was one of the most intriguing setters in the tournament and was arguably the most versatile prospect to play over the weekend. She was used as a setter for Skyline 18 Royal but was seen hitting the ball hard as right sider on several occasions too. She played as a defensive specialist for her high school team Lovejoy last season and that kind of versatility only shows how complete her game is. The 5’10” McLaughlin can literally do-it-all in a volleyball court as she’s a skilled setter, a relentless defender and an efficient hitter. She plays the game with a lot of passion and is always one step ahead of everyone else on the court. That’s why she’s ranked 72^nd on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings and will play at the collegiate level for Houston Baptist University.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11358212/5fb369955b3cbc0bf04e865c" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87460" first="Blakely" last="Montgomery"] – HOU Stellar 18 Elite – HS: Clear Falls - 2021</strong></p> <p>What stands out the most about [player_tooltip player_id="87460" first="Blakely" last="Montgomery"]’s game is how crafty and aggressive she is. That’s now always the case with setters but the 5’9” Montgomery does a great job in using all of her tools to help her team scoring points. Her ball distribution is great and she runs a fast-paced, dynamic offense that’s difficult to plan against. If her hitters aren’t scoring, she takes that responsibility to herself and uses her skilled and fearless left hand to dump on two in a lot of different ways. Don’t think about sending a free ball in her direction either because she can send it right back at you. Montgomery has a flashy and efficient game and earned the 91^st spot on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings. She’ll continue her career at Fairfield University.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11340960/606133578cde4d0e0cdc46a4" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>McKenzie Beckham – AJV 18 Adidas – HS: Westwood – 2021</strong></p> <p>McKenzie Beckham showed great maturity to coordinate a strong AJV 18 Adidas offense during the tournament. The 5’10” setter not only showed a large repertoire with her hitters but also seemed to always make the right choices in her distribution. Beckham was always willing to take risks on the options she made but more often than not she was rewarded by her fearless mentality. She also had a good block, which might not score a lot of points but touches a lot of balls and makes life easier for the defenders behind her. She ended her high school career with nearly 4,000 for Westwood and will continue her journey with the East Carolina University.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Faustin.juniors%2Fvideos%2F253507939756154%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Isabelle Jones – Madfrog 18’s N Green - HS: Wylie - 2021</strong></p> <p>Isabelle 'Izzy' Jones was a great fit with a strong Madfrog 18’s N Green team that won four of their seven matches in the tournament. The 5’9” setter has good size for the position and plays really fast, frequently using the strong middle-blocker duo the team has. She also does a great job in chasing down imperfect passes and setting hittable balls off them. Jones is also a very good defender and is particularly skilled for overhead digs. She has committed to Colorado Christian University.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13782327/6007b24602bbda0f8cdfdb50" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>