Tour of Texas Stop 1 – TAV 15 Black Jason – Top Performers
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One of the most anticipated tournaments at the beginning of each club season is the Tour of Texas because of all of the talent that will be competing. The first stop was held in Dallas, TX this weekend. I was…
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Continue ReadingOne of the most anticipated tournaments at the beginning of each club season is the Tour of Texas because of all of the talent that will be competing. The first stop was held in Dallas, TX this weekend. I was able to attend this prestigious event and this next series will be about those players who stood out while I watched their matches in person. I spent most of my time watching the Invitational tournament, which was riddled with Open level talent. There were teams that traveled from Utah, Georgia, California, and Hawaii to compete with our Texas teams. Without further ado, let’s see who stood out on each team.
Texas Advantage Volleyball 15 Black Jason
The tournament got off to a wonderful start on Saturday and finished Sunday evening. It was meant to end on Monday but the freeze halted the event and no one was able to finish the tournament. Even with no true champion crowned, we were all still able to see some awesome volleyball. TAV 15 Black was the number one seed going in and went 5-1 over the two days. The following players are who stood out to me when I watched them play.
Gentry Barker Gentry Barker 5'10" | OH Lovejoy | 2027 State TX [2027] 5-10 Outside (HS: Lovejoy/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Gentry is currently an unranked prospect in the 2027 class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings, but that is only because they have not been released yet. She plays at Lovejoy High School and also the famed Texas Advantage Volleyball club. The only way to explain Miss Barker in a few words to people is “jaw-dropping”. While everyone who witnessed the 5A UIL State playoffs are already aware of the legend that is Gentry Barker Gentry Barker 5'10" | OH Lovejoy | 2027 State TX , those who do not know who she is will soon see how amazing she is. What I witnessed on the court was very telling of just how dominant this young lady can be. She is the true definition of a six-rotation outside hitter. When you watch her in serve receive, you see how focused her eyes are on the task at hand. She is primed and ready to attack whether from the front or the back row. I loved seeing how fast her footwork is while transitioning to her outside touch point. But then I saw her take it to another gear in her approach to the ball. She really knows how to create and utilize momentum to gain more in her vertical. Then she unleashes a super violent swing on the ball that just punishes the defense with bombs. The most fun, though, was watching how she was able to toy with the defense and use an amazingly deceptive off-speed shot that landed right over the block to score. Miss Barker is just playing on a completely different level than everyone else in her grad class.
Brynn Stephens Brynn Stephens 6'2" | S Rock Hill | 2027 TX [2027] 6-2 Setter/Outside (HS: Rock Hill/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Miss Stephens is currently an unranked prospect in the 2027 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings, but that is only because we have not released them yet. She plays at Rock Hill High School and also for the famed Texas Advantage Volleyball club. Brynn is difficult to classify because of her all around game. Is she a high level setter? Yes. Is she a high level attacker? Yes. The only thing I do know about her is that she is one of the best volleyball players in the entire nation in her grad class. Not only does she have the size and physical prowess, but she has the attitude to match as well. She is a stone cold killer on the court and we love everything about it. With a vertical approach touch of over ten feet high, this young lady is a college coach’s dream recruit. After already winning a National Championship in the Open division last season, you can see that this squad is ready to defend it and Brynn is a huge reason why. She is silky smooth in delivering the ball to her attackers. There is not a set that she cannot hit the bullseye over and over with. As an attacker, she can throttle the ball with authority on both pins. Having a player like her would give you so much flexibility with your lineups to create mismatches with opponents. If you have not heard of her by now, give it some time, you will soon.
Sophee Peterson [2027] 5-10 Setter (HS: Byron Nelson/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Sophee is currently an unranked prospect in the 2027 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings, but that is only because we have not released them yet. She plays at Byron Nelson High School and also for the famed Texas Advantage Volleyball club. As a freshman on varsity, she played a huge role in helping their offense run by dishing out over 720 assists. While I watched her do this in person, I knew exactly why her hitters thrived. She has excellent placement of every location and the ball just floats perfectly to a tee for the hitter to hit off of. Miss Peterson is also a very gifted attacker who can score in a variety of ways from the pins or when a team brings her around for a second tempo set out of the middle. Her volleyball IQ is very high and you see it when she creates one on one opportunities for her hitters often. She will be ranked very high as a setter not only because of her assists, but also her ability to play defense out of the right back zone. I love everything about her play and she will be a top player for the foreseeable future in her grad class. Stay tuned for more on her as we will be following her progress very closely.
While I only wrote about three players extensively, there were some others who also did very well when I watched. Middles Nyla Livings Nyla Livings 6'2" | MB PRestonwood Christian | 2027 State TX and Onita Davis were stellar while blocking at the net. They are very big targets who can ball with anyone. Liberos Ansley Shafer Ansley Shafer 5'4" | DS/L Keller | 2027 State TX and Karsyn Evans Karsyn Evans 5'7" | DS/L Aledo | 2027 State TX were dialed in and delivering some pinpoint accurate passes out of serve receive. Both were playing at a high level in the match I watched. They are both quick on defense and can dig hard driven balls well. Lexi Martin was a huge contributor on offense for TAV. She is a long attacker who can score points in a hurry. This team is proving that they are one of the teams to beat this season just as they were last 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 Michael@prepdig.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 Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!