Texas prospects help US claim U19 world title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With four of the most promising prospects in the state of Texas in the squad, the US women's national team secured the title of the 2023 FIVB Girls' Volleyball U19 World Championship in Osijek, Croatia, on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middle blockers [player_tooltip player_id='155117' first='Ayden' last='Ames'], [player_tooltip player_id='142220' first='Favor' last='Anyanwu'] and [player_tooltip player_id='124153' first='Jaela' last='Auguste'] and outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='141140' first='Becca' last='Kelley'] were all part of the roster selected by head coach Jamie Morrison, who recently coached the Houston Skyline club.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another Texas prospect to take part in the 11-day event that reunited all of the top players in the age group was outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='179568' first='Isabella' last='Ocampo'], who represented Mexico - her national team ranked 18th in the 24-team tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we congratulate the five Texas prospects who brilliantly represented their countries in Croatia, here's a summary of how each of them performed in the tournament:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["155117"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The top prospect in our recently-updated Class of 2024 Prep Dig State Rankings, Ames was an integral part of the American success in the tournament. The long middle appeared in eight of the nine American matches in the tournament and was always a reliable scoring option. The Nebraska commit ended the event with 84 points scored, with 63 kills and 21 blocks. She was the second-best American scorer in pool play matches against Korea and Serbia, getting 18 and 15 points respectively.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64d7bff72f608"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/AvidVolley/status/1686807423263105024?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/AvidVolley/status/1686807423263105024?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["142220"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The 13th-best player in the state of Texas according to our Class of 2024 Prep Dig State Ranking, the athletic Anyanwu was in great form during the entire tournament, but was on fire in the playoffs, scoring ten or more points in all four elimination matches and an absurd 18 in the final against Türkiye. Anyanwu was the fifth-best blocker in the entire event with 25 stuffs and also got 54 kills and 11 points to end the World Championship with 90 points, the third-highest mark in the American squad.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64d7bff72f68a"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/AvidVolley/status/1690392700955086850?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/AvidVolley/status/1690392700955086850?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124153"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ranked tenth in our Class of 2024 Prep Dig State Rankings Auguste scored the championship-winning point by sending the ball straight down after an overpass from Türkiye in the tie-breaker. The electric Grand Oaks middle rotated with Ames and Anyanwu at the net, appearing in six of the nine American matches in Croatia. Auguste, who was particularly well against Mexico, delivering a team-high 13 points, ended the tournament with 50 points - 35 kills, 11 blocks and four aces.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64d7bff72f6f2"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/HoustonSkyline/status/1690119895017476096?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/HoustonSkyline/status/1690119895017476096?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["141140"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A recent graduate from Rockwall Heath, Kelley had tough competition at outside hitter, a position in which the US had the two best players in the tournament, and didn't get as much playing time as the other players from the Lone Star State. She did appear in five matches during the American campaign and helped the team with ten points - nine kills, one block -, half of them against Mexico. Kelley, however, was often brought in to serve and had some good runs from the service line.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64d7bff72f757"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv1iVOfOJ23/?img_index=1","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv1iVOfOJ23/?img_index=1 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["179568"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ranked 32nd in our Class of 2025 Prep Dig State Rankings, Ocampo was easily the best player in the Mexican national team during the event. She ranked first in her team in kills (85) and aces (nine) and was third in digs (42) - Ocampo was also the Mexican leading scorer with 95 points. The outside hitter was also big in each of the two Mexican victories in the event, producing 15 points against Germany and ten against Canada - as well as 17 in a four-set loss to Poland.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64d7bff72f7b8"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/BellaOcampo25/status/1687274908470947840?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/BellaOcampo25/status/1687274908470947840?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->