Tour of Texas Stop #2 Preview Vol 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first stop of the Tour of Texas was amazing as we had top Open level teams from all over the country come to Houston to compete.&nbsp; We had three scouts in the gym to cover a lot of the amazing play that went on.&nbsp; This weekend is the second stop of the Tour and it will be held in Austin, TX.&nbsp; This stop has some awesome match ups that we are very eager to see.&nbsp; Let's take a look at some of the amazing teams and players to watch out for.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Invitational Power Pools</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Power Pool #3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Adidas Ray is the top seed in this pool after going 4-3 last stop against some amazing competition.&nbsp; They will be ready to prove that they belong with awesome play from their new setter [player_tooltip player_id='534410' first='Sasha' last='Keys'].&nbsp; She is making the transition from being a pin to being a setter by becoming a gym rat with the TAV coaching staff and she is blossoming before our eyes in the new position.&nbsp; Her athleticism is off the charts and she brings quick but precise footwork and the ability to get off of the ground quickly into her jump sets.&nbsp; By moving fast to the ball, she can speed up the offense and catch the defense off guard more.&nbsp; One of the big weapons on this squad is explosive pin [player_tooltip player_id='443017' first='Delaney' last='Wright'].&nbsp; There is nothing quiet about her game and she is super confident in her ability to score at a high clip.&nbsp; There are many key players who will be on full display and we will cover them more in depth at the conclusion of the tourney.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second seed in this pool is [program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors'] 16 Elite who can ball.&nbsp; They also are coming off of a 4-3 showing at the last stop a few weeks ago.&nbsp; What was very impressive was how every match but one went to three sets.&nbsp; This tells me that they will not go down without a fight.&nbsp; Whoever matches up with them better be ready to go to war because these young ladies are for real.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='443026' first='Kaylin' last='Bailey'] anchors the back row as the starting libero and she communicates very well to all of her teammates.&nbsp; Big middle [player_tooltip player_id='534407' first='Reina' last='Jones'] is super athletic and knows how to hit her angles around the block with a devastating arm swing.&nbsp; Left side Saniya Reynolds is a very lethal scorer from the left side and is one of those players who should always be tracked in every serve receive rotation by opposing coaches.&nbsp; Talented outside Marilyn Lindsey and lefty opposite Eva Simoncic solidify this squads high-powered offense.&nbsp; There is no doubt that this team will be ready to give everyone fits in this pool.&nbsp; Watch out for them as they are dangerous.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third seed is Peak VA 16 Black and they are coming off of a tough outing against some of the best teams in the country last stop.  They were a little overmatched, but gained a lot of valuable experience for this second stop.  [player_tooltip player_id='580689' first='Kyra' last='Bolden'] had herself a great showing at their last stop and had a lot of people jotting down notes on her.  I loved how explosive she was when she got into her approach to attack.  There is no doubt that she is one of the top point scorers for this squad.  They will rely on her to be a legit threat once again this weekend.  She is able to swing out of both the left side and the middle from serve receive, but then she becomes a middle during the rally.  This kind of versatility will look good to college coaches.  Libero [player_tooltip player_id='749962' first='Alondra' last='Nye-Colon'] does a great job of knowing her role and competing hard for every attempt in the back row.  Setter [player_tooltip player_id='580013' first='Grace' last='Hoover'] pulls double duty as she starts distributing the rock and then becomes a right side attacker in the 6-2 offense when she rotates to the front row.  We will be watching them closely once again to see how they fare in this second stop of this prestigious tourney. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fourth seed in this pool is [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 16 National Black.&nbsp; They also had quite a rough showing going 0-7 in stop one.&nbsp; However they did put up a valiant effort against some of the best teams in the country.&nbsp; One of their big weapons is outside hitter Zailey High.&nbsp; It doesn't matter if she is in the front row or the back row as her setters will find her and deliver the ball to her.&nbsp; She takes a big swing and it can give the defense some challenges to stop it.&nbsp; I was thoroughly impressed with libero [player_tooltip player_id='846874' first='Jolene' last='Bao'] who uses her entire body to angle the ball to her setter.&nbsp; With this full body control, she will have no problems adjusting to any attack or serve in order to keep her team in system.&nbsp; She also showed the ability to absorb hard driven contact and keep the ball on her side.&nbsp; I was also very impressed with setter [player_tooltip player_id='433669' first='Taylor' last='Kelly'] and how she pushed the pace with her left side set.&nbsp; By speeding up the tempo like that consistently, she will create some big splits in the block for her left side attackers.&nbsp; Middle Mara Hall was a big target for her setters and had a super high motor as she patrolled the net.&nbsp; We will be coving them more in depth after the tourney is over.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will have some coverage of this tournament next week so, stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply reposting on X or Instagram or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->