High School Team Feature – Cinco Ranch Cougars

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school season is going at full pace in the state of Texas and every team in the state has been on the court enough times for us to have a good idea about what to expect from them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here at PrepDig, we are committed to covering and promoting as many prospects as possible, from the most popular names to the hidden gems that typically abound at the Lone Star State and during the high school season we're also doing it by featuring the teams they play at.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every time we're at the gym, we take the time to give a good look at the teams on the court and we'll try to feature as many as possible here in this space. Today's team is the Cinco Ranch Cougars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>The Squad</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming back from an excellent campaign last season, the Cougars lost one of their setters in Catalina Martinez who graduated. The team's core remains basically the same, however, with [player_tooltip player_id='87565' first='Courtney' last='O'Brien'] and [player_tooltip player_id='177534' first='Makenna' last='Loo'] at the pin, [player_tooltip player_id='179888' first='Kassidy' last='O'Brien'] at setter and Emily Killam in the middle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/CincoVolleyball/status/1558527870162591745?s=20u0026t=C2q1nJaiBM0h8hf8Z1bJGg","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/CincoVolleyball/status/1558527870162591745?s=20&amp;t=C2q1nJaiBM0h8hf8Z1bJGg </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>Key Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_631a0edd99458","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["87565"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A very complete and dynamic outside hitter, O'Brien is a key piece in Cinco Ranch's playing system. Very explosive at the net, she's the team's leading scorer and recently surpassed 1,000 kills in her high school career. She's the player that gets the ball when the set is on the line and is a very efficient hitter. O'Brien is very confident to face opposing blockers, but also extremely intelligent to go around them when that's the best choice. Very solid with her passing and defense, she recently developed a powerful topspin jump serve.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef617815"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"id":"block_631a103b9945a","name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/10193357/6310573ab018a1050025d438' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef617837"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_631a100b99459","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["179888"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Courtney's younger sister Kassidy is one of the most talented setters coming up in the state of Texas. She has all the tools to thrive in the position, starting with a very high volleyball IQ and outstanding technical skills. O'Brien, who reached the mark of 1,000 assists in just her second season of high school volleybal, is very creative with her ball distribution and reliable with her location - she can set the ball perfectly to the pin from anywhere on the court. One of the things that make her so good is her excellent body control, which allows her to always be in the best position to set. O'Brien is also a good blocker and an excellent defender.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef617865"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"id":"block_631a11779945c","name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13629258/630135d15cb2ed0b74087f56' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef61787d"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_631a11679945b","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["177534"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"One of Cinco's main strengths is having an excellent outside hitter duo with Loo joining O'Brien at the pin. An offensive player with great athleticism and power, she plays the game very aggressively and is an elite point-scorer. Loo has displayed great improvement in her backcourt game from last season and is more active in involved with the team's passing and defense. She's also a very good server.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef6178a2"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"id":"block_631a12209945d","name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17042909/62c6636e9a9c1f05c042e681' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef6178ce"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_631a124f9945e","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kayla Atkinson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Cinco Ranch","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Katy United","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Extremely agile and focused on the backcourt, Atkinson is very productive for Cinco Ranch. She has played an important role with the team in the last two seasons, leading the team's passing efforts and touching on a lot of balls on defense. Atkinson does an excellent job in tracking plays and because of that she gets to recover a lot of balls, be it on defense or when covering her hitters.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef617908"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"id":"block_631a134899460","name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16538523/6310573a32e780051c79ca78' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64bdfef617948"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_631a134f99461","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Emily Killam","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Cinco Ranch","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The dynamic Killam plays an important role for Cinco down the middle. 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