Lone Star Classic Qualifier – Recap – A4 Volley 17 Purple
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…
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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 California. This series of articles will be focused on Cali teams that played, how they fared and some of the fantastic players who stood out to me.
A4 Volley 17 Purple as a whole went into the tourney with a 32-21 overall record on the year and ranked as the 36th best team in the Southern California Region according to AES results. A4 Volley 17 Purple was seeded 2nd overall going into day one out of 104 total teams. They steamrolled through the competition on day one and were undefeated in both matches and sets. Day two was more of the same as they were able to win in convincing fashion every match that they played. A4 was certainly proving that their 2nd overall seed was no fluke. This put them into the Gold bracket and in contention for a bid to Nationals. They definitely faced some stiffer competition in three great teams from the Lone Star Region in Texas. A4 went undefeated during the entire tournament 10-0 in matches and only dropped one set all weekend (20-1). They won the championship of one of the toughest national qualifiers in the nation and earned the American bid to USA Junior Nationals. I cannot wait to cover them again when I see them in Indianapolis later this summer. There were a few special players who stood out when I watched them play. Although it is a team sport and many players contributed to their amazing showing, I will only highlight a few players that stood out when I watched. Let’s meet a few of the standouts:
Eileen Sadati [2023] 5-10 Middle (HS: St. Margaret’s Episcopal/Club: A4 Volley/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Eileen is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She plays for St. Margaret’s Episcopal High School and also club for A4 Volleyball club. When we watched her play on day three against Alamo she ran right out of the gate and scored on some heavy shots out of the middle. I love how she drives her legs so hard into the ground and attacks the ball with such ferocity on every set. Eileen plays the game just like a prototypical middle should. She is extremely fast in every aspect of the game and fights on every possession. I would take her into battle with me anytime. She was a force in every rotation that she played when I watched in the semifinals. We will be keeping our eye on her to see how she progresses in the sport.
Emily Kyle [2023] 5-7 Outside (HS: Beckman/Club: A4 Volley/Verbal: Uncommitted
Emily is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She plays for Beckman High School and also for the A4 Volleyball Club. This dynamo can absolutely fly as an attacker and she does so over and over when her team needs her to. She is a six rotation outside who also uses that natural athleticism in the back row to dig and cover her hitters. Emily’s footwork is superb as she moves in her adjusted defensive position to play the ball. She stays well balanced and super low on defense to help her team stay in each rally. I really liked how she was able to use her hands to dig also as it is a skill that I think is undertrained in the game today. What showcased well for Miss Kyle is her ability to get off of the ground so quick in both blocking and attacking. She was able to battle everyone at the net. Although undersized at the position, she proved to be very
Madison Graves [2023] 5-9 Outside (HS: Beckman/Club: A4 Volley/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Madison is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but is now on our watch list after the performance she just put on in Texas. She plays for Beckman High School and also club for A4 Volleyball Club. Although listed as five foot nine, she plays the game a lot bigger than that. The best part of Madison’s game is her versatility. She is able to play offense and defense on both pins very effectively. Her serve is extremely tough and A4 benefits even more because she is able to stay in the back row. Madison plays defense out of the middle back location and covers tons of ground with her long extremities. The one aspect that I truly loved when I watched her play was her leadership on the court as she was very vocal to her teammates during dead balls and live game play. What everyone will notice is her heavy arm when she swings. This young lady has a cannon for a right arm and unleashes it often.
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 California Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us on Twitter as we are very active on there and discuss highlight players often to college coaches. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!