Tour of Texas Stop 1 – Excel 17 National Red – Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most anticipated tournaments at the beginning of each club season is the Tour of Texas because of all of the talent that will be competing.&nbsp; The first stop was held in Dallas, TX this weekend. &nbsp;I was able to attend this prestigious event and this next series will be about those players who stood out while I watched their matches in person.&nbsp; I spent most of my time watching the Invitational tournament, which was riddled with Open level talent.&nbsp; There were teams that traveled from Utah, Georgia, California, and Hawaii to compete with our Texas teams.&nbsp; Without further ado, let's see who stood out on each team.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Excel 17 National Red</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tournament got off to a wonderful start on Saturday and finished Sunday evening.&nbsp; It was meant to end on Monday but the freeze halted the event and no one was able to finish the tournament.&nbsp; Even with no true champion crowned, we were all still able to see some awesome volleyball.&nbsp; Excel 17 National Red ran right through the competition and did not drop a single set on their way to an undefeated record of 7-0.&nbsp; The following players are who stood out to me when I watched them play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='207063' first='Sydney' last='Strenger']&nbsp;[2025] 6-1 Middle (HS: Emerson/Club: Excel/Verbal: Lipscomb)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":259866,"width":"111px","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/5/2022/12/120-Sydney-Strenger.jpg?w=981" alt="" class="wp-image-259866" style="width:111px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Syd is currently ranked as the 61^st best overall prospect in the 2025 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays at Emerson High School and also plays for the Excel volleyball club program. &nbsp;Miss Strenger is someone who recently moved up more than thirty spots in our state rankings during our last update.&nbsp; Her exploits have not changed one bit on the court as she is still wreaking havoc on opposing players.&nbsp; Sydney plays the game with a tremendous zeal that is contagious to all of her teammates and to those spectators who watch.&nbsp; As a blocker she patrol the net with the best at the position.&nbsp; Her footwork and reaction time work very well together as she moves laterally to stifle the opposing attackers.&nbsp; Rarely does she get fooled by setters and if she is late, she always makes up for it by reaching into her blocking zone to take it away from attackers.&nbsp; When I watched them play in person, she was at her peak and on time for quick sets from the middle.&nbsp; The Lipscomb commit proved that she is ready to take on anyone.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='184252' first='Jordyn' last='Moore']&nbsp;[2025] 6-1 Setter/Right Side (HS: Argyle/Club:&nbsp;Excel/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":379490,"width":"146px","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/5/2023/04/DSC01569.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-379490" style="width:146px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jordyn is currently ranked as the 101^st best overall prospect in the 2025 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays at Argyle High School and plays club for&nbsp;the Excel&nbsp;Volleyball program.&nbsp; Having a setter with a frame like Miss Moore is a true gift for any coach.&nbsp; While we have covered her before in the past few years, I love how her game has blossomed and taken it to the next level.&nbsp; She is a true college prospect who can impact a game in many facets.&nbsp; Because of her size, she is a threat when she jump sets.&nbsp; Defenses have to guard against her attacking, so when she fakes them out and sets the ball, it creates some awesome splits for her attackers.&nbsp; The ball also comes out of her hands so smoothly on its way to its location.&nbsp; There is not a location that she cannot hit the bullseye on over and over again.&nbsp; I love how she spreads the ball around to all of her hitters and creates so many one on one situations.&nbsp; The way she feeds her middles should be seen by every young setter who wants to learn what it should look like.&nbsp; We are very high on her abilities and you should be watching her closely if you need a setter in her grad class.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='525264' first='Janie' last='Deapen']&nbsp;[2025] 5-10 Outside (HS: Rockwall/Club:&nbsp;Excel/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":502175,"width":"131px","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/5/2024/01/DSC_0053-e1705689814696.jpg?w=1011" alt="" class="wp-image-502175" style="width:131px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Janie is currently an unranked prospect in the 2025 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings, but she truly wowed me with her back row play.&nbsp; She plays for Rockwall High School and also for the Excel&nbsp;Volleyball club. &nbsp;There are a lot of left side hitters who are very one dimensional and only focus on attacking, but they are a dime a dozen in the world of recruiting.&nbsp; In order to truly stand out, they must add some back row play to their weaponry.&nbsp; Janie made me stop and watch her with how she played defense out of the middle back zone.&nbsp; There were some rallies where she came out of nowhere and kept the ball alive with amazing defense.&nbsp; She hustled and gave some glorious effort for her team to be competitive.&nbsp; This one game alone made me put her down on my short list of outsides to add to our watch list for potential ranking.&nbsp; This youngster is also a very talented scorer who can absolutely throttle the ball above the net. &nbsp;Did I mention that she is left-handed and can hit from both pins.&nbsp; The athleticism it takes for a left to be able to allow the ball to travel over their shoulder and time it perfectly for a kill is something that not many can truly fathom until they see it in action.&nbsp; I fell in love with her play and if you give her a look, you will also.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While I only wrote about three players extensively, there were some others who also did very well when I watched. &nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='254159' first='Halle' last='Jameson'] played extremely well at the net during the match that I was present at.&nbsp; She is someone who we have been watching since last season and she is still giving opponents a hard time at the net.&nbsp; Libero [player_tooltip player_id='212849' first='Sophia' last='Noble'] also wowed me with her back row play.&nbsp; She was passing the ball in system very well from serve receive and moved around the court well to cover her hitters.&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:nov8vb@yahoo.com">nov8vb@yahoo.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 -->