Texas Prospects Help the U.S. take silver at U19 World Champs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The U.S. U19 National Team took silver in the age group's World Championship, which ended on Sunday, in Osijek, Croatia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Led by head coach Keegan Cook, the team played nine matches across 12 days in the tournament, which also had Serbia as a host country, securing six victories and three losses. The Americans dropped the gold medal match to Bulgaria 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 29-17), but still managed to make it to the podium in the tournament for a fourth-straight time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four players from Texas were part of the squad that earned silver, so let's check how each of them did in the event: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["180469"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68758a17a587b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Colleyville Heritage phenom and BYU commit was one of the top players in the entire tournament and was selected for the event's Dream Team as the best outside hitter. Davis earned a spot in the team during the tournament and, despite having started only five of the team's nine matches, was its leading scorer with 118 points scored. She was the gold medal match's top scorer with 17 points and had a 21-point performance against Türkiye in pool play. Davis also tied for second in the entire tournament in aces, with 16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["318127"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68758a17a58ef"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Dripping Springs High School standout starred at opposite for the U.S. and also made it to the tournament's Dream Team as the best player in the position. Henderson, who typically plays outside hitter for her club team Austin Skyline, started all nine U.S. matches in the tournament and was the team's third-best scorer, with 106 points. Anderson delivered seven points in the gold medal match and was very solid with her production, getting to double digits in scoring in seven of her nine appearances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["212727"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68758a17a593e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Taylor, who was a stud for Langham Creek High School and the [program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors'] club before committing to Minnesota, offered the U.S. a strong presence in the middle. She got to play in all nine matches, starting in seven of them, and had an output of 81 points, good enough for fourth on the team and contributing on both sides of the ball. Taylor's blocking presence was massive and she tied for fifth in the entire tournament with 29 stuffs. The middle scored 11 points in the gold medal match and was instrumental in a quarterfinal victory over Italy, registering 19 points, seven of them in blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181296"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68758a17a5987"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A household name for Prestonwood Christian out of Dallas and [program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage'] for many years, Spears stood out at the international level with strong performances in the tournament. She was a key piece in the U.S. team and got to start all nine matches in the event, delivering the team's second-best mark of 110 points. She scored 12 points in the gold medal match, the second-best total in the American team, and had two 20+ point performances throughout the event, scoring 21 against Poland in pool play and 24 against Italy in the quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->