Lone Star Classic 16 Open Champs – Texas Advantage 16 Black
The Lone Star Classic National Qualifier tournament held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas took place this past Easter weekend. There were over a thousand talented teams from across the country competing in this awesome tournament and…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Lone Star Classic National Qualifier tournament held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas took place this past Easter weekend. There were over a thousand talented teams from across the country competing in this awesome tournament and hundreds of college coaches were in attendance. This is widely regarded as the tournament with the toughest competition in the nation. It was a weekend full of cutthroat volleyball and I was super excited to have covered it for Texas. This series of articles will be focused on Texas teams that played, how they fared and some of the fantastic players who stood out to me.
TAV came into the tourney ranked as the first overall seed, however the team was an enigma to me because they hadn’t qualified for USA Volleyball Nationals yet despite having the talent that says they were one of the best teams in their age group. They had no problems in the first pool on Friday as they went undefeated and didn’t drop a single set. As a matter of fact no one got more than 21 points on them. Day two, however, pitted them against other teams who got first or second on day one and was much tougher. Right out of the gate during the eight a.m. match against Madfrog National Black, it was the highest point total of a single set I have seen in a long time. In a game to twenty-five, the score was 40-38. TAV closed out the match winning the second set 25-21. In their next match, they faced a red hot Alamo 16 Premier team who was playing their best ball this season in this tourney. Alamo, who had never beaten TAV during their many matchups throughout the years of this particular age group, took the match to three sets and ended up beating TAV 17-15. It was a super exciting match to watch in person and it was almost sad that someone actually had to lose because of the level of play that was occurring. This was TAV’s only loss of the tourney from that point on and you could see that it woke them up to turn up their level a few notches for the remainder of the tourney.
Although they continued to get tested from other teams, TAV proved that they are one of the most talented teams in the country by winning the championship of arguably the toughest Open division fields there is. Even though we can write about each and every athlete that contributed to their success, I am only going to cover a few players that stood out while I was watching. Let’s meet a few of them.
Ayden Ames Ayden Ames 6'4" | MB Prosper | 2024 State #3 Nation TX [2024] 6-3 Middle/Outside (HS: Prosper/Club: Texas Advantage /Verbal: Uncommitted)
Ayden is currently ranked as the 10th best overall prospect and also the 2nd best middle in the 2024 class. Every time I watch her play I am amazed at something new that I see in her skill-set. She has proven once again that I should reevaluate the rankings and see how far she can move up. I love how TAV is using her along the net at various times. It is usually very difficult for any player to change tempos and score effectively, but Ayden is being asked to hit from different locations, change tempos, and routes during different rotations and she is still super effective at scoring. I love how she moves on the court and very rarely has her heels hit the ground. This keeps her very bouncy and super fast at changing directions. Miss Ames absolutely shut down some amazing hitters on day three during the toughest part of the tournament. She can serve tough, dig hard driven balls, time and press superbly on the block, and boy can she attack. At this point, I’m just waiting on Coach Joe to throw her in the setting rotation also. But on a serious note, this young lady was super impressive and had tons of coaches talking again.
Jadyn Livings Jadyn Livings 6'1" | OH Prestonwood Christian | 2024 State #28 Nation TX [2024] 6-1 Outside (HS: Prestonwood Christian/Club: Texas Advantage / Verbal: Uncommitted)
Jadyn is currently listed as the 36th best overall prospect in the state. She is a talented pin hitter from Prestonwood Christian High School and wowed me this past weekend. Jadyn impressed me with just how resilient she is. Even though most accolades go to outside hitters, they also get tons of constructive criticism from everyone as they swing hundreds of times throughout the three days of play. They must play all the way around and have to pass nails in serve receive, dig over and over, and find different ways to score offensively. I watched as Miss Livings took everything that came her way during some adversity and kept her play at an all time high. There was nothing that fazed her whether it was getting blocked, making an error, getting yelled at by her coaches (constructive criticism of course), or being exhausted from hardy ever coming off of the court. She played amazing when her team needed her the most and was a big reason why they were able to win the championship. I am definitely considering moving her up the rankings with what I saw this weekend.
Favor Anyanwu Favor Anyanwu 6'2" | MB Sachse | 2024 State #23 Nation TX [2024] 6-1 Middle (HS: Sachse/Club: Texas Advantage /Verbal: Uncommitted)
Favor is currently listed as the 31st best overall prospect in the 2024 class according to our State Rankings. She is a very talented middle who has power for days. This young lady impressed me with that power on a few swings that almost burst the volleyball at its seams. I loved how explosive she is with her footwork and arm swing. I am not sure if there is anyone who hits the ball harder in the age group other than her. I almost feel sorry for the ball when she makes contact with it. She uses her strong frame on the defensive end also as she seals the net from opposing attackers. This young lady will be a force for any school that scoops her up as she has tons of attributes that colleges look for. Stay tuned for more on Miss Anyanwu as we cover her journey for the next couple of years.
Mikala Young Mikala Young 6'0" | OH Prestonwood Christian Academy | 2024 State #48 Nation TX [2024] 5-11 Outside (HS: Prestonwood Christian/Club: Texas Advantage /Verbal: Uncommitted)
Mikala is currently ranked as the 15th best overall prospect and the 6th best left side pin hitter in the 2024 Class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. Miss Young continues to impress me when I watch her play and this weekend was no exception. She was born to play this game and it is very apparent in every set. It is so refreshing to watch a high-level player utilize athleticism, power and finesse all at the same time. Call her the “Doctor” because this kid has all of the shots. I watched her get set over and over again and utilize many different avenues to score. She can paint the line with power, tool the block with ease, jelly-leg defenders with her off-speed roll shots, cut the ball around a block, hit with power through the seam and off-speed across her body to zone one. I love watching her play the outside position and all young players should be able to use her as a template of what to work on during their training. She has solidified herself as one of the best overall players in the age group from what I saw this weekend.
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!