USA Volleyball National Champion – San Antonio Juniors 18 Adidas

We are now at the end of the volleyball season for the seniors of Texas and we wanted to write a few articles on certain club teams who we think deserve some recognition for their season. USA Volleyball Junior Nationals was just held on April 22-24th in Pheonix, AZ. Let's take a look at a team who has had a great season so far and just had a fantastic showing at Nationals. Take a bow [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors'] 18 Adidas…you have earned it.   The Central Texas area is riddled with great club teams and amazing players. A lot of the teams from the San Antonio area have been working extremely hard over a lot of years to be nationally recognized. [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors'], under the direction of club director Albert Trevino, only needed two years to be known as a top contender. In only their second year, they have qualified many teams for USA Volleyball Nationals and now they can also say that they are a National Champion.   SA Juniors 18 Adidas has six Prep Dig Texas State Ranked players on its roster and some others who are on our watch list. They had 48-16 overall record on the year and are ranked as the 4th best team in the Lone Star Region according to AES results. They went into the American Division of the Girls 18's Nationals as the 1st overall seed and held seed throughout the entire tourney going 10-0 in matches and only dropping four individual sets all throughout the tournament (20-4). 18 Adidas played phenomenal as they captured the USA Volleyball Girls 18 American Division National Championship.   Even though we can write about each and every athlete that contributed to their success, I am only going to cover a few players that stood out while I was watching. Let's meet a few of them. [player_tooltip player_id="87484" first="Jaci" last="Mesa"] [2022] 5-6 Libero (HS: Smithson Valley/Club: [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']/Signed: Troy University) Jaci is currently ranked as the 32nd best overall prospect and the second best libero in the state in the 2022 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She starred for Smithson Valley and plays club for [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']. Jaci did it all in the back row to help steady the ship. She was great in serve receive and helped her squad stay in system to run the middle as often as they could. Jaci took a lot of hard driven shots and kept her team in-system on defensive transition. Very little fell near her zone in the championship match and she showed why she is one of the best liberos in the state of Texas. [player_tooltip player_id="87481" first="Jalyn" last="Gibson"] [2022] 6-0 Outside (HS: Brandeis/Club: [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']/Signed: TCU) Jalyn is currently ranked as the 6th best prospect in the 2022 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She starred at Brandeis HS and also club for [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']. Everyone who watches this stud play will be amazed at her offensive arsenal and crazy athleticism, but I watch and admire just how good she is in middle back playing defense. She uses her athleticism and fast twitch muscles to be able to change direction very well and dig hard driven balls that sneak past the block. Her speed is very apparent when she chases down deflections also. She is just a very fun player to watch and will wow crowds next year at TCU from the moment she steps on campus. We are proud of her and will continue to root for her in college.   [player_tooltip player_id="174937" first="Olivia" last="Arredondo"] [2022] 5-8 Setter (HS: Antonian/Club: [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']/Verbal: Uncommitted) Olivia is currently ranked as the 89th best overall prospect in the 2022 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She played for Antonian High School and club for [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors'] volleyball program. I was super impressed with her ability to run a 5-1 at a very high level in the championship match. She held her own at the net blocking and didn't back down one bit from their outside attackers. I really liked how she moved the ball around well. She spread the ball around to all of her hitters pretty evenly and kept the defense off-balance as they didn't have a chance to key on one particular attacker. She is still uncommitted and if you know of a college that can use an immediate impact setter, look no further. She can help a program now! [player_tooltip player_id="176666" first="Kyla" last="Malone"] [2022] 5-11 Outside (HS: New Braunfels Canyon/Club: [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']/Signed: Incarnate Word) Kyla is currently ranked as the 95th best overall prospect in the state in the 2022 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. She plays at New Braunfels Canyon High School and for [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']. This young lady put on a show on the right side at nationals as she battled opposing outsides very well at the net. There were many times that her mere presence caused attackers to hit around her as she funneled the attack to her diggers. Offensively she proved to be a great piece of the puzzle helping her squad to the title. She will be a stud for Incarnate Word next season and just proved herself to the rest of the country with her performance at Nationals.   [player_tooltip player_id="152994" first="Paige" last="Crawford"] [2022] 5-11 Outside (HS: Wimberley/Club: [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']/Signed: Wake Forest) Paige is currently listed as the 83rd best overall prospect in the 2022 class. She played high school for Wimberley High School and club for [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors']. Their captain was stellar on the pins when I watched them play. There were times in the championship match in which she went on a scoring spree and was attacking the ball with so much power on the left. There is a lot to love about the way she plays the game, but what stood out to me was how deceptive her line shot is. She goes up with so much power on her upswing to get her high in the air and it looks like she is going to pound away hard cross, but she turns on the ball so well to hit around the block and obliterate the line. It was very hard for her opponent to stop and she went to it often. When I update the rankings this month, I am sure this young lady will move up. Stay tuned to see where she falls after this great showing.   Other notable players who stood out were strong middles Alexis Walker and Peyton Roper. They were instrumental in providing both scoring and blocking for this stellar squad. During the championship match, both of these wonderful young ladies played amazing and shut down their opponents. Please help us in congratulating [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors'] 18 Adidas on an amazing season and the perfect way to end it by calling themselves USA Volleyball National Champions!   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 Texas Family! Don't be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!