GJNC Previews: AVA TX 17 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 70 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>AVA TX 17 Adidas</strong></p> <p>Based just south of Houston, the Absolute Volleyball Academy will send AVA TX 17 Adidas to represent Texas in the 17 American division. The group of players led by head coach Marko Majstorovic has secured an impressive 66-17 win record so far in the club season and celebrate victories at the TOV Challenge #4 and the FAST Pre Nationals, semifinal appearances in two of the Houston Shoot Outs and fifth-place finishes at the FAST Warm Up, the Lone Star Regionals and the Sunshine Volleyball Classic.</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/CQE2OUzh8mM/?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/CQE2OUzh8mM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by AVA Texas (@avatexasvball)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87473" first="Emma" last="Williams"] – Middle Blocker – HS: Brazoswood – 2022</strong></p> <p>A towering 6’3” middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id="87473" first="Emma" last="Williams"] is a force to reckon at the net. She also some of the quickest feet you will ever see for a player of her size and that positively impacts both her offensive and defensive games. Williams has a really high contact point when hitting is really difficult to stop. She hugely extrapolates the profile of a middle blocker that only hits and blocks, though, as she’s a fantastic server and a capable defender. Williams currently ranks eighth on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12218421/60cd1c283deac40e58b43178" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87494" first="Nicole" last="Sherfield"] – Right Sider/Middle Blocker – HS: Clear Falls – 2022</strong></p> <p>Hitting and blocking are [player_tooltip player_id="87494" first="Nicole" last="Sherfield"]’s main skills and because of that, she has mostly been used as a middle blocker. This season, however, the 6’2” prospect, who registered 341 kills and 185 blocks in three seasons of high school volleyball with Clear Falls, was moved to the right and responded really well, immediately becoming one of AVA TX 17 Adidas’ go-to scoring options. She’s also part of our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings, being ranked as the 31st best prospect in the state of Texas.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/8890072/5fb7f4d0f31c8509442b6139" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99529" first="Sarah" last="Sampson"] – Setter – HS: Grand Oaks – 2022</strong></p> <p>A 5’11” setter, [player_tooltip player_id="99529" first="Sarah" last="Sampson"] is above the average in the position when it comes to both size and skill. She manages to impact the game at the net with her frame, having split setting and hitting duties for her high school team Grand Oaks over the years, but can also do a tremendous job with the ball on her hands, having dished out 852 assists in two seasons. Sampson is also a very good defender and gets to contribute to her team’s success in a variety of ways. She has committed to play for Eckerd College at the collegiate level.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12312059/60c8d831176c1903c4677d15" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>