Club Team Feature – Houston Skyline 17 Royal
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The club season is already underway in the state of Texas and hundreds of teams have already been in action and done great things over the first weeks of play in the Lone Star State. Everyone is taking a little…
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Continue ReadingThe club season is already underway in the state of Texas and hundreds of teams have already been in action and done great things over the first weeks of play in the Lone Star State.
Everyone is taking a little break for the holidays and will get back to full power on the first weekend of the month, so we’re taking the week to feature some of the 17s teams from the Houston area that we believe have the potential to make really good things over the next few months.
Houston Skyline 17 Royal
The top team of the famed Houston Skyline Volleyball Club in the 17s age group, 17 Royal has opened its season playing in the 18s division of the Legends Classic #1, where they ranked second. The team has a mix of talented players who joined from other clubs, such as Kirra Musgrove Kirra Musgrove 6'2" | S Lutheran South Academy | 2025 State #12 Nation TX , Samara Coleman Samara Coleman 6'0" | OH Grand Oaks | 2025 State #74 Nation TX and Jaela Auguste Jaela Auguste 6'0" | MB Grand Oaks | 2024 State #17 Nation TX , and returning players like Sameena Burns Sameena Burns 6'2" | MB Seven Lakes | 2024 State TX , Chloe Richards Chloe Richards 6'1" | OH Magnolia | 2024 State TX and Cayley Hanson Cayley Hanson 6'2" | S Deer Park | 2024 State #43 Nation TX .
Key Players
After an extraordinary club season with Houston Juniors, Musgrove has joined Skyline, where she’ll be playing one age group up. One of the top prospects in the entire state in the Class of 2025, Musgrove is more than ready for the challenge as she has everything coaches could want in an elite setter. Her ball handling is second to none and she’s always very calm and intelligent with her distribution. Musgrove is also a talented blocker and has developed an aggressive setter dump (which is more of a hit on two) which is incredibly hard to stop because of her size and the angles she’s capable of finding. She’s also very strong on the backcourt as her floater can be a nightmare for opposing passers and she can play very good defense.
Highlights
Another new face in the team, Auguste, who came from TAV Houston, has made Skyline 17 Royal considerably stronger in the middle. She’s also a track and field student-athlete and few players in the state (and perhaps even the country) are capable of matching her athleticism. The best thing about Auguste is that she never had an over reliance in her physical tools and continued to work hard in her game to improve. She’s a fantastic blocker, combining excellent mobility, length and timing at the net and has also grown to became an offensive force by adding the ability to hit different sets and impressive decision-making to her unique athleticism.
Capable of playing on either pin, Richards has started the season on the right with Skyline 17 Royal. With her great length and well-diversified offense, she’s a threat to score points from anywhere on the court and does an excellent job in adjusting to different sets. Richards is very explosive and uses her reach well to swing hard, but also has a very good wrist an excellent court vision, a combination that bails her out when conditions aren’t the best. She’s also capable of putting on a big block in front of opposing hitters and does a very nice job when asked to join the serve-receive system.
Highlights
Another very physical prospect, Burns is back at her original middle blocker position after spending the last high school season playing as an outside hitter for her high school team Seven Lakes. The experience has helped Burns develop other areas of her game, such as her court vision and her ball control, and I’m really looking forward to see how that will impact her play in the middle. She has always been a dynamic player, who’s capable of making an impact on the game on both sides of the ball. Her blocking is among the best in her age group as Burns uses her long arms really well to press opposing hitters and has very good reading. Offensively, she can hit a lot of different sets and has added more tools to her arsenal after carrying Seven Lakes’ offense.
Another player coming from TAV Houston, Coleman is also playing one age group up but it doesn’t really look like it when she’s on the court. She recently stood out in one of our Top 250 Expos in Houston and it easy to see how much she has developed over the last few months. Coleman is a fantastic jumper and although her stellar level of athleticism is one of the keys to her game, she has made great strides with her shot selection and her ability to hit different sets. She’s now more used to having a big role in her teams and is more comfortable on the court. Her backcourt skills have also grown exponentially as she continues to develop into an impressive all-around player.