Players to Watch – Lone Star Classic Qualifier – 16 Open Vol 1
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It is here! The Lone Star Classic National Qualifier tournament held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas will be played this weekend April 15-17th. There will be over a thousand talented teams from across the country competing…
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Continue ReadingIt is here! The Lone Star Classic National Qualifier tournament held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas will be played this weekend April 15-17th. There will be over a thousand talented teams from across the country competing in this awesome tournament and hundreds of college coaches in attendance. Texas will be well represented with 17 teams in the 16 Open Division. This is widely regarded as the tournament with the toughest competition in the nation. There are already five Open level qualified teams entered in it and there are only three bids available. It will be a weekend full of cutthroat volleyball and we couldn’t be more excited. We will be previewing a few of the players that will be showcasing their abilities for the Texas teams that are not yet qualified. They are some of the best players in the 2024 grad class. Let’s meet a few of the talented players who college coaches need to watch this weekend.
Just for reference, the following teams are already Qualified for USA Junior Nationals in the Open Division and will be competing at the Lone Star Classic also:
AJV 16 adidas
Drive Nation 16-Red
Flyers 16 APX-Dylan
MADFROG 16’S N GREEN
Vision 16 Gold
Alamo 16 Premier
This team is stacked with talent across the entire roster. They have some big name offensive stars who always attract attention like Grace Carroll Grace Carroll 6'5" | RS Cornerstone | 2024 State #21 Nation TX , Alysa Walker Alysa Walker 5'7" | OH Keystone | 2024 State TX , and Kalina Calvillo Kalina Calvillo 6'1" | OH Antonian | 2024 State TX . Gabriella Reeves Gabriella Reeves 5'7" | S Antonian College Preparatory | 2024 State TX is a stud setter and Lola Davila Lola Davila 5'6" | DS/L Brandeis | 2024 State TX is phenomenal in the back row. College coaches will need to take a look at Macie Mathis Macie Mathis 5'11" | OH Smithson Valley | 2024 State TX and Austin Smoak Austin Smoak 6'1" | MB Brandeis | 2024 State TX who will showcase very well against this elite competition. We think they are in for a breakout performance this weekend and will be watching them very closely. They have been very competitive so far in every tourney this season and will be looking to put it all together in Dallas for a strong showing. I will for sure be around their court multiple times this weekend.
Austin Performance 16 Adidas
I have not seen this team in action yet in person this year but am eager to watch them. I have watched a few matches courtesy of BallerTV of them in the Salt Lake City Qualifier. Ella Kuhn is a “go to” hitter on the left side and their libero Arabela Grijalva is the one who holds the team steady in the back row. She has a killer serve also. Tabitha Allen Tabitha Allen 6'2" | OH Rouse | 2023 State TX is a big right side who stays in and played all the way around when I watched. Haleigh Wilk was able to run a fast offense and moved the ball around to all hitters very well. I love how she is able to go against the flow of the pass to push the ball behind her to the pin. While they might not be as big as every team in the division, they play with a lot of heart and we think they have a lot of promise to be competitive.
Houston Skyline 16 Royal
I was able to watch this team in action in Orlando at the Sunshine Classic National Qualifier and they looked very good. Cayley Hanson Cayley Hanson 6'2" | S Deer Park | 2024 State #43 Nation TX is a solid setter with a great frame that college coaches will like. She is tall and can push the ball to any location very smoothly and quickly. Macy McPartland Macy McPartland 5'5" | DS/L Rosehill Christian | 2024 State TX is one of the best liberos in the state and has tons of great experience playing against open level competition. Her defense is superb and she keeps the ball in play for her squad as she flies around without regard for her body. Morgan Warren Morgan Warren 5'7" | S Hendrickson | 2024 State TX and Sameena Burns Sameena Burns 6'2" | MB Seven Lakes | 2024 State TX are great middles who steady the ship on both the offensive and defensive end. Hailey Prodan is their kill specialist on the left side. This team is poised for a great showing in Dallas and we cannot wait to watch them in action again.
TAV Houston 16 Adidas
I was able to watch this team in person when they had their best showing of the season at the Tour of Texas Finals in which they won the whole thing. They had a remarkable run at the championship and had a never say die attitude over the course of the two days of stellar competition. They are led by a player who needs no introduction in Jaela Auguste Jaela Auguste 6'0" | MB Grand Oaks | 2024 State #17 Nation TX . She has had numerous colleges interested in her as they watch her rise up well above the net with ease and speed. This awesome team has a few more stars that will for sure turn some heads this coming weekend in high-flying Samara Coleman Samara Coleman 6'0" | OH Grand Oaks | 2025 State #74 Nation TX , Amelia Creacy Amelia Creacy 6'1" | RS Bridgeland | 2024 State TX , Caelyn Emmerling and Skylar Skrabanek. We are eagerly anticipating another strong showing from head coach Joe Lind’s crew of ballers as they are up against some elite competition again.
I will be in attendance and will try to cover as many players/teams as I can. Be sure to share your schedules with me on Twitter. There are some other great players that we will be covering during the three-day weekend. Stay tuned to see who plays well and deserves kudos as we will be writing articles on how they perform. We will have some good pictures of their play also.
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!