H-Town Showdown #2 – 16s – HJV 15 Elite
The second weekend of February had a lot of competition at the club level in the Houston area, with a handful of tournaments taking place around the city. One of them was the second stop of the H-Town Showdown. The…
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Continue ReadingThe second weekend of February had a lot of competition at the club level in the Houston area, with a handful of tournaments taking place around the city. One of them was the second stop of the H-Town Showdown.
The event featured 77 club teams across its three divisions and they competed in three different venues in the area. Our destination was the FAST Complex, where 32 of the 44 teams from the 16s division hit the court on Saturday.
We’ve been highlighting the top prospects we spotted in the tournament during the week and we reserved our final article to HJV 15 Elite, the only 15s team entered in the division, which went to finish in first place with three wins and no sets dropped.
Jordan Taylor – Middle Blocker – HS: Langham Creek – 2025
Jordan Taylor already is a huge factor at the net and the scary part of it is that she’ll only get better – and certainly taller. At 6’5”, she’s one of the tallest players in the state but the positives in her game go well beyond her size. Taylor’s offensive game is very well-developed and she can hit a lot of different sets and does it with a very quick right arm – her slide hit is nearly unstoppable. Her blocking is also a nightmare for opponents as, besides being tall, she does a great job in placing her arms across the net. I’ve first watched her play a few months ago with her high school team Langham Creek and she’s made remarkable progress since then, also adding more power to her game. Her first high school season was nothing short of exceptional as she produced 267 kills and 110 blocks.
Sydney Bryant – Outside Hitter – HS: George Ranch – 2025
Sydney Bryant is one of those players who catch your eye during the high school season playing one position and then do it again with their club teams, this time on a different role. A starting middle blocker for a loaded George Ranch team a few months ago, she converted into an excellent outside hitter with HJV 15 Elite in a heartbeat. Her 6’3” frame obviously makes things easier for her, but Bryant deserves a lot of credit for quickly adjusting to hitting up and down sets and finding some incredible angles from the pin or the backcourt. Passing is still a work in progress for her, but it’s clear Bryant is working and improving on it. She produced 68 kills and 102 blocks in a George Ranch team that had some of the top scorers in the entire state and her production should be even larger next season if she sticks to playing at the pin.
Kirra Musgrove Kirra Musgrove 6'2" | S Lutheran South Academy | 2025 State #12 Nation TX – Setter/Right Sider – HS: Clear Falls – 2025
Kirra Musgrove Kirra Musgrove 6'2" | S Lutheran South Academy | 2025 State #12 Nation TX has a rare combination of assets for a player of her age. She’s very tall and athletic at 6’1”, but has also excellent talent with the ball and a lot of maturity on the court. All those kills give her the confidence to put her stamp on HJV 15 Elite, running a fast-paced offense with the team. Musgrove had an amazing group of hitters to work with in the event, but she did a great job in using all of them and enhancing their games. She’s a quiet, cerebral leader and also helps the team at the net with her potent left hand and her tall block. Musgrove is also a very good setter and had a few good runs from the service line during the day. She was a key player for her team Clear Falls in the last high school season as a freshman, tallying 576 assists, 408 digs, 343 kills, 76 blocks and 48 aces.
Kennedi Rogers – Outside Hitter – HS: Ridge Point – 2025
A team with this many tall prospects simply doesn’t work without a player like Kennedi Rogers. She’s more than capable than leading HJV 15 Elite at the net with her 5’10” frame and a heavy right arm, but her most important duty with the team is likely keeping things going in the backcourt. Very explosive, Rogers does a great job with her passing and defense while still being an excellent scoring option from the left or the right. She can also be dangerous from the service line with a powerful topspin jump serve. Rogers got plenty of playing time in a strong Ridge Point team in the last club season and delivered 163 kills, 103 digs, 148 passes and 17 blocks.