Tour of Texas Stop 1 – WAVE 15 Brennan – Top Performers
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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. The first stop was held in Dallas, TX this weekend. I was…
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Continue ReadingOne 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. The first stop was held in Dallas, TX this weekend. 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. I spent most of my time watching the Invitational tournament, which was riddled with Open level talent. There were teams that traveled from Utah, Georgia, California, and Hawaii to compete with our Texas teams. Without further ado, let’s see who stood out on each team.
Wave 15 Brennan
I was eagerly anticipating watching this team in action for the first time this season. They went undefeated with a 6-0 overall record and faced some really amazing competition along the way. It took each of them working hard together in order to accomplish this wonderful showing. The following players are who stood out to me when I watched them play.
Ireland Real Ireland Real 6'4" | OH Santa Margarita | 2027 CA [2027] 6-3 Outside (HS: Santa Margarita/Club: Wave/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Ireland is currently an unranked prospect in the 2027 Class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but that is only because they have not been released yet. She plays volleyball for Torrey Pines High School and also plays club for the WAVE volleyball program. This young lady is the real deal and very difficult for any opponent to stop. While most may marvel at her height or power at the net, I studied her movement on the court. What I saw was quite astounding. Her footwork while patrolling the net and setting the block on the right side attacker was really impressive. She is able to control every aspect of her body very well while she swing blocks. I really love how she is able to stop her swing momentum and press over the net to seal it away from the would-be point scorer. A lot of taller players have a hard time being in total control of their lower and upper body at the same time, but Miss Real does it as if she has been playing for ten years already. Everything about her game screams upperclassman at this young age. There is no doubt that she is one of the top players in her grad class. We will keep our eyes on her very closely as we get closer to unveiling our state rankings for the 2027 class.
Emery Gonzales Emery Gonzales 5'10" | S Torrey Pines | 2027 CA [2027] 5-10 Setter (HS: Torrey Pines/Club: Wave/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Emery is currently an unranked prospect in the 2027 Class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but that is only because they have not been released yet. She plays volleyball for Torrey Pines High School and also plays club for the WAVE volleyball program. I really loved seeing this young lady in action as I have heard some great things about her. The film I have watched on her showed a taller setter who was electric. What I saw in person absolutely solidified this. Her skills are well beyond her years as she plays with a lot of confidence. College coaches will love her size, strength, and skills. As a setter, her hands are very soft and have a quick release, which fires the ball to its target. She is able to jump set and be a viable threat to score when she is in the front row. Miss Gonzales will undoubtedly be one of the top setters when I release the State Rankings soon.
Sophia Wu [2027] 5-2 Libero (HS: Torrey Pines/Club: Wave/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Sophia is currently an unranked prospect in the 2027 Class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but that is only because they have not been released yet. She plays volleyball for Torrey Pines High School and also plays club for the WAVE volleyball program. I love watching and comparing liberos because they do a lot of dirty work on a team to make it’s offense work like clockwork. In order for them to do their job, they must track the ball well and move to it fast. Sophia was one of the fastest liberos in the gym when I watched her play. There was never a time where her footwork wasn’t balanced at the point of contact. She had a laser serve that was also pinpoint accurate with the zone she was aiming for. Hard driven balls are not an issue for her smaller frame as she does such a great job at using her whole body to absorb the contact. I noticed that Miss Wu had amazing focus on the body language of both the server and attacker, which helped her get in a great position to play the ball. This kind of attention to detail in her position shows me that she will be great for a long time.
This team did everything they needed to do in order to remain undefeated for the two days of play. I was very impressed with their ability to turn it on when they needed to. Every player on their team contributed to their wins. Attacker Jaycee Mack Jaycee Mack 6'2" | OH Torrey Pines | 2027 CA was amazing at the net. She attacked and blocked with a purpose that led to some amazing ball. She was definitely playing very big and looks very athletic in every aspect of the game. Peyton Erickson was also playing well out of the middle. Her lateral movement was great and she kept her vision where it needed to be in order to time the attacks well. With this team playing so well while traveling far, this tells me that they will do very well this season and we will be watching their journey closely.
As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at Michael@prepdig.com. Also don’t forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends. Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook. Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!