Countdown City Classic 16 Open Champs – STVA 16 Mizuno

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The start of the club season is always exciting and nerve racking to say the least.&nbsp; The Countdown City Classic tournament in late December has been a good litmus test for teams getting ready for the grueling season.&nbsp; There were some amazing teams that were going to battle this weekend and this series is going to give our readers a glimpse into how teams and players fared.&nbsp; Without further ado, let's take a look at who peaked my interest as I watched the footage from BallerTV.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 16 Open champion, South Texas Volleyball Academy 16 Mizuno team has added some more weapons this season to their already gifted team who made some serious waves last year at USA Nationals.&nbsp; This wonderful set of dynamic players didn't drop a single match all tournament long and had a perfect record of 6-0.&nbsp; Their only dropped set came in the championship match.&nbsp;I have been eagerly awaiting seeing them in action this year once I heard about their player acquisitions. This is only the beginning for this wonderful team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although every member of this team deserves to be honored for their contributions before and during the tourney to get this team to the level of what they showed, here are just a few stars who shined when I watched them play a few matches online:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='318196' first='Danielle' last='McAllister']&nbsp;[2026] 5-10 Setter/Right Side (HS: Pieper/Club: South Texas Volleyball Avademy/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":482364,"width":"123px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/863-Danielle-McAllister-e1700705089806.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-482364" style="width:123px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Danielle is currently ranked as the 62^nd best overall prospect in the 2026 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays for Pieper High School and also club for the South Texas Volleyball Academy program. &nbsp;Miss McAllister played well all the way around for STVA on their road to winning the tournament in the 16 Open Division.&nbsp; Not coming off of the court in the matches I watched online didn't phase her at all.&nbsp; She never stopped contributing to the team on almost every rally.&nbsp; When your hands touch the ball that much and your team wins, this says a lot about your contributions.&nbsp; As a setter, I loved that she mixed in some awesome dumps to go with distributing the rock to her wonderful attackers.&nbsp; The dumps came at moments when the defense was completely caught off-guard and that is the sign of a true master.&nbsp; As a right side, she set the block really well for the middle to close with.&nbsp; This allowed her defense to set up nicely around her in order to defend properly.&nbsp; The lefty also provided some much needed firepower to balance out the attack.&nbsp; She is one to watch on this team as they move throughout the season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='318131' first='Paisley' last='Pavliska'][2026] 5-9 Outside (HS: Floresville/Club: South Texas Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":482370,"width":"142px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/869-Paisley-Pavliska-e1700705298400.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-482370" style="width:142px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paisley is currently ranked as the 13^th&nbsp;best overall prospect in the 2026 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays volleyball for Floresville High School and now plays for the South Texas Volleyball Academy club program. &nbsp;Miss Pavliska was up to her old scoring ways again during the matches that I watched online.&nbsp; I thought I was at the doctor's office because of all of the different shots I was seeing from her.&nbsp; This young lady can just flat out score points with the best of them in a variety of ways.&nbsp; Her off-speed game was phenomenal along with her power swing.&nbsp; The opposing defenses just didn't have a chance with her mixing up her offensive arsenal so well.&nbsp; The six-rotational phenom's back row play also was a big reason why they went undefeated in matches.&nbsp; College recruiters should really understand that players who consistently contribute to their team's success at a high level, no matter who the setters are, deserve a lot of respect.&nbsp; We will continue to monitor her performances over this club season because she is putting on a show already.&nbsp; Put her name on your short list of outsides that are true Game Changers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='318193' first='Jillian' last='Hanson'] [2026] 6-0 Middle (HS: FEAST Homeschool/Club: South Texas Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jillian is currently ranked as the 81^st best overall prospect according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She attends FEAST Homeschool and plays club for the South Texas Volleyball Academy program.&nbsp; Miss Hanson as phenomenal at slowing down the opposing attack from every team that STVA went up against.&nbsp; Her ability to patrol the net was crucial to their entire defensive game plan.&nbsp; But what stood out to me the most was how she was ready and willing to run the “31” or shoot set all tournament long.&nbsp; Her speed of approach was the factor that set her apart from a lot of other middles that I watched.&nbsp; Not only was she able to run the route effectively in the correct zone on the net, but she was on time for a super fast tempo with it.&nbsp; This made it very difficult for teams to have two blockers on it.&nbsp; More often than not, she only had to defeat a single block and it kept so much pressure on the opposing defense to slow down.&nbsp; She is a middle to watch for sure and we think she might be ready for a break out club season if she continues her quick attack.&nbsp; Keep your eye on her as we will too.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here were some other key contributors to their run to the title.&nbsp; Middle [player_tooltip player_id='219319' first='Makenna' last='Hertless'] was the other side of the two-headed monster of a wall that kept their opponents offense at bay.&nbsp; She was very instrumental in the championship defense that prevailed.&nbsp; Setter [player_tooltip player_id='318204' first='Alexis' last='Dahl'] was the other setter in the 6-2 offense that won the championship.&nbsp; She did a fantastic job at distributing the ball to all of her hitters and served very tough also.&nbsp; I loved how she is able to catch up to the pass quickly with her awesome footwork and run the middles in quick attacks. &nbsp;Outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='318206' first='Katherine' last='Combs'] moved her offensive shot around when needed and was a solid scorer all weekend long.&nbsp; &nbsp;She scored many times on hard line shots from the left side when her team needed to end the rally.&nbsp; This team set out on a mission and accomplished it all together.&nbsp; Please congratulate them on a job well done.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Family!&nbsp; Don't be afraid to interact with us.&nbsp; We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments.&nbsp; Keep them coming!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->