Private School Spotlight: Episcopal Knights

<p>Even though the focus on high school volleyball in the state of Texas might be more often turned to the teams competing in the six division of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which features public high schools, the Lone Star state also has a tremendous amount of talent elsewhere.</p> <p>Private schools across the state are also filled with athletes that play at the highest level of the sport. We were able to watch some of these squads in action recently at the 2021 Houston Open, held at the facilities of the Houston Skyline Volleyball Club, and will bring our analysis on each of them and their most promising players over the next few weeks.</p> <p><strong>Episcopal Knights</strong></p> <p>The Knights from the Bellaire region had a strong showing in the tournament, winning four and losing just one match over the weekend. Despite the graduation of several starters, head coach Amanda Watts seems in position to make of Episcopal a contender once again in the Southwest Preparatory Conference. The Knights have been solid in preseason with nine wins and eight losses so far.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Knights win! Varsity girls volleyball goes 3-0 today and advance to tomorrow’s Gold Bracket of the Houston Open! <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/KnightsStandOut?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KnightsStandOut</a> <a href="https://t.co/8lzalwWY88">pic.x.com/8lzalwWY88</a></p> — EHS Sports (@EHSSports) <a href="https://x.com/EHSSports/status/1431408003232763908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 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>[player_tooltip player_id="87477" first="Morgan" last="Perkins"] – Middle Blocker – Club: Houston Skyline – 2022</strong></p> <p>A tremendously physical player, [player_tooltip player_id="87477" first="Morgan" last="Perkins"] uses her 6’1” frame and her athleticism really well to dominate the net for the Knights. Ranked 14^th in our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings, she’s easily one of the best in her position in the Lone Star State and is a true difference-maker with both her offense and her blocking ability. Selected two months ago to take part in USA Volleyball’s inaugural National Team Development Program (NTDP) Summer Training Series, Perkins will play for Oklahoma.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11480934/613902e14205b808d44130f5" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87556" first="Ava" last="Harrington"] – Right Sider/Middle Blocker – Club: Houston Skyline – 2023</strong></p> <p>It’s really tempting to call Perkins and [player_tooltip player_id="87556" first="Ava" last="Harrington"] “The Twin Towers” when they are side-by-side at the net. Originally a middle blocker, the 6’1” player has successfully transitioned to the right side, where she continues shutting down opposing hitters but has more room and flexibility to excel offensively. Her tremendous athleticism is probably Harrington’s main asset, but she’s also a really dependable and intelligent hitter, who keeps finding ways to score points regardless where she’s at. She ranks 38^th on our 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13244828/6126abf2f31dca0f64fa4bc7" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Emma Poirot – Outside Hitter - 2023</strong></p> <p>A team with so much size and firepower also needs some defensive balance and that’s where Emma Poirot comes in. An extremely technical outside hitter, the 5’8” prospect makes of the Knights a soled team in receiving and defense too with her game. A good server, she can score at the net too with her intelligent and well-placed shots, but her main contributions to the team’s success are hands down on the backcourt.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13975908/611b77583453b40830fb6e7f" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>