High School Team Feature – Clear Creek Wildcats
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The high school season is entering its final portion in the state of Texas as the playoffs are set to begin and every team in the state has been on the court more than enough times for us to have…
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Continue ReadingThe high school season is entering its final portion in the state of Texas as the playoffs are set to begin and every team in the state has been on the court more than enough times for us to have a good idea about what to expect from them.
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.
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 we’ll take a look at the Clear Creek Wildcats.
The Squad
The Wildcats had somewhat of a fresh start entering the season as their last year’s senior core of Reaghan Thompson, Bella Woodard, Briana Zamora and Brooke Morgan all graduated. Luckily, Clear Creek had several talented rising prospects to fill their spots in Stratton Sneed Stratton Sneed 5'11" | RS Clear Creek | 2023 State TX , Olivia Jones, Melody Herrin Melody Herrin 5'11" | MB Clear Creek | 2024 State TX , Mia Sauers and McKinley Cole.
Key Players
Olivia Jones
Olivia Jones
The team’s top scorer this season, Jones is also important in Clear Creek’s defensive system. Tremendously skilled, she’s a solid player when it comes to passing and defense. Jones is not among the tallest pin hitters out there, but is incredibly powerful and resourceful. She does a great job of finding gaps in the opposing block and hitting right there. When she can’t do that, she’ll just tool it for the point. Jones is at her best when hitting a quick set at the pin.
Mia Sauers
Mia Sauers
A prospect with more than 1,500 digs and 2,000 passes in her high school career, Sauers is a defensive rock for the Wildcats and one of the reasons for their successful season. Extremely agile and technical, she’s hard to get beat on defense. Sauers also covers half a court in serve-receive in pretty much every rotation and typically delivers pinpoint passes to her setter. She also has a tough floater serve, tracks the ball when covering her hitters like few others and can set really well in transition.
A long and skilled outside hitter, Sneed lost part of the season due to injury but is regaining her best form. She has good range, excellent firepower and apparent endless resources on offense. Two things that make of Sneed such a strong offensive player and someone hard to stop for opposing blockers and defenders are her quick arm, which helps her hit the ball at different tempos, and her great wrist, which allows her to make last-second decisions when up to hit and to find difficult angles. She’s also a good passer and can cause problems with her floater from the service line.
Highlights
A dynamic presence in the middle, Herrin brings a lot of energy to the court. Although the typically faces taller middles across the net, she can go toe-to-toe with anyone because of her great vertical and overall athleticism. Herrin can hit the ball hard and is a very productive blocker, who moves quickly at the net and uses her arms really well to take up space up at the net. She also serves well and can play some defense.
Highlights
McKinley Cole
McKinley Cole
Cole’s setting duo with senior Daisy Mitchell is another strength in this Clear Creek team. A setter with excellent size at 5’11”, she handles the ball well and likes to speed the game up when in system. Cole is very accurate with her locations, even when setting against the flow, and uses her size to reach overpasses very well. Although she only plays the backcourt rotations, she has a good setter dump, is a good server and works hard on defense.