Lone Star Regional Champ: Teams to Watch –Austin Skyline 18 Royal

<p>Several of the best 18’s club teams from Texas will head to the Houston area this weekend to compete at the Lone Star Regional Championship, which will take place at the FAST Complex and the Houston Skyline Volleyball facilities.</p> <p>Between Saturday and Sunday, 55 teams of the entire state will compete in the tournament, bringing some high-level volleyball to the area and there are some teams and players that are definitely worth a closer look.</p> <p><strong>Austin Skyline 18 Royal</strong></p> <p>Head coach Jenny Luke has a talented group of young women to work with and she’s getting the most of them and developing some great players there. Austin Skyline 18 Royal currently ranks third in the region and 84^th at the national level according to the AES ranking after winning 16 of their 28 matches so far this season.</p> <p>Here are some of their key players:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87433" first="Jamison" last="Wheeler"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Lake Travis - 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87433" first="Jamison" last="Wheeler"] is a long and athletic outside hitter who stands out for her play at the net. At 6’1”, she’s big enough to overpower opponents at the net, but she also uses her great technique and timing to score points. Wheeler has great body control, which helps her adjusting to sets off the net and also deceiving blockers when she’s up there hitting the ball. Her movement is so steady that’s it’s nearly impossible to predict where she’s going to hit the ball. Her backcourt game is also solid and she’s able to score from the back row too. Wheeler had a solid high school career with Lake Travis and is headed to the collegiate level after she committed to SMU. She ranks 44^th in our Prep Dig class of 2021 State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N1qCufGToro" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87457" first="Margaret" last="Newton"] – Libero – HS: Westlake - 2021</strong></p> <p>Think of anything you’d like to see in a libero and [player_tooltip player_id="87457" first="Margaret" last="Newton"] has got it. Great technical skills? Check. Superior positioning and reading of the game? No question. Quickness on her movement? You bet. Leadership skills? 100%. Newton is not only a supremely talented player but she’s also a workhorse and that combination tends to work particularly well in sports.  At 5’4”, she plays bigger than her size and makes difficult actions look easy every time she steps on a volleyball court. That’s perhaps the main reason why she ranks 84^th in our Prep Dig class of 2021 State Rankings and certainly an element that generated interest from colleges so early in her high school career – she committed to the University of Denver back in her sophomore year.</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%2FDenverVolleyball%2Fvideos%2F1511822222348093%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>Avery Cole – Outside Hitter – HS: Cedar Park - 2021</strong></p> <p>Avery Cole forms a formidable outside hitter duo with Wheeler and that combination is one of the reasons behind Austin’s success. A six-footer, Cole is very strong at the net, but as with Wheeler, she also has a solid backcourt game, giving the team the right balance between offense and defense. Her great all-around game provides her with a high level of versatility, which came in handy when she had to play middle-blocker for Cedar Park during the high school season. Cole is every coach’s dream because of her ability to do virtually anything at a high level and also her leadership and positive influence on her teammates.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13018677/5fa3c06a90ef3c0a24b9ccad" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>