Tour of Texas Stop 1 Preview Vol 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the biggest early season tourneys is upon us this weekend.&nbsp; The Tour of Texas will bring the best teams in the state of Texas and six other states will also be represented in the competition.&nbsp; Almost every one of these teams in the invitational divisions will most certainly earn a coveted bid to USA Volleyball Junior Nationals later on this summer.&nbsp; We will be front and center this weekend to cover the event in person and will have some amazing stories on both individuals and teams to report back on next week.&nbsp; Here are some interesting things to look out for this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 16 Invitational division, there are some amazing battles that will take place on day one.&nbsp; Power Pool 1 will put together two Lone Star State squads that know each other quite well.&nbsp; In what some will call a cross-town rivalry, the two North Texas squads have battled many times in the past few seasons.&nbsp; Dallas Skyline and [program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage'] Volleyball continue to produce stellar recruits and this year is no different.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We start with Dallas Skyline 16 Royal Paul as they are last year's Open division champions, although they have had a massive overhaul in their roster.&nbsp; This year's squad is new to each other but still deadly to anyone in their way.&nbsp; One person who we are very excited to see on the left side this year is [player_tooltip player_id='531615' first='Aleah' last='Edmond'] who has some immense power in her entire body that she plays the game with.&nbsp; Add to that a hunger to be the best and never back down to anyone, and you have one scary opponent to match up against.&nbsp; She proved last year that she will do whatever it takes in order to win a title by playing primarily on the right side and that tells you a lot about her character.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='721043' first='Taylor' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='765103' first='Stella' last='Sanchez'] are two young ladies who have all of the college scouts' attention because of their skill set at the net.&nbsp; This team has added two very gifted talents from [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last='']'s top team in [player_tooltip player_id='500890' first='Gracie' last='White'] and [player_tooltip player_id='540460' first='Kate' last='Clegg'].&nbsp; They are both battle tested at the open level and will add a ton of heat to the firepower of this impressive team.&nbsp; We will see just how well they can gel together and compete against this top competition.&nbsp; It will be a great test and no matter what, they will get a lot out of the matches.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage'] Volleyball has done something this year that many are questioning if there are enough sets to go around to everyone.&nbsp; I have dubbed them the volleyball Avengers as it is a mix of some of the best players in the entire nation on one roster.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='586653' first='Maya' last='Ogbogu'], [player_tooltip player_id='765096' first='Sarah' last='Floyd'], [player_tooltip player_id='580697' first='Mary-Christine' last='Crutcher'] and [player_tooltip player_id='580713' first='Trinity' last='Johnson'] could all be the number one player on any roster in the nation and they are all working together to run the table in impressive fashion.&nbsp; Setters [player_tooltip player_id='743783' first='Evann' last='Beville'] and [player_tooltip player_id='579842' first='Sadie' last='Lovato'] have to be smiling in their sleep because they have so many elite options to deliver the ball to this year.&nbsp; It doesn't matter who they set the rock to as all options can score with authority.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='580657' first='Blake' last='Buljan'], [player_tooltip player_id='827011' first='Katie' last='Wawersich'], and [player_tooltip player_id='765121' first='Brooklyn' last='Horton'] are all super quick and extremely athletic at the net on both ends of the floor.&nbsp; Superstar liberos [player_tooltip player_id='580658' first='Caitlin' last='Carrizales'] and [player_tooltip player_id='720774' first='Addison' last='Tucker'] will be the ball control experts to make sure that this offense flows in system.&nbsp; They will be crucial for this team's success and I know they will be ready for the challenge.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two other teams from out of state round out this pool of death in A5 16 Gabe from Atlanta, Georgia and Wave 16 Scott from California.&nbsp; A5 brings All-World phenom Kari Knotts who just earned most valuable player at the USA U19 team this past summer.&nbsp; She also earned AVCA national player of the year as only a FRESHMAN!&nbsp; We will see if anyone in the field can slow her down a little.&nbsp; Whatever her kill total is being guessed at…I will take the OVER if I was a betting man.&nbsp; Wave is no slouch themselves.&nbsp; With players like superstar outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='720339' first='Summer' last='Tukua'] and [player_tooltip player_id='739155' first='Ashlynn' last='Proctor'], they match up with anyone.&nbsp; I can't wait to cover these matches as they will be electric.&nbsp; Whoever comes out on top of this power pool will have definitely earned it.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stay tuned for the next volume that will cover more teams and other divisions.&nbsp; We will have some awesome articles covering as many matches as we can from this tournament.&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 reposting on X or Instagram or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->