Volleyfest – 16 Open Division Champs – TAV 15 Black
We were lucky enough to brave the 2022 Texas Freeze that occurred last week and drive to the Arlington area to watch some amazing teams play in a wonderful tournament called Volleyfest. It was held at the Drive Nation facility…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWe were lucky enough to brave the 2022 Texas Freeze that occurred last week and drive to the Arlington area to watch some amazing teams play in a wonderful tournament called Volleyfest. It was held at the Drive Nation facility on Saturday and Sunday. Pool play on day one led to an amazing Gold Bracket filled with some amazing teams. There were tons of Open level teams in attendance, which gave us tons of players to add to our State Rankings, which we will unveil soon. We will be profiling a few players on the team that went undefeated in the tournament – TAV 15 Black.
TAV 15 Black
They stepped into the 16’s age group in the Open division with a big target on their back as they were ranked number one going into the tourney. They went up against Drive Nation 16 Black first and made quick work as they won in straight sets 25-13, 25-13. The second match was a little more of the same as they won in straight sets again against Oklahoma Charge 16 UA 25-13, 25-21. The last match of the first pool versus Tejas 16 Black showed us that their play was no fluke as they breezed through 25-18, 25-11. I watched as they routinely stood toe to toe with their older counterparts and flexed their muscles. Day two was the Gold Bracket and TAV 15 Black was on a mission to close it out with a championship. They met 16 Blue in the semi-finals and were tested a little bit. They showed some great resilience as they won in straight sets 26-24, 25=20. The Championship match pitted them against the only other 15s team in the tourney. Drive Nation 15 Red has some serious talent on their roster also and it was a battle. But TAV 15 Black showed that they are the premier 15s team in the area as they won again in straight sets 25-18, 25-21.
Although I could literally write this article and say something amazing about each player who participated, I will give my kudos to a few who I thought deserved “game balls” for their play. The following players stood out to me during the tournament.
Kennedy Washington Kennedy Washington 6'0" | MB Prestonwoood Christian Academy | 2024 State #115 Nation TX [2024] 6-0 Middle (HS: Red Oak/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
We are proud to announce that we have added Kennedy to the State Rankings officially. She is currently ranked as the 21st best overall prospect and the 7th best middle in the 2024 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She plays for Red Oak high school and for the amazing Texas Advantage Volleyball program. We profiled her twice already and here is a refresher of what we stated, “We were lucky enough to be able to watch her in person twice this year as she was in attendance at our Top 250 Expo in December and also this past weekend when we saw her TAV team win the 16 Open division of the Volleyfest tournament. This young lady is extremely gifted in the middle position and I haven’t seen someone run the slide as well as her in a long while. The scary part is she still has a few years before she truly hits her peak potential. She has both grace and power when she contacts the ball. I love her speed in both offense and defense. Her footwork is amazing as she closes out on both pins to block and she is able to seal the net very well.” She is one of the best middles in the 2024 class and has shown to get better every time she steps on the court. In this tourney no one even got close to slow down her slide attack. It was lethal and one of the best weapons that TAV 15 Black has in their arsenal. She hit a few balls and I thought they were going to put a hole in the ground as she demolished them. She will be a force for a long time in the age group. Stay tuned for more on Miss Washington.
Sophia Thornburg
Sophia
Thornburg
6'3" | OH
Ursuline Academy | 2025
State
TX
[2025] 6-1 Outside (HS: Ursuline Academy/Club:
Texas Advantage
Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Sophia plays for Ursuline Acadmy and the nationally recognized Texas Advantage Volleyball program. Since we have not released the rankings yet, we cannot say where she falls, but rest assured we have her on our watch list. There are very few outsides in her class that will come close to her physicality. Sophia has the ability to take over games when she needs to with both her offense and defense. Where Miss Thornburg goes, TAV goes. Her right arm will help take this team to the promised land. They are currently undefeated on the year and her play is a big reason why. Most lethal attackers have one big shot that they use to score their points, but Sophia has a variety of shots in her bag to use and this is why we think so highly of her. We are excited to watch her progress and will be sure to keep writing articles. Stay tuned to see where she falls on our rankings that will be published soon.
Madison Winkler Madison Winkler 5'5" | DS/L Keller | 2025 State TX [2025] 5-4 Libero (HS: Keller/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Miss Winkler is a stud libero that plays at Keller High School and also for the famed Texas Advantage Volleyball program out of the North Texas Region. This young lady has been on the path for greatness since she started playing volleyball at a young age. She has been a part of teams that have medaled at nationals before and is looking to help her current team do the same again this season. What I saw when I watched her play was someone who has a very high volleyball IQ and uses a relentless pursuit of the ball at all times. She is going to be another one of the many amazing liberos to go through the TAV program and star for them. Her touch on the ball is stellar in both serve receive and defense. I loved how fast her footwork is on the court and how balanced she is at the point of contact. I will be covering her for the next four years and think that she has what it takes to be one of the top players in the state. Stay tuned to see where she ranks amongst the rest of the players in her class.
Sydnee Peterson [2025] 5-9 Outside (HS: Byron Nelson/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Sydnee is an electric pin attacker for Byron Nelson High School and also for Texas Advantage Volleyball. This youngster might be a little undersized currently but don’t sleep on her as she makes up for that lack of height with an amazing vertical and raw power that is lethal. TAV uses her mainly on the right side and she is the recipient of some one on ones against left side blockers. When I watched her play she routinely won those battles and hit at a very high clip in the tourney. I think she will be ranked very high when I publish the rankings soon. The scary part about Miss Peterson is that she will only get better and stronger as she progresses in the sport. She can easily be a six-rotation left side attacker also if TAV chooses to use her. No matter where you put this kid, she will dominate as she has superb athleticism.
Audrey Jackson Audrey Jackson 5'11" | OH Flower Mound | 2025 State #125 Nation TX [2025] 5-11 Outside (HS: Flower Mound/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Miss Jackson plays volleyball at Flower Mound High School and for the famed Texas Advantage Volleyball program. Audrey will no doubt be ranked in our State Rankings and if you watch her play you will clearly see why. She is a special six-rotation outside attacker who unleashes bombs on her opponents. She is an accomplished beach player, which showcases her overall ball control in every aspect of the game. I loved watching her play in the tourney and she showed just how good she can be. She played a lot on Varsity as a freshman this past season with a stacked Flower Mound team. This young lady can not only hit with power both line and angle from the pin, but she is a stud who often comes in for a second tempo attack out of the middle and scores toward the corners like a season veteran. The sky is the limit with this one. Stay tuned for more on her coming soon.
I could literally write more on each and every player on this special team, but I will wait for another article coming soon. They have some others who are extremely special in their positions and deserve to be highlighted. Stay tuned for more as this team is going places.
As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. 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 us, Prep Dig Texas Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!