Lone Star Classic Qualifier – Recap – Omni 17 Rick

The Lone Star Classic National Qualifier tournament held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas took place this past Easter weekend. There were over a thousand talented teams from across the country competing in this awesome tournament and hundreds of college coaches were in attendance. This is widely regarded as the tournament with the toughest competition in the nation. There were seven already Open level qualified teams entered in it and there were only three bids available. It was a weekend full of cutthroat volleyball and I was super excited to have covered it for California. This series of articles will be focused on Cali teams that played, how they fared and some of the fantastic players who stood out to me. Going into the tourney Omni 17 Rick was ranked as the 8th best team in the Northern California Region according to AES results. Omni 17 Rick was seeded 10th overall going into day one and battled every team they faced with strong composure. They were coming off of a very good showing at the Red Rock Rave Qualifier in which they finished 9th out of 38 teams. I was very intrigued to watch them in person based off of their season so far and they did not disappoint at all in how they fared.   They split their two matches in their opening pool beating Austin Skyline 17 Royal and losing to Madfrog 17 National Black. This put them into a cross match with another pool of three. They ended up winning against Nebraska Juniors 17 Black (25-20, 25-18). This put them in division one and very deserving of being in the top half of the field. Two of their next four matches were only lost by a few points and they could have easily have gone the other way. Just take a look at these scores 29-27, 26-24, 27-25, 25-23, 19-17. All of these were won/lost by only two points. This team was truly battling and playing some amazing volleyball. In games like this, it’s sad that someone has to lose. They ended up finishing in 15th place out of 30 Open level teams in arguably the toughest national qualifier field there is.   There were a few special players who stood out when I watched them play. Although it is a team sport and many players contributed to their amazing showing, I will only highlight a few players that stood out when I watched. Let’s meet a few of the standouts:   Emily Child [2023] 6-0 Right Side/Outside (HS: Oak Ridge/Club: Omni/Verbal: Uncommitted) <img class="alignleft wp-image-191532" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/Emily-Child-Block-Omni-17-e1650503559381-187x300.jpg" alt="" width="176" height="282" /> Emily is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She plays for Oak Ridge High School and also club for Omni. This past weekend she showed so much fight and resiliency when I watched her play. Her team was battling some tough competition and Miss Child kept on swinging. She found numerous ways to score on both pins during transition and serve receive. Although it was a total team effort, Emily definitely did her part both on the offensive end and the defensive end also. She was a stud on the right side blocking and attacking. Her setter was feeding her the ball time and time again. This showed me just how much her setter respects her ability to score for their squad. I loved how this young lady welcomed the offensive load and said “please may I have some more?” She is the type of player I would want on my team for sure. We are going to enjoy coving her for the next year.   [player_tooltip player_id="160314" first="Madison" last="Walker"] [2023] 6-1 Outside (HS: Oak Ridge/Club: Omni/Verbal: Uncommitted) <img class=" wp-image-191533 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/Madison-Walker-Hitting-Omni-17-e1650503664496-213x300.jpg" alt="" width="195" height="275" /> Madison is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but is on our watch list already and will be ranked once we update them in a few months. She plays for Oak Ridge High School and club for Omni. I was very impressed with her serving and attacking. She is a six rotation outside hitter who can score in a variety of ways. She was turning on the ball and painting the line when necessary. I loved how she attacked the block and was able to tool them to score also. Her total approach is picturesque as she creates so much momentum with her upswing. She has high-level serve receive passing skills that should translate very well to the next level. Miss Walker has a killer jump serve that dies right as it crosses the net. But what I loved the most was just how much her team moves the ball around to her on both pins and in the back row. They set her in the back row as a legitimate part of their offensive scheme and she delivers with power. Stay tuned on this stud as she totally wowed us with her performance. There were tons of coaches watching and taking notes on her when I watched them play.   Francesca King [2023] 5-4 Setter (HS: Vanden/Club: Omni/Verbal: Uncommitted) <img class="alignleft wp-image-191534" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/Francesca-King-Omni-17-e1650503824200-209x300.jpg" alt="" width="194" height="278" /> Francesca is currently an unranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She plays for Vanden High School and also club for Omni. I was very impressed with this dynamo of a setter as she was very explosive all over the court. She played exceptional defense out of the right back area and was jump setting every position on the front row. Her form was on point and showed that she has been working hard during her junior career. The three-year varsity setter proved that she is a force no matter her height. She was on fire serving aces over and over when I watched. She has one of those serves that is so low to the tape that it makes it super hard for a receiver to see the ball’s trajectory. The ball comes out of her hands so cleanly as she pushes it to the left side pin. She is a true open level setter that I enjoyed watching for sure. I can’t wait to watch her play again. Stay tuned for more on Miss King as we cover the rest of her junior year and then her senior year.   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 nov8vb@yahoo.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 California Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us on Twitter as we are very active on there and discuss highlight players often to college coaches. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!