Adidas Lone Star Classic 18s: The Outstanding Liberos

<p>The George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston was for the second week in a row the stage for a big and important volleyball tournament this past weekend as the facility hosted the 2021 Adidas Lone Star Classic 18s, a national qualifier for USA Girl’s Junior National Championship.</p> <p>Clubs from Texas and several other states were in action for three days at the venue with a total of 180 teams competing across three divisions. Prep Dig was at the event and followed closely the Texas teams competing at the 18 Open Division, the most competitive one, and brings to you this week the reports on the prospects that stood out at the Lone Star Classic.</p> <p>Liberos and defensive specialists play a pivotal role in any volleyball team and the support they provide to their team’s playing system is invaluable. Here are some of the players who excelled during the tournament.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99519" first="Gabriela" last="Mansfield"] – Libero – Houston Skyline 18 Royal – HS: Klein – 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="99519" first="Gabriela" last="Mansfield"] did a great job playing among class of 2021 players over the weekend. She was a commanding presence at Houston Skyline 18 Royal’s backcourt with a solid and efficient game. The 5’4” libero is extremely technically-gifted and her unwavering focus contributes to a nearly flawless game. She takes up a lot of space on serve-receive and very active in covering the hitters. Another thing that stands out on Mansfield’s game is that she pushes everybody aside and takes responsibility for getting all free balls sent over the net. The libero ranks 40^th on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings and has committed to Rice University.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13629316/6062ea36a018ca0db0f60b0e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87449" first="Alyssa" last="Ortega"] – Libero – SA Juniors 18 Adidas – HS: Churchill – 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87449" first="Alyssa" last="Ortega"] has all the skills of an elite defender. She’s technically skilled, fast, consistent and had an impressive ability to read the game and anticipate moves. She controls everything that happens at SA Juniors 18 Adidas’ backcourt and impacts the game in a variety of ways. The 5’5” Ortega also has a dangerous left hand, which she uses to score points from the service line and other places in the court (see video below). The dynamic Ortega ranks 71^st on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings and will continue her career at Stephen F. Austin.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Did you think líberos couldn’t score? <a href="https://x.com/SAJuniorsVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SAJuniorsVB</a> ‘s [player_tooltip player_id="87449" first="Alyssa" last="Ortega"] certainly disagrees. <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigTX</a> <a href="https://t.co/UOL4LnEM9S">pic.x.com/UOL4LnEM9S</a></p> — grtorres (@grtorres) <a href="https://x.com/grtorres/status/1375476700629307396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87457" first="Margaret" last="Newton"] – Libero – Austin Skyline 18 Royal – HS: Westlake – 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="87457" first="Margaret" last="Newton"] was one of the fastest and most dynamic liberos to appear in the tournament. She anchored a strong Austin Skyline 18 Royal backcourt with her impressive defensive skills and a strong personality. Watching the 5’4” Newton play, it seems like she never switches off. She’s always where she’s supposed to be and is always ready to react when the ball goes her way. She also showed an interesting ability to perform one-handed digs. Ranked 84^th on our Prep Dig State Rankings, Newton has committed her future to the University of Denver.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDenverVolleyball%2Fvideos%2F1511822222348093%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99550" first="Julia" last="Neveu"] – Defensive Specialist – TAV Houston 18 Black – HS: Oak Ridge – 2021</strong></p> <p>Playing as a defensive specialist, [player_tooltip player_id="99550" first="Julia" last="Neveu"] made a big impact in TAV Houston 18 Black’s game in the tournament. Every time she entered the game, the team benefited from her defensive skills and outstanding ball control and seemed to be more fluid on offense thanks to her fantastic passing skills. Neveu has a great nose for the ball and at times the ball will always find her. Her great technique makes some of her digs look easy. She ranks 107^th on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTAVHoustonVB%2Fvideos%2F800594517331182%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>