GJNC Previews: HOU Stellar 17 Elite

<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>HOU Stellar 17 Elite</strong></p> <p>Representing the Houston Stellar Volleyball Club in Las Vegas, HOU Stellar 17 Elite is set to appear in the 17 USA division of the GJNC. The team had a nearly even club season so far, registering 30 wins and 27 losses in the 57 matches it played. Head coach Nancy Bowman and her players had some solid finishes over the year, most notably thirds at the Countdown Classic and the Mizuno Cross Court Classic and fifth at the FAST Pre Nationals.</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/CNQnDU1AR4e/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/CNQnDU1AR4e/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Houston Stellar VB Club (@houstonstellarvb)</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="99530" first="Avery" last="Schwartz"] – Middle Blocker – HS: Pearland – 2022</strong></p> <p>A long and athletic middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id="99530" first="Avery" last="Schwartz"] does great work for HOU Stellar 17 Elite at the net. A 6’1” prospect, she dominates the net for her team with a very mobile and coordinated game. Schwartz can hit a variety of sets and is extremely efficient in each of them, rarely making mistakes. She can also make her presence felt when blocking and is very active in dealing with overpasses. Schwartz is coming from a solid high school campaign with Pearland in which she registered 87 kills and 42 blocks and currently ranks 127<sup>th</sup> on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13380490/6093150019a57109185c32cc" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Sophie Ocampo – Outside Hitter – HS: Kingswood – 2022</strong></p> <p>A 6’3” outside hitter, Sophie Ocampo is HOU Stellar 17 Elite’s go-to scoring option and she gets the job done. She has a cannon on her right arm and can hit a sharp angle from the left that’s nearly impossible to stop. She can score from the right and from the back row as well and also manages to impact the game with her great defense. Her solid high school stats for Kingswood – 546 kills, 227 passes, 167 digs and 77 blocks over three seasons – leave no question about how talented she is.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15260118/60c7a83a6e8ba706145a8989" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Briana Zamora – Libero – HS: Clear Creek – 2022</strong></p> <p>Briana Zamora is the glue that keeps HOU Stellar 17 Elite together defensively. The 5’4” is a stud for her team on the backcourt and is the kind of player that makes her teammates better. She’s very quick and can chase shots better than anyone and her great technique allows her to keep it in play when many others wouldn’t. She’s been a stats monster for her high school team Clear Creek, having registered 1,378 digs and 1,604 passes over three seasons.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/8890071/60a42f0f4decb90ce892cefb" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>