Players to Watch – Lone Star Classic Qualifier – 17 Open Vol 1

<p>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 15-17^th.  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 18 teams in the 17 Open Division.  This is widely regarded as the tournament with the toughest competition in the nation. There are already seven 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 2023 grad class. Let’s meet a few of the talented players who college coaches need to watch this weekend.</p> <p>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:</p> <p><strong>Austin Juniors 17 Adidas</strong></p> <p><strong>Alamo 17 Premier</strong></p> <p><strong>Club V 17 Ren Reed</strong></p> <p><strong>Drive Nation 17-Red</strong></p> <p><strong>MADFROG 17’S N GREEN</strong></p> <p><strong>Skyline 17 Royal</strong></p> <p><strong>TAV 17 Black</strong></p> <p>Let’s take a look at the rest of the field of Lone Star Region teams that will be looking to earn a bid to Nationals in the Open Division during this tourney:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Willowbrook 17 Gold</strong></p> <p>Head Coach Gabby Carbone has a very talented group led by the scoring of [player_tooltip player_id="122888" first="Ariana" last="Brown"] and [player_tooltip player_id="87538" first="Mikala" last="Sampson"].  Other key contributors on this squad are [player_tooltip player_id="87557" first="Emily" last="Schaper"], [player_tooltip player_id="87561" first="Kylie" last="Mueller"], and [player_tooltip player_id="87583" first="Gabby" last="Espiricueta"].  So far they are 37-14 overall on the year and ranked as the 5^thbest team in the Lone Star Region according to AES results.  I will be watching them closely as I personally have not seen them in person this season yet.  They are having a great season and Gabby has mentioned that there are some names we all should know on this team.  They had a solid showing in Salt Lake City where they finished 9^thin Open and are looking to build on that. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Austin Skyline 17 Royal</strong></p> <p>They are ranked as the 10^thbest team in the Lone Star Region according to AES results.  They sit at 23-19 overall on the season and are eager to showcase their skills against the best in the nation.  They are led by high-flying and hard hitting [player_tooltip player_id="87581" first="Emma" last="Patmon"].  Her co-stars [player_tooltip player_id="87533" first="Isabella" last="Breeden"], Akire Jones, Carrie Weston, and libero Riley Cox are ready to ball.  This team has been very competitive in the Open division so far in three other qualifiers and are looking to show the rest of the nation that they deserve to be in the field.  I was able to watch them in Orlando at the Sunshine Classic and they had some moments of brilliance.  They will look to string together some of those moments to create some momentum and get over the hump in Dallas. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Absolute Volleyball Academy 17 Adidas</strong></p> <p>AVA is a team we have watched very closely this year and they have been on a roll as they are double qualified in the USA Division already. They are 31-16 on the year so far. Head Coach Jerry Aldridge has a very talented squad.  [player_tooltip player_id="176640" first="Skylar" last="George"], [player_tooltip player_id="87551" first="Devyn" last="Lewis"], [player_tooltip player_id="87562" first="Ana" last="Garza"], and Carissa Young are ready to upgrade their bid to nationals this weekend.  It is always fun to watch a team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain as they pit themselves against some of the best in the nation.  I will be by their court in person to watch all weekend. </p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>SA Magic 17 Elite</strong></p> <p>I have seen this wonderful team in action in person on three separate occasions this year and they have some stars who are looking to shine amongst this super field of teams.  Setter [player_tooltip player_id="99500" first="Madisyn" last="Jones"] is the catalyst who ignites this explosive offense adnd she is a lot of fun to watch.  [player_tooltip player_id="141250" first="Emma" last="Wegleitner"], [player_tooltip player_id="141119" first="Sadie" last="McAda"], Sidney Duncan, Kitana Tuufuli, and [player_tooltip player_id="122902" first="Lillie" last="Johnson"] are just a few of their stars.  College coaches should stop by their court as they have some legit talent that deserves a look or two. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>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.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>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!</p>