Houston’s Pre-Season 6A Top 10 Vol. 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are back with volume 2 of Houston's Pre-Season 6A Top 10! The volleyball competition in Houston is so tight, and there are so many good programs who are working hard this week in two-a-days. In this issue, we will dive into teams 6-10 and the players that make them successful. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>6. Pearland Dawson</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pearland Dawson just barely missed the top 5 teams. Make no mistake, Dawson will be good again this year. They only lost 4 games all season, one of them coming in the 4th round of the playoffs to Ridge Point. Dawson will return <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="176651" first="Bryce" last="Ranney"]</strong> a beach player who grabbed 255 kills on the outside last season. Bryce will go on to play sand volleyball for A&amp;M Corpus Christi. They will also return highly athletic middle blocker <strong>Ava Kennon</strong>, who had a great junior season last fall. She will provide Dawson with a lot of offense and a great block. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="176654" first="Carter" last="Galley"]</strong> will return on the back row after having a great junior season and playing for Houston Stellar this past spring. She has been working hard in defense, digging hard driven balls. Another possible contributer could be middle <strong>Riley Johnson.</strong> Riley didn't see a lot of playtime last season but played club volleyball for AVA and has increased her volleyball IQ and offensive potential. Dawson looks good again this year to repeat as district champs and make a playoff push. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><br>7. Summer Creek</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of our steady climbers is up-and-coming power-house Summer Creek. Summer Creek has had some serious young talent over the last couple of years, and now those players are strong upper classman. <strong>Kennedy Gustafson</strong> will return at the libero position, and she has turned into one of the premier liberos in the Houston area. Her serve receive is solid and she can set out of system as well. She totalled a whoping 601 digs last season. Middle hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198344" first="Taylor" last="Larkin"]</strong> returns after a really good sophomore season and a great off season with Houston Stellar. Taylor can flat out fly and can put the ball away.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="124151" first="Aspen" last="Maxwell"]</strong> who just recently committed to Mizzouri, is back for her junior season and she is looking better than ever. The 6'1 pin hitter played for club for HJV, and she can put the ball away from any position on the court. Shes also a great blocker and passer. Another pin hitter <strong>Yamari Thomas</strong> will hopefully fill out the hard hitting roster for the Lady Bulldogs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><br>8. Tompkins</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tompkins was 35-6 last season eventually losing 3 rounds deep in the playoffs to Ridge Point. They scored some big pre-season wins last fall over Dawson and Bridgeland, and are looking for that kind of energy this August. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87549" first="Cindy" last="Tchouangwa"]</strong> returns on the outside and she has been smashing the ball this past spring for HJV, and just recently committed to Rice. Her confidence and leadership will be a huge part of Tompkins success. <strong>Tendai Titley</strong> will return as one of Tompkins most versatile options. She can do it all from every postision. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124136" first="Erica" last="Dellesky"]</strong> and <strong>Presley Powell</strong> will return to set. They are both very good at running the offense for Tompkins. Rounding out a solid roster is defensive specialist sophomore <strong>Brooklynn Merrell.</strong> She played on the HJV 15 Elite team that qualified for nationals. But watch out, she can set too. Tompkins looks primed to repeat as district champs, and who knows, maybe upset some top teams during playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><br>9. Klein</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Houston's consistent powerhouse Klein grabs the number 9 spot after going 3 rounds deep in the playoffs last fall, eventually losing to the Woodlands. Klein will return greater Houston area setter of the year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177531" first="Kinslee" last="Smith"]</strong> who, as a sophomore, set for over 1200 assists and ran a 5-1. She has also been working on her digging and swining in the offseason paying for HJV, so expext more out of her this year. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87538" first="Mikala" last="Sampson"]</strong>, who recently just committed to North Carolina A&amp;T, will return on offense. She is a middle that can pass and also agile enough to swing on either pin. <strong>Rachel Heilbrun</strong> will be coming back after playing a year of beach. She is committed to Houston Baptist. Her ball control is unmatched. She accumulated almost 1,000 receptions and over 500 digs for the Bearkats last season. Rounding out a solid roster again for Klein is libero <strong>Kiersten Hay</strong>, who is back for her senior season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><br>10. Cinco Ranch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cinco Ranch grabs the last spot in the top 10, because they are returning a lot of the same team who made a deep playoff run last fall. They will return team kill leader<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="87565" first="Courtney" last="O'Brien"]</strong>, who has 711 career kills. Six foot junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177534" first="Makenna" last="Loo"]</strong> will be back on the pin. She has a nasty snap on the ball thats hard to defend. Sophomore setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="179888" first="Kassidy" last="O'Brien"] </strong>will be back after having a stand out freshman year. Senior libero<strong> Kayla Atkinson </strong>will return, and she made some impossible digs for Cinco last fall. Cinco Ranch was just peaking at the end of their season last fall. Will they build on that momentum and have a strong 2022 season?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->