18s GJNC Preview: Hou Stellar 18 Elite

<p>The most important tournament of the year for the class of 2021 players is just in front of us as the 2021 USAV Girls 18s Junior National Championship is set to happen from April 23-25 in Columbus, Ohio, and as many as 280 teams from the entire country are expected to compete in the five divisions.</p> <p>Texas will, of course, be represented in the event and we will take the time between now and the start of the tournament in Ohio to present the team what will carry the Lone Star State flag in Ohio, analyzing their campaigns in the club season so far and highlighting their most important players.</p> <p>The 18 National Division will see two Texas teams competing on it and <strong>HOU Stellar 18 Elite</strong> is one of them:</p> <p><em>The team based out of the ten-year-old Houston Stellar Club in Pasadena has some interesting talent and secured 26 wins in 42 matches under the guidance of head coach Sarah Aguilar so far in the season. Their highlights were a second-place finish at the Lone Star Regional Championship in March and a third-place at the season-opening FAST Warm Up back in December.</em></p> <p>Here are their key players:</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87460" first="Blakely" last="Montgomery"] – Setter – HS: Clear Falls – 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87460" first="Blakely" last="Montgomery"] has a lot of talent and very refined volleyball skills but what sets her apart is how smartly she plays the game. The 5’9”, left-handed setter runs a very fast and dynamic offense and is always finding ways to put her hitters in the best possible spots to score. She also takes pride in scoring herself and uses her unpredictable setter dumps and returns on free balls to catch opponents off-guard. Ranked 91^st on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings, Montgomery will play for Fairfield University at the collegiate level.</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>[player_tooltip player_id="87466" first="Alana" last="Dawson"] – Opposite – HS: League City - 2021</strong></p> <p>Offensive firepower is a key feature for any right-side player and [player_tooltip player_id="87466" first="Alana" last="Dawson"] has no shortage of it. The 5’11” opposite has a lot of strength on both her legs, which helps her getting really high up at the net, and arms, which makes her attacking actions really hard to control for players across the net. She can also hit a variety of different sets and that makes it even more difficult to plan for her on offense. Dawson, who ranks 103^rd on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings, is ready to play at the next level for Emory University.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13406763/6061335706614f0a74ec5177" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mia Johnson – Outside Hitter – HS: League City – 2021</strong></p> <p>Mia Johnson’s game brings a lot of positives for HOU Stellar 18 Elite. At 5’11”, she’s obviously a force to reckon at the net as she uses her size and her jumping ability to dominate opponents. Johnson is a very efficient hitter and keeps up a really high efficiency rate even when in transition. Her defensive game is also very strong as she’s a reliable passer and an efficient defender. Her future will be at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/9635475/60600931d225820880761f53" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>