Private School Spotlight: Concordia Lutheran Crusaders

<p>Even though the focus on high school volleyball in the state of Texas might be more often turned to the teams competing in the six division of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which features public high schools, the Lone Star state also has a tremendous amount of talent elsewhere.</p> <p>The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) is a great example of that, with several teams and athletes that play at the highest level of the sport. We were able to watch some of these squads in action recently at the 2021 Houston Open, held at the facilities of the Houston Skyline Volleyball Club, and will bring our analysis on each of them and their most promising players over the next few weeks.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concordia Lutheran Crusaders</strong></p> <p>The Crusaders, from Tomball, entirely dominated the tournament, dropping only one set in five matches on their way to take the title. The team coached by Branden Smeltzer, which made it to the semifinals of its high school division in each of the last six seasons, is also in top form in TAPPS competition this year, having won 14 of their first 18 matches, including the last six.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="fr">🏆CHAMPS🏆 <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/SaderNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaderNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/RfIR7PaZ19">pic.x.com/RfIR7PaZ19</a></p> — Crusader Athletics (@clhstxathletics) <a href="https://x.com/clhstxathletics/status/1431748989947424768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="87486" first="Sophia" last="Keene"] – Outside Hitter – Club: Houston Skyline – 2022</strong></p> <p>Awarded as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, [player_tooltip player_id="87486" first="Sophia" last="Keene"] was on fire over the weekend. A 6’1” outside hitter, Keene has the complete package as she’s extremely efficient at the net and on the backcourt.  On offense, she has all the tools, including a heavy arm and an endless mix of technical shots, and, most importantly, knows when to use each of them. Ranked 18th on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings, she’s also a scoring threat from the backrow. Keene has committed to Baylor university and will head to Waco at the end of the season.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13629354/60a5777115f59111ac5a0cd4" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="140394" first="Sydney" last="Whitfield"] – Outside Hitter – Club: Houston Skyline – 2022</strong></p> <p>A teammate of Keene in both their high school Concordia Lutheran and club team Houston Skyline, [player_tooltip player_id="140394" first="Sydney" last="Whitfield"] offers perfectly complementary skills to the ones of her fellow outside hitter. Standing a 5’10”, she’s also a handful to deal with at the net too, but mostly because of her tremendous technique, which allows her to find unlikely angles and tool blocks at ease. She’s also a phenomenal passer, which provides the Crusaders outstanding balance on the backcourt. Whitfield, who has committed to Liberty University, deservedly made it to the Houston Open All-Tournament team. She ranks 103rd on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13629322/612c55adbd6a8b06a49050f4" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Addy Polk – Setter – Club: TAV Houston – 2022</strong></p> <p>Adelyn ‘Addy’ Polk was the third member of the Crusaders to make it to the Houston Open All-Tournament team. An extremely technically-gifted 5’4” setter, Polk does a fantastic job when running the team’s offense. She has a rare combination, only seen in elite setters, as at the same time she’s terrific in running a fast-paced offense, she also does a great job in turning poor passes in, at least, hittable sets. Also an outstanding defender, Polk will continue playing at the collegiate level after she committed to Saint Louis University.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12275190/612c612c3df5f60918927780" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>