GJNC Previews: AP 16 Adidas

<p>The most important moment of the season is just around the corner for teams from the 15s, 16s and 17s age group from around the country as the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 26-July 5.</p> <p>As many as 728 teams are expected to compete in the 15 divisions for these three age groups and the state of Texas will, of course, be well-represented in the tournament with more than 50 teams expected to make the trip to Nevada.</p> <p>During the next few weeks, we'll use this space to present the Lone Star state representatives in the tournament, recapping their performances during the club season and highlighting some of their top prospects.</p> <p><strong>AP 16 Adidas</strong></p> <p>Part of the Austin [program_tooltip program_id='431229' first='Performance' last='Volleyball'] club, AP 16 Adidas has had a strong season winning 33 of their 52 matches so far. The team led by head coach Mark Herrin had a lot of talent and that showed early in the season with their victory at the Mistletoe Madness in December and a second-place finish at the Countdown City Classic in January. They also finished third at the Lone Star Regionals in May.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/COY5f6aMQsR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COY5f6aMQsR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Austin [program_tooltip program_id='431229' first='Performance' last='Volleyball'] (@austinperformancevolleyball)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87537" first="Mackenzie" last="Plante"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Dripping Springs – 2023</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87537" first="Mackenzie" last="Plante"]'s consistency from the left side seems unwavering. She's just a stud offensively and doesn't ever get out-of-system, even if she's targeted by opposing serves. Her 6'1” frame certainly helps her at the net but what really makes her special are her offensive variation and her tremendous volleyball IQ, which allows her to pick the best weapon for each situation. Her game is really well-rounded as she is also an excellent passer and defender and that's the reason why she ranks 11^th on our 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13089564/608ae37b5eeca409e4e671e0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87541" first="Karley" last="Sledge"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Dripping Springs - 2023 </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87541" first="Karley" last="Sledge"] is a great complement to Plante as the two share the courts not only with AP 16 Adidas but also their high school team Dripping Springs. The 5'10” Sledge is very technical and has strong backcourt skills, providing the team with the right balance between offense and defense. She's very strong mentally too and one of those players who never switch off and are always focused and at the right spot to make big plays. Because of her solid overall game, we ranked her 15^th on our 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15535774/608ae1d43453390f04793063" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87552" first="Karley" last="Black"] – Middle Blocker/Right Sider – HS: Rouse – 2023</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87552" first="Karley" last="Black"] is another talented offensive player to be part of AP 16 Adidas' roster. She can play anywhere on the net but is most frequently used as a middle blocker, a position in which she excels. Black is not the tallest middle out there at 5'11” but she's extremely fast and athletic, which makes of her a handful for opposing middles to deal with, especially when she hits the slide set. She plays with a high level of intensity and is very efficient, earning the 30^th spot on our 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12990481/6088522090f9ad18e4ba7b35" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>