Class of 2024 All-State Nominees – Liberos – Vol 1
The 2021 High School season has been amazing so far! Along with our readers, we have been on pins and needles watching teams battle all season long. There have been some amazing tournaments and great district battles. We have been…
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Continue ReadingThe 2021 High School season has been amazing so far! Along with our readers, we have been on pins and needles watching teams battle all season long. There have been some amazing tournaments and great district battles. We have been talking to coaches, reading tons of stats, and getting lots of video submissions from parents and players regarding how everyone has fared over the course of the season. As we are funneling into the end of district play and about to head into the playoffs, we will be discussing some players who are being nominated for our inaugural Prep Dig Texas All-State Awards. Our end-of-season awards are going to be different because we are going to consider all divisions/conferences/classes together and pick the best of the best. The liberos we will be discussing have been tearing it up and proving themselves all season long with some amazing statistics. Let’s meet some of the nominees:
Alice Volpe Alice Volpe 5'5" | DS/L Bridgeland | 2024 State #83 Nation TX [2024] 5-3 Libero (HS: Bridgeland/Club: Houston Juniors /Verbal: Uncommitted)
Alice is currently listed as the 30th best overall prospect in the 2024 Class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. We wrote about her a few times already and here is a little to remind you of what we said about her previously, “Miss Volpe is a fantastic libero from the Houston area. She is the daughter of Rice University Head Volleyball coach Genny Volpe and plays high school for Bridgeland HS and also club for Houston Juniors . She also plays on the beach circuit with her teammates at Houston Juniors and is a stud there too. It takes a great athlete in order to excel in both sports and it truly shows her ball control abilities in the sand. Her footwork is truly amazing during indoor volleyball and she is always properly balanced during contact. Her long legs help her ball pursuit and aid in her strong ability to cushion contact while she collapses on the dig. This is one reason why her contact on hard driven balls is so soft. Miss Volpe star is on the rise as she keeps getting better and better each time she steps on the court. We love her ball control and think her ceiling is ridiculously high for improvement over the next few years. I would put her footwork against any defensive player in the class.” We have been watching very closely and Alice has the second most digs in the entire state of Texas amongst all sophomores. Her tally of 699 digs so far is amazing. She has her varsity team at 35-11 overall and 12-2 in district. They just beat Tomball to advance in the UIL playoffs. The awesome play of Miss Volpe is definitely going to help them stay the course and be competitive. Please help us congratulate her on being nominated for our All-State awards.
Reese Emerick Reese Emerick 5'9" | DS/L Westlake | 2024 State #33 Nation TX [2024] 5-8 Libero (HS: Austin Westlake/Club: Austin Juniors/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Reese is currently ranked as the 21st top overall prospect and 3rd best libero in the 2024 Class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She was originally ranked as the 37th top prospect and has made a huge jump. When we profiled her last we said,“Reese is a gifted player from the Austin area. She plays for Westlake on their varsity squad and also for the great Austin Juniors volleyball club. Westlake has a great libero in the making in this young lady so they can continue their dominance in their district that they have had for a while now. She already had 195 digs for them and 15 aces in her freshman season. She made the 26-6A newcomer of the year this past season. Miss Emerick is a stud in the libero position and plays with so much passion. She will be moving up the rankings for sure in our next update as we saw her show out on Varsity. Her defensive range is superb and once you match that with her tenacity to sprawl out while in pursuit of the ball, you have a recipe for an outstanding libero. She is one of the best in the 2024 class for sure and we will be watching her career unfold very closely. College coaches should be looking at this young lady right this second as her touch on the ball is second to none. When we watched more closely we saw some aspects of play that stood out over and over. Her tenacity on the court is infectious and we love the way she plays the game. Reese can cover her hitters with the best liberos in the country. I know we talked about her touch on the ball in the last article, however it is something that will be talked about each time we profile her. It is that good. Usually it takes years to develop touch like that, but this young lady has a great baseline to start out with.” Miss Emerick has been on fire during her sophomore season for Westlake. She has the 5thmost digs in the entire state amongst sophomores. 577 digs on the year is a lot for an upperclassman, but this young lady is ready to be on the lips of college recruiters now. Remember this name because she will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come in the libero position. We are proud to have her in the running for an All-State award.
Jaylin Lott [2024] 5-3 Libero (HS: SA Clark/Club: San Antonio Juniors / Verbal: Uncommitted)
Jaylin is currently an unranked prospect in the state in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings, but she has proven herself to be worthy with her on the court play once we update the rankings. She plays at San Antonio Clark High School and the awesome San Antonio Juniors . Jaylin has been amazing this high school season as she has tallied 509 digs, which is the second most amongst sophomores in the entire state of Texas. She also has 17 aces on the year. Her dig count as a sophomore is the most on her varsity team even amongst all of the upperclassmen. This young lady has a bright future and college coaches should be on the lookout now. She collapses so well on hard driven attacks and digs them with ease. Miss Lott is truly a gem of a find if a school wants a very active libero who can play at a high level and is ready to cover 50 feet so quickly for any errant balls that are usually well outside of anyone’s range. We are extremely proud of her and how she has proven herself on the court amongst her peers. Please help us congratulate her on the achievement of being in the running for an All-State award.
There are many more amazing players that will be nominated. Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes to see who ends up with a chance at one of the prestigious awards. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com. Also don’t forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends. Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook. Thanks for following Texas Family!