LSRC 18s – Houston Area Previews – Houston Stellar 18 Elite

<p>Most of the top 18s club volleyball teams in the state of Texas will head to the Austin area this weekend to compete in the 2022 Lone Star Regionals 18s Championship, which will be hosted by the Round Rock Sports Center.</p> <p>The two-day tournament will reunite more than 100 teams across its two divisions and will display some of the top talent available in the Lone Star State.</p> <p>I’ve been fortunate to watch some of these teams in-person while covering tournaments during the club season in the Houston area and will highlight some of the ones that will compete in the 18 Bid division in the days leading up to the LSRC.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Houston Stellar 18 Elite</strong></p> <p>The top team from the club located in the Pasadena region is having a solid season so far. Outside of the Triple Crown NIT, where it got a disappointing 77^th-place finish, 18 Elite has finished in the top ten in every other tournament it played – third at the Nets Over Texas 1, fourth at the Adidas Lone Star Classic, fifth at the Nike Cross Court Classic and ninth at the FAST Warm Up and the Countdown City Classic. The team has won 20 and lost 18 matches in the season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="174936" first="Sophie" last="Ocampo"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Kingwood – 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="174936" first="Sophie" last="Ocampo"] is the kind of outside hitter that has all the tools to perform at a really high level in the position. She has tremendous length at 6’3” but is also very technical and extremely intelligent with her shot selection. Ocampo can also play in the middle or the right too, but she’s typically used at the pin, where her solid passing and defensive skills are better put to use. She’s also an excellent blocker and has committed to UT Arlington after producing 413 kills, 402 digs, 782 passes, 60 blocks and 31 aces in her senior season alone.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15260118/61ef47a7dfd8050568448b61" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Meagan Mayfield – Middle Blocker – HS: Barbers Hill – 2022</strong></p> <p>An electric and vocal middle blocker, Meagan Mayfield is one of those players that don’t go unnoticed when they’re on the court. She’s at a disadvantage when it comes to size most of the time at the net as she stands at 5’10”, but her tremendous leaping ability and long arms significantly close the gap. She’s very active offensively with her ability to hit several different sets and is also an excellent, aggressive blocker. Mayfield will play for Mcneese State at the collegiate level.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15108296/61ffbddc7bde050af44a9054" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Natalie Onozie – Setter – HS: Dobie – 2022</strong></p> <p>When a player stands at 5’6” and is a starter in a team of this caliber, she has to be the real deal. That’s certainly the case with Natalia Onozie, a crafty and very intelligent setter that runs 18 Elite’s offense. She likes to play fast and has an excellent ball distribution, keeping all of her hitters involved. Onozie is also extremely reliable on defense and is the type of undersized player that knows she needs to work harder than anyone else and does just that.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11862035/61f0274eab9c240344b6e709" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Alexa Gayden – Outside Hitter – HS: Barbers Hill - 2022</strong></p> <p>Alexa Gayden is another undersized player on this 18 Elite team that plays bigger than her size. She stands at 5’9” but is a tremendous jumper and gets off the floor really quick – a benefit of also being a track and field student-athlete. She has a very quick arm and can hit the ball hard in any direction when at the net and is a valuable asset on the backcourt with her passing skills, which help stabilize the team in that area, and defensive ability.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/10998356/61ffbddc7bde050af44a9048" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Madison Johnson – Libero – HS: Brazoswood - 2022</strong></p> <p>Madison ‘Madie’ Johnson has been a stud for her club and high school volleyball teams over the last few years. Extremely quick with her movement, the 5’5” Johnson makes it feel like she can get to any ball that comes across the net and has excellent technique to keep it up in the air. She’ll continue to be teammates with Mayfield as she also committed to Mcneese State after producing 1,600 digs, 1,611 passes and 101 aces in the last three seasons with Brazoswood.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11613133/61ffbddfab92c90ca455a70f" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="119924" first="Jordan" last="Maeker"] – Outside Hitter/Right Sider – HS: Pearland - 2022</strong></p> <p>A versatile player who can play on both sides of the net, [player_tooltip player_id="119924" first="Jordan" last="Maeker"] has been helping 18 Elite in more than one way. She’s used at the pin when the team needs more stability and consistency, but also comes off the bench to play on the right and add some offensive punch. The 5’10” Maeker can hit the ball hard and score from anywhere on the court, but is also very efficient with her backcourt game. She was highly productive in the last high school season, tallying 339 kills, 331 digs and 32 aces for Pearland.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13380494/61e38a21f31cc70f9c9e5a8e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>