Lone Star Classic Qualifier – 17 Open Champs Drive Nation 17 Red

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 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. Drive Nation 17 Red came into the tourney ranked as the second overall seed, but has been on a tear all season ready to prove that last season was no fluke. This team finished second in the entire nation last year at nationals and is playing volleyball at a very high level right now ready for a second shot. They came into the tournament already qualified in the Open division but were on a mission to showcase their skills. It truly tells a lot about their entire roster that they are not satisfied and go out to win every single set. This entire team has a winner’s mentality and never quits competing no matter who is in the game for them. They only dropped three single sets (20-3) all weekend as they went undefeated in match play (10-0) on their way to the championship. They faced five open qualified teams during their ten matches this tourney, which is truly crazy when you think about it, and they won each match.   Drive Nation 17 Red 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. [player_tooltip player_id="141120" first="Reese" last="Robins"] [2023] 6-5 Middle (HS: Mansfield Timberview/Club: Drive Nation/Verbal: Louisville) <img class=" wp-image-181435 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/02/Reese-Serving-e1645659159443-300x280.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="205" /> Reese is currently listed as the 26st best prospect according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. We have covered this young lady multiple times throughout the past few years and every word that we have ever said is true. The scary part is the fact that she keeps getting better and better each time we see her and she still has another year left in her young junior career. The moment she steps foot on Louisville’s campus she will be battle tested and ready for immediate action based on what we just witnessed. Her blocking and offense were at an all-time high this weekend as I watched them play. She uses her long wingspan and huge hands to seal the net from all attackers. She is getting so much better at closing the block on both pins. We are super excited to see her in action at nationals in Indy this summer.   [player_tooltip player_id="141121" first="Halle" last="Schroder"] [2023] 6-1 Outside (HS: Reedy/Club: Drive Nation/Verbal: Boston College) <img class="alignleft wp-image-181433" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/02/Halle-Attacking-e1650576173621-189x300.jpg" alt="" width="166" height="263" /> Miss Schroder is currently ranked as the 38th best overall prospect in the 2023 Class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. Halle had a great showing this past weekend at the Lone Star National Qualifier on the pins. She was sensational on both the offensive end and in serve receive for her squad. The Boston College commit proved just how good she is in the championship match as she served aces in the first part of the first set. She was on a mission to showcase her individual skills and did so very well. I was thoroughly impressed with her ability to take over a game in spurts. There were times at the beginning of the first set in the championship match in which Halle single handedly either scored points via attacking, serving or blocking and also kept her team in rallies by digging everything that came her way. She was a sight to see as she was playing at such a high level against some amazing competition.   [player_tooltip player_id="141633" first="Bailey" last="Miller"] [2022] 6-2 Outside (HS: Boles/Club: Drive Nation/Signed: West Virginia) <img class="wp-image-179646 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/02/Bailey-Miller-serving-e1650576353535-244x300.jpg" alt="" width="195" height="240" /> Miss Miller comes in as the 10th ranked prospect in the 2022 Class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She was her usual explosive self attacking everything that was thrown her way. This scoring monster was wreaking havoc on all opponents all weekend long. She is in impact player in every game she plays in from both the front row and back row. She showed with her play that she is one of the best attackers in the entire state. Her blocking was superb in the championship match against Houston Skyline as she either shut down opposing hitters for stuff blocks or altered their shots by making them hit around her and funneling the attack to the defenders. She had one heck of a tournament and proved just how devastating she can be to an opponent.   [player_tooltip player_id="122897" first="Lily" last="Nicholson"] [2023] 5-10 Setter/Right Side (HS: Mckinney North/Club: Drive Nation/ Verbal: TCU) Lily is currently listed as the 89th best prospect in the state according to the 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings and should move up in the next update with what we have seen this club season. She was on fire in the championship match as she was dealing dimes to all hitters. She even helped out on the offensive end by dumping balls when no one was expecting them and scoring. Her footwork on the court while she was tracking the digs was the most impressive to me. I watched as she moved so fast and gracefully around the court and stayed balanced at all times while delivering beautifully targets balls to her hitters. She had a fantastic tourney and proved that she belongs at the open level and will do wonders at TCU in a few years. There is no wonder why she made TGCA All State and Setter of the Year for her district. We are super excited to see her at nationals this summer.   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. 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