Spike Sport #1: Setters – 18s

<p>The club volleyball season is underway in Texas and during the next several months the Lone Star State will be packed with exciting tournaments, where the region’s most interesting prospects will have opportunities to showcase their games.</p> <p>The Spike Sport #1 was one of the first of those to take place. Played on December 4 in Missouri City, the event featured eight teams from the Houston area in the 17 Division and ten in the 18. The event was dominated by the traditional Houston Skyline club, which advanced two teams for the final of the gold bracket in both divisions.</p> <p>PrepDig.com attended the tournament and we’ll use the next few days to highlight some of the most interesting players we spotted there – some are very popular and well-known names, while others are prospects who perhaps were flying under-the-radar.</p> <p>These setters did a great job in running their team’s offenses in the 18 Division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87470" first="Maddie" last="Waak"] – Skyline 18 Royal – HS: Katy – 2022</strong></p> <p>Widely recognized as one of the best setters in the state (and the country) and ranked third in our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings, [player_tooltip player_id="87470" first="Maddie" last="Waak"] has put on another masterclass in the tournament. The 5’11”, lefty setter did what she does best – put her hitters in great position to score. Waak is part of a formidable Skyline 18 Royal team and the hitters she had around her would make any setter look good, but not many ballhandlers would be able to keep all of them involved and to extract the best of each of them, as she did. The team had several players hitting in different positions than they did during the high school season and it’s only possible to do it smoothly with a setter of Waak’s caliber. An LSU commit, sh will start her collegiate career next summer.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/7070236/61aea13d9a92690af8eb16e0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87573" first="Margot" last="Manning"] – Skyline 17 Royal – HS: St. John’s – 2023</strong></p> <p>When you think of the capabilities a good setter should have, [player_tooltip player_id="87573" first="Margot" last="Manning"] has got all of them. She has the size at 5’10”, the technique, the volleyball IQ and the relentless and creative mindset that make players thrive in the position. She runs a very fast-paced offense with Skyline 17 Royal but does so while still being extremely accurate with her location. Because of her size and aggressiveness, she’s also a real threat to score on setter dumps. She typically plays as a right sider for her high school team St. John’s due to her point-scoring potential. Manning ranks 99^th in our 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings and is headed to the University of Washington at the end of her high school career.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/7070137/61ad5c6edfd826071c9eac3c" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Emma Coursey – Texas Legacy 18 Elite – HS: Tomball Memorial – 2022</strong></p> <p>After ending her high school career with more than 1,000 assists for Tomball Memorial, Emma Coursey was a key player in a Texas Legacy 18 Elite team that dropped just one of four matches in the Spike Sport #1. The 5’9” setter is very reliable with her location and plays fast, consistently putting her hitter in good position to score. She’s a good blocker as well and has the ability to help her team on defense.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13049830/616ea454386e090ef4073c07" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>