Tour of Texas Stop 1 – Dallas Skyline 15 Royal – 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.
Dallas Skyline 15 Royal
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. Dallas Skyline 15 Royal showed up and showed out against some stellar competition. The following players are who stood out to me when I watched them play.
Dakota Huynh Dakota Huynh 5'2" | DS/L McMillen | Plano East | 2027 State TX [2027] 5-2 Libero (HS: Plano West/Club: Dallas Skyline/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Dakota 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 Plano West High School and also the nationally recognized Dallas Skyline volleyball club. Miss Huynh might have been the best libero in the gym amongst all of the 2027 grad class in my opinion. While there will be a great debate about that, I love that she made a great case for herself with her production. She understands defensive principles and what her role/responsibilities are for each attack. I love that she sprints to her zone with intention but yet still reads the hitter and is ready to move in another direction if need be. Not all young players understand how to balance out their weight when they get stopped but Dakota sure does. Once she gets stopped, she is totally ready if the hit gets deflected off of the block and goes a different way. I love how she pushes off with her outside foot in order to extend her range to dig outside of her body. Her platform was made for digging and passing. The ball rebounds off of it so softly as it flies to her target. Keep your eyes on this young lady because she is a can’t miss prospect out of the back row.
Ryan Spencer Ryan Spencer 6'0" | OH Imagine International Of North Texas | 2027 State TX [2027] 5-11 Outside (HS: Imagine International/Club: Dallas Skyline/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Miss Spencer 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 Imagine International High School and also for the nationally recognized Dallas Skyline volleyball club. Ryan is a lengthy pin who can bang with anyone in this age group. She gets very high above the net to put the ball down. I watched her send the ball to many different zones all tournament long. Skyline went to her in out of system plays so that tells me how much they trust her offensive arsenal. When they bring her around for the second tempo set out of the middle she is unstoppable. She is able to use some good court vision to see the block and hit around it. That is not something that a lot of attackers are able to do at a young age. She has an uncanny ability to extend her arm a little higher once she is up in the air and get completely on top of the ball. This adds a little extra power to the ball and helps her scare the defense. I am glad that I got to see her in person and will be watching her very closely moving forward. I think you all should also.
Camryn Penn Camryn Penn 5'8" | S Lovejoy | 2027 State TX [2027] 5-8 Setter (HS: Lovejoy/Club: Dallas Skyline/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Miss Penn 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. Camryn plays at Lovejoy High School and also for the nationally recognized Dallas Skyline volleyball club. She moves the ball around very well and plays exceptional defense out of the right back zone. It is nice to see a young setter be able to keep the ball alive for her squad to rally. While a lot of setters like to release early, Camryn stays disciplined at her adjusted defensive position until it is apparent that the ball will not come her way. As a setter, her hands look identical to each other and that helps her sets to be so repeatable. To be this technically sound at such a young age is a very good thing for all college coaches who will be watching her very soon. When I watch a setter make the move to the ball, I look for what I call negative foot steps. This means steps that are not efficient in the path to the ball and I don’t see Miss Penn making a lot of them. This tells me that she is being coached very well and I can’t wait to see what they teach her next.
While I only wrote about three players extensively, there were some others who also did very well when I watched. The other setter in this team’s six-two offense is Karsyn Rogers Karsyn Rogers 5'7" | S Eaton | 2027 TX . This young lady is a very quick and athletic setter who can dish the rock wherever she wants to. She deserves many looks by recruiters for the future. Right side Jordan Flodder is a very big target who will garner everyone’s attention based on pure size. She does have a lot of skill and will only get better with time. We will for sure keep our eye on her and watch her progress. A very technically skilled middle named Parker Horton Parker Horton 6'1" | MB Lake Highlands | 2027 State TX caught my eye a few times with her play at the net. She knows how to play the position very well and deserves some looks. Right side Lucy Holmes showed some solid play on the opposite position at the net. Every time she touched the ball something great happened. Grace Pinegar Grace Pinegar 6'1" | OH Plano East | 2027 State TX on the left side and Kherynton Chinnis Kherynton Chinnis 5'11" | MB Liberty Christian | 2027 State TX are two players who I will be watching very closely next time I see them. They were both showing very promising skills and I put them on my watch list.
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!