High School Spotlight: Kingwood Mustangs

<p>The high school volleyball season is underway in Texas and talented young players have been showcasing their skills in every corner of the Lone Star state.</p> <p>One of our missions at Prep Dig is to highlight as many teams and prospects as possible around the state, from State Championship contenders and household names to underdogs and special talents who might be flying under-the-radar.</p> <p>We spend a lot of time at the gyms gathering information and watching matches and will use this space to highlight some of the teams and players we got to watch in person. Here are our thoughts on the Kingwood Mustangs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kingwood Mustangs</strong></p> <p>The Mustangs from the Kingwood High School entered the 2021 season with the challenging mission of replacing key seniors in [player_tooltip player_id="87428" first="Megan" last="Wilson"], [player_tooltip player_id="99548" first="Temi" last="Areola"], [player_tooltip player_id="99557" first="Jordan" last="Rambo"] and Kaitlyn Morgan, but are doing fine, with a 15-12 win record so far. Head coach Christie Mewis and her players are set to start competing in the 6A Class, Region III – District 21.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ready for the season to begin! GO MUSTANGS! “Clear eyes… Full hearts… CAN'T LOSE” <a href="https://t.co/80Pp03DoPI">pic.x.com/80Pp03DoPI</a></p> — Kingwood Volleyball (@Kingwood_VB) <a href="https://x.com/Kingwood_VB/status/1423418616863723523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <p><strong>Sophie Ocampo – Outside Hitter – Club: Houston Stellar - 2022</strong></p> <p>An athletic outside hitter who can score a ton of points at the net and avoid several of them on the backcourt is the dream of every team and Kingwood is fortunate to have Sophie Ocampo. A 6'2” prospect, she uses her size extremely well at the net and is difficult to stop because of her ability to change tempo and shot variation. She's the Mustangs' go-to scoring option and doesn't let them down in big moments. A University of Texas-Arlington commit, Ocampo currently leads Kingwood in kills (261) and passes (532) and ranks third in digs (252).</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15260118/60dfab52ab92921aec750b35" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Emma Montes – Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter – Club: TAV Houston – 2023</strong></p> <p>An extremely versatile prospect, Emmalynn ‘Emma' Montes has shaped her game at Kingwood, moving from her original outside hitter spot, where she plays with her club TAV Houston, to the middle. Her presence at the net gives the team a lot of flexibility and the ability to run different plays. A six-footer, Montes is hugely explosive on her approach and has one of the heaviest arms in the team. The Mustangs' second-best hitter (154 kills) and blocker (45 stuffs), she's also a dangerous server, leading the team in that department with 39 aces.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TXQcRTixe4U" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Emily Coronado – Defensive Specialist – Club: TAV Houston – 2022</strong></p> <p>Having a defensive specialist who can not only avoid points but also score them is a privilege and Kingwood has that in Emily Coronado. The 5'8” player hugely impacts both sides of the game when she's on the court, putting opponents in trouble with her nasty serves and upping several balls for the Mustangs. A high-energy player, she has produced 219 digs, 188 passes and 17 so far in the season.</p> <p></p>