High School Previews: UIL 1A – The Outside Hitters Who Can Score

<p>It will be a quick turnaround for young volleyball players in the state of Texas. Shortly after one month from the conclusion of the club season, these prospects will be back on the courts again representing their high schools.</p> <p>It will be exciting to see some well-known names establishing themselves even more in the Lone Star state volleyball scene and some new faces breaking through and quickly emerging to earn the spaces.</p> <p>Between now and the start of the high school season, at the beginning of August, we’ll highlight some players we believe are worth your attention when teams get back on the gym. These outside hitters from the University Interscholastic League (UIL) 1A Division have showed they can score and will be looking for more.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Emma Jones – HS: Blum – 2023</strong></p> <p>Emma Jones was a key piece in a Blum team that advanced all the way to the State Championship final and was only stopped by eventual winners Neches. The 5’10” outside hitter had a tremendous season with the Bobcats, having helped the team with 172 kills, 162 digs, 121 passes and 31 aces. She was the team’s second-best scorer in the State Championship final with nine points and cemented her spot at the Texas Sports Writers Association (TSWA) All-State Team. Jones is a long hitter with tremendous range that makes very few mistakes and with some seniors from last season no longer in the roster, Blum will be ‘her’ team coming into the next season.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13139645/5e17355c041f130bd4e059db" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87567" first="Brooklyn" last="Jaeger"] – HS: Fayeteville – Club: TexStar – 2023</strong></p> <p>When it comes to scoring points, [player_tooltip player_id="87567" first="Brooklyn" last="Jaeger"] is almost in a league of her own. The Fayeteville outside hitter is a scoring machine and has led the Lady Lions’ offense in each of the past two seasons, having registered 1,233 kills across them. One of the team’s emotional leaders, Jaeger also produces in high volume in several other areas of her game as she tallied 959 digs, 191 aces and 95 blocks in 2019 and 2020. Her spectacular form last season took her to the TSWA All-State Team. Jaeger stands at ‘just’ 5’8” but she plays a lot taller than that thanks to her tremendous physicality and impressive vertical. She also ranks 107th on our 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12996829/5fce88ea0dc1400a1c438ac5" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mabry Hermann – HS: D’Hanis – Club: SA Force - 2023</strong></p> <p>Mabry Hermann is a versatile prospect who can play in multiple positions but she excelled as an outside hitter last season. Hermann not only saw a massive leap on her numbers, going from 63 kills, nine aces and 41 digs in 2019 to 258 kills, 69 aces and 101 digs, but also received a TSWA All-State Third Team nomination. She’s a key piece in her D’Hanis team and one of the most interesting aspects of her game is her ability to stretch her arm as much as she can and use her wrist extremely well to hit when off the net, which allows her to avoid mistakes and place the ball anywhere on the court.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13479766/5f7bab70a022ab03f07c3741" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>