Salt Lake Showdown National Qualifier – 17 USA – AVA 17 Adidas
This brand new USA National Qualifier that is held in Salt Lake City, Utah was very well attended with teams from all over the United States to earn a bid for Nationals. There were teams from Alaska to Texas and…
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Continue ReadingThis brand new USA National Qualifier that is held in Salt Lake City, Utah was very well attended with teams from all over the United States to earn a bid for Nationals. There were teams from Alaska to Texas and everything in between competing to prove just how great they are. This series of articles will be to highlight those special teams and players that stood out during the tourney. We were able to watch some amazing action over the course of the weekend and will be writing a few articles on some teams and players that showcased their skills. This next article will be on the 17 USA Division and the Absolute Volleyball Academy of Texas 17 Adidas team.
Some of these players are currently ranked and some have been on our watch list for this past high school and club season. As far as the tourney is concerned, AVA 17 Adidas came in ranked as the eighth seed overall in the USA division out of 48 teams entered. They went 8-2 overall on the weekend, finished third overall and left double qualified for Nationals which will be held in Indy later on this summer. Their first USA Nationals bid came in late January when they won the USA division of the Northern Lights National Qualifier. Coach Jerry Aldrich has his team on a roll and proving that they are one of the best 17’s teams in the nation. I’ve known Jerry for a while and he has been a fantastic coach over the last twenty years or so in the Houston area. I was able to watch his team weekend on Baller TV and they were awesome. Here are a few players who stood out when I watched:
Ashley Richardson Ashley Richardson 5'11" | S Clear Springs | 2024 State TX [2024] Setter/Right Side (HS: Clear Springs/Club: Absolute Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Ashley is currently ranked as the 101st prospect in the 2024 class according to our State Rankings, and she solidified that ranking with her play on the court this past weekend. She is a great two-way player who runs half the show for AVA as a setter when she is in the back row for the 6-2 offense. She is also a very viable threat on the right side when she stays in the front row. They use her well “against flow” when the pass takes the setter to toward the first four zones along the net. She usually has a one on one situation or a huge split to unleash her powerful attack. I really liked what I saw from her both offensively and as a setter. She has some good length in her arms with help with blocking and also pushing her set out to the left side of the court during out of system passes. We will be watching her closely as the season continues.
Skylar George Skylar George 6'1" | OH Stratford | 2023 State TX [2023] 6-0 Outside (HS: Stratford/Club: Absolute Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Skylar is currently ranked as the 137th best overall prospect in the 2023 class according to our State Rankings. She plays high school for Stratford and club for AVA. She was placed on my watch list a while back and we just recently added her to the rankings due to what we saw during the high school season. On this team, she is one of their stars as she plays all the way around. The six-rotation outside provides some great stability to their serve receive and defense out of middle back. Her long frame allows her to have an extensive defensive range while digging. She has a very fast arm swing and can light up the stat book in a hurry if gets on a roll. We like what we see and think she has not reached her potential. Take note of this rising star.
Carissa Young [2023] 6-0 Right Side (HS: Clear Springs/Club: Absolute Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Carissa is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our State Rankings, but showed tremendous upside hitting out of the right side this past weekend. She plays at Clear Springs high school and also club for AVA. Her bounce during her approach is eye-popping. Then she finishes it with immense power from her lightning quick left arm. Miss Young is very fun to watch play the game for AVA. The dynamic right side should have no problem garnering attention from college scouts if they stop by her court. We are definitely going to add her to our watch list and see if she can make the State Rankings in our next update.
Ana Garza Ana Garza 5'11" | OH Alvin | 2023 State TX [2023] 6-0 Middle/Outside (HS: Alvin/Club: Absolute Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Ana is currently ranked as the 104th best overall prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She plays high school at Alvin High, which is located just a little southeast of Houston. In one of our previous articles on her we said the following, “She stars for a very talented AVA program on the outskirts of the southeast side of the Houston area. AVA is a very talented program who routinely pumps out high level talent to colleges across the country. Ana is one of their stud middles in their club. Miss Garza has exceptional power in her swing. She drives her legs hard into the ground, which is a staple of the Katy Garza, club director of AVA, training in the middle. This allows Ana to be on time for such a quick tempo set from her teammates.” I watched Ana be a force hitting quicks this past weekend. She was able to cut the ball around a block to both corners at will. She did a fantastic job defensively also. But what truly stands out to me when I watched her play is the drive in her approach. Her legs almost put holes in the ground as she drives hard toward her setter. She is someone who we have been watching for a while and this weekend just solidified everything we have seen from her in the past.
Devyn Lewis Devyn Lewis 6'1" | MB Manvel | 2023 State TX [2023] 6-2 Middle (HS: Manvel/Club: Absolute Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Devyn is currently the 29th ranked overall prospect in the 2023 class according to the Prep Dig State Rankings list. We have written a few articles on her this year and here is a little from them, “Miss Lewis is a very talented Rising Sophomore who is out of the southeast side of Houston. She plays for a wonderful program in AVA. Devyn has an uncanny ability to hit a monstrous cut back shot toward the setter in zone 1. This young lady has a cannon and if there is a split in the block she will unleash it on her opponents. Setters are in trouble if she hits that cut back shot. It is extremely lethal. I love her transition footwork on the court. She is under the tutelage of former University of Texas great Katy Garza who always teaches such great middle footwork.” Dev did a great job when I watched her play on Sunday. She has so much power in her upper body and is a force blocking at the net. She was able to unleash some of the power offensively in the second set of the third place match. We think she has a lot of potential and we know Coach Jerry can pull it out of her. She will be a force for them for the rest of the season.
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!