Lone Star Classic Qualifier – Recap – Rise 17s

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 Oklahoma. This series of articles will be focused on Sooner teams that played, how they fared and some of the fantastic players who stood out to me. Rise 17’s came into the tourney ranked 18th overall. They had a great day one and finished second in their opening pool winning two matches and only losing one to advance to division one. Day two was a lot tougher but the competition really brought out the best in them as they almost won each match that they played. They fell a bit short and came out third out of the four team pool to advance to the silver bracket. They had a good run and finished 17th overall out of 48 teams. There were a few players that stood out while I was watching. Let’s meet a few of them. [player_tooltip player_id="144099" first="Katelyn" last="Branson"] [2022] 5-6 Libero (HS: Edmond Santa Fe/Club: Rise/Verbal: Southern Nazarene) <img class="alignleft wp-image-191897" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/DSC_0343-e1650761738846-242x300.jpg" alt="" width="178" height="221" /> Katelyn is currently ranked as the 42nd best overall prospect according to our class of 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings. She stars for Edmond Santa Fe high school and the Rise volleyball program. Since she has moved to the libero position, she has been on fire. She has normally been an outside hitter for her school team and let me tell you…this young lady has some amazing hops. She is now using those fast twitch muscles in the back row as she flies everywhere to keep her team in every rally. The Southern Nazarene commit is super fun to watch and has been a joy to cover this past year. When I watched her this weekend, her serve receive passing was on a very high level and she was all over the place covering each hitter.   [player_tooltip player_id="176368" first="Kyleigh" last="Whitehead"] [2023] 5-11 Outside (HS: Enid/Club: Rise/Verbal: Uncommitted) Kyleigh is currently ranked as the 26th best overall prospect according to our class of 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings. She is a six-rotation banger on the pins for Enid High School and also plays club for the fantastic Rise volleyball program. This young lady was doing everything offensively for her squad when I watched this past weekend. She was potent from both front row and back row as she was looking to score. Her team counts on her to work hard and keep swinging and she does it beautifully. She is no stranger to accolades or being the go to player as she has been this person for her high school team for the past couple of years also. We have watched her numerous times this season and she has always entertained the spectators with amazing skills. She has a very bright future in the sport and we are glad to have the ability to watch her for another year.   [player_tooltip player_id="176370" first="Taya" last="McReynolds"] [2023] 5-10 Outside (HS: Yukon/Club: Rise/Verbal: Uncommitted) Taya is currently ranked as the 28th best overall prospect according to our class of 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings. She is a six-rotation pin hitter for Yukon High School and also plays club for the fantastic Rise volleyball program. What I love about Miss McReynolds game is her overall ball control. She is a stud in serve receive and defense for Rise and she helps to keep them in system. Offensively she is a true OH2 and can move the ball around as a hitter to score in a variety of ways. Don’t get me wrong, this young lady can bang the ball also when she wants to. Her vertical is astounding and she has a lot of hang-time to help her score against bigger blockers. We are happy to get to cover her for the next year. Stay tuned for more on Taya. [player_tooltip player_id="176375" first="Rachel" last="Tate"] [2023] 5-11 Setter (HS: Bishop McGuinness/Club: Rise/Verbal: Uncommitted) <img class=" wp-image-191898 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/DSC_0353-e1650761888299-181x300.jpg" alt="" width="160" height="265" /> Rachel is currently an unranked prospect according to our class of 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings. She is a right side/setter for Bishop McGuinness High School and also plays club for the fantastic Rise volleyball program. I watched her this past weekend play some very good volleyball. She served very tough to keep her opponents off balance. She was delivering some very hittable balls to all of her hitters also. Her height and frame allow her to be a threat in many areas of the game for Rise. She is able to play in the front row and block opposing left side hitters and set from the back row also. I liked how she was moving the ball around to all of her hitters to keep the defense honest. We will be keeping our eye on her as she showed us a lot in the way she played at Lone Star.   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 Oklahoma Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!