Fresh Faces shine at Freshman Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class of 2028 will be hitting the prep courts soon. Their skills were showcased on Sunday morning at the Freshman Prep Dig Showcase in Dallas, Texas. Athletes went through a plethora of position drills, team drills, cooperative drills and competitive drills to showcase their strengths and talent. Here is a look at some of the standouts from Sunday morning:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='580660' first='Carley' last='Ward'] is a 5'8” athlete who does a little bit of everything. She is a strong hitter on the outside pin, but could also be a great libero or defensive specialist. She played outside on Skyline 14 Royal and will be attending Keller High School. Ward has a great jump float serve that can put teams out of system. Ward got on several serving runs during drills at the showcase. On the defensive side, she reads well and will sacrifice her body to keep the ball up. Very impressed by her hustle and focus! Keep tabs on her this prep season!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another 5'8” Outside Hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='558308' first='Sofia' last='Williams'] out of Greenhill High School and plays club volleyball for [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15 National White stood out on Sunday. She has quick feet moving front to back and is a hustler. She too is multifaceted and can jump and swing at the pin with power or be a digging machine. Another player who could also be a floor defender. Williams has great energy as well and is an all around great athlete!&nbsp; Very impressed with her versatility!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5 '5 " Defensive Specialist/Libero [player_tooltip player_id='569812' first='Nyah' last='Johnson'] from Trinity High School and plays club for Frisco Flyers was impressive. She plays floor defense really well and has a fantastic platform. When she sets out of system, she has quick hands and strong wrists. She gets the ball out quickly and is not afraid to take a swing and be an offensive threat as well. Could be a setter in a crunch too! Really like what she could do on the floor!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='573489' first='Sydney' last='Johnson'] is a 5'5” defensive specialist/libero from Allen High School and plays club for Excel 15 Red. She had great communication on the floor. She was always in a ready position whether on serve receive or defensive. She reads hitters well and has a great tough serve. Johnson has a lot of great attributes for a defensive specialist.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another promising freshman is [player_tooltip player_id='535783' first='Chloe' last='Sims'], a 6'1'' Middle Hitter from Wakahachie High School. Sims was a good leader, strong and a super hard worker! She has long levers and moves well. She has a quick arm and snap. This middle&nbsp; has a lot of uptick and a high ceiling. Her secondary position is Right Side and she would be strong there as well! Keep an eye on her this upcoming prep season!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A big hustler on the floor is 5'4” Defensive Specialist Whitney Shepherd. She has a hard driving serve and had some great defensive sprawls during drills on Sunday. Love her determination and grit on the court. Shepherd has a hard, driving serve that was causing havoc on opposing serve receive formations. She plays club for EVA Elite Volleyball Academy and will play for Cabot Freshman Academy in the fall. Keep tabs on her as she continues to improve and grow!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It will be fun to see how these upcoming athletes help their schools on the court this year! It is always exciting to see what the new crop of talent brings in each year! The showcase is just the tip of the iceberg to get a glimpse of what the area has in store.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->