Friday Match to Watch: Coppell vs Flower Mound

<p>High school volleyball is underway in the state of Texas. Since the first week of August, teams from across the Lone Star State have been back on the court, battling each other in some fantastic matches, which are bringing the best of the sport in the state.</p> <p>Every once in a while, we’ll use this space to recommend some matches to keep and eye on and, most importantly, some of the most interesting prospects you’ll want to watch if you have an opportunity.</p> <p>This is one of the most exciting matchups set to happen on Friday, September 10:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Coppell vs Flower Mound – 6.30pm</strong></p> <p>The Cowgirls of the Coppell High School from the city of same name are one of the strongest teams in the entire state of Texas so far, having won 20 and lost just three matches so far. Friday’s match will be the first district game for the team coached by Libby Pacheco, which competes in the Class 6A, Region I, District 6, and they will be looking to bounce back after consecutive losses to Rockwall and Keller.</p> <p>The Jaguars from the Flower Mound High School are up to an even better season so far, securing a 23-3 win record ahead of the start of the league matches. The team coached by Jamie Siegel, which will also compete in the Class 6A, Region I, District 6, enters the match pushed by six consecutive wins.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Players to Watch – Coppell</strong></p> <p><strong>Skye LaMendola – Outside Hitter/Opposite – Club: Excel – 2023</strong></p> <p>A class of 2023 outside hitter, Skye LaMendola has stepped up big time this season, taking up Coppell’s scoring duties with huge efficiency. The 5’10” prospect leads the Cowgirls in that department with 159 kills and an efficiency rate that nears 40%. That doesn’t stop LaMendola from helping the team in several other areas as she ranks second in passes (238) and digs (150), third in aces (24) and fourth in blocks (17). She’s extremely explosive at the net and can play on the right as well, something she typically does for her club team Excel.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14206133/60ef82a99a9b6e0ad43ccfc8" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Aley Clent – Middle Blocker – Club: Areta - 2022</strong></p> <p>It’s impossible not to notice Alessandra ‘Aley’ Clent’s presence at the net for the Cowgirls. Part of it is due to her massive 6’5” frame, but the class of 2022 middle blocker knows how to dominate that part of the game with her physical and efficient game. She ranks fourth in kills for Coppell with 137 spikes converted in points and boasts an incredible 46.4% efficiency rate. She’s also, unsurprisingly, the team’s best blocker with 41 stuffs registered already. With Clent, it’s not just about being tall, but knowing how to best use her height advantage and that’s something she’ll need to continue doing at the collegiate level as she committed with Campbell University.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BzzCl4sjIi4" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Players to Watch – Flower Mound</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="140405" first="Izabella" last="Ortiz"] – Middle Blocker – Club: Drive Nation – 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="140405" first="Izabella" last="Ortiz"] is a rare case of a high school middle blocker that combines size and athleticism with well-refined technical skills and ball control. At 6’1” and with a huge leaping ability, she can dominate the net with her physicality but as she also plays beach volleyball, her ball control is well above average. Ortiz, who committed to playing for the Stephen F. Austin State University at the collegiate level, is up to a great season with the Jaguars, ranking second in both kills (192) and blocks (48). She ranks 54<sup>th</sup> on our Class of 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13062220/5fa714f30c54df0af46b423a" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="151754" first="Gabby" last="Walker"] – Right Sider/Outside Hitter – Club: 692 Beach – 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="151754" first="Gabby" last="Walker"] is another talented member from the Flower Mound team that splits her time between the sand and the hardwood. She’s been extremely successful with beach volleyball, by the way, winning gold at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) of the United States Girls’ Junior National Beach Volleyball Championships in Huntington Beach, California, in July, and committing to plat at the prestigious USC program. The 5’11” Walker currently leads the Jaguars in kills (214) and ranks second in digs (201) and passes (304).</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/CR5DSAZBDUJ/?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/CR5DSAZBDUJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by [player_tooltip player_id="151754" first="Gabby" last="Walker"] (@gabby.walker3)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p>