The Future is Here Vol. 3
The Freshman class is one of my favorites to watch. There are so many players who play with such heart and they still have that amazing love for the game. Most of the time, their entire lives are all about…
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Continue ReadingThe Freshman class is one of my favorites to watch. There are so many players who play with such heart and they still have that amazing love for the game. Most of the time, their entire lives are all about volleyball and it shows in their commitment to training and playing at a high level. They love their teammates and their coaches. This next installment of our series on the 2023 class has a little of everything. I tried to balance it out across the entire state. So without further ado, here are a few of the standouts from the 2023 class that I have not written about yet.
Karley Sledge Karley Sledge 5'9" | OH Dripping Springs | 2023 State TX [2023] 5-9 Outside (HS: Dripping Springs/Club: Austin Performance: Verbal: Uncommitted)
Karley is currently ranked as the #14 best prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig Rankings. She is a six rotation outside hitter from the Central Texas area. She has a good frame for the position and contacts the ball very high. She plays exceptional defense in the back row. I love the way she is very calm on the court. I think she still has a lot of room to grow as a player but I like the base that she is starting out her young career with. She has control in every aspect. She is able to serve really tough and has phenomenal ball control on serve receive. With a very strong upper body, she will only get better as the years progress. Looking forward to watching this one grow. She plays for a great program in Austin Performance.
Leah Oyewole Leah Oyewole 5'10" | OH Bishop Lynch | 2023 State TX [2023] 5-10 Outside (HS: Bishop Lynch/Club: Madfrog/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Leah is a very gifted athlete that is able to play on the pins. Miss Olewole comes in ranked as the 28th ranked prospect in the 2023 class. She has the ability to move up those rankings quickly with her skills. Even though she is only a freshman for Bishop Lynch, she hits on the left like a seasoned upperclassman. I absolutely love the way this young lady celebrates each of her kills like she just won the national championship. Her energy is electric and her teammates feed off of it. She is one of my favorite players to watch because of that enthusiasm she has on the volleyball court. It is infectious to watch. Look out for this one as she has such a high ceiling to continue to grow.
Kirby Kliafas Kirby Kliafas 5'10" | S Cypress Ranch | 2023 State TX [2023] 5-10 Setter/Outside (HS: Langham Creek/Club: Texas Tornados/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Kirby is listed as the 33rd ranked prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig State rankings. I think she can move up the list also with continued training. This stud of a player has been jump-serving bombs since she was 12 years old. The daughter of a club director also has a super high volleyball IQ. She brings all of her knowledge together to lead her team as a setter. But hold the phone, she can bang on the pins also. She is a fearless player who loves to competition. Her mom and awesome club director, JoEllen Saulsberry has groomed her for success in her wonderful and nationally known club out of the Houston area, Texas Tornados. She can score in a variety of ways as an Outside hitter as she swings hard on splits in the block, tools blockers at will, and has a great off-speed game also that she uses to keep the defense off-balance. The sky is the limit with this youngster. I’m very excited to watch her grow into the player that I think she can ultimately be.
Ana Garza Ana Garza 5'11" | OH Alvin | 2023 State TX [2023] 6-0 Middle (HS: Alvin/Club: Absolute Volleyball Academy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Ana is currently ranked as the 35th best prospect in the 2023 class. She stars for a very talented AVA program on the outskirts of the southeast side of the Houston area. AVA is a very talented program who routinely pumps out high level talent to colleges across the country. Ana is one of their stud 15’s players on a roster littered with talent. Miss Garza has exceptional power in her swing. She drives her legs hard into the ground which is a staple of the Katy Garza, club director of AVA, training in the middle. This allows Ana to be on time for such a quick tempo set from her teammates. It is a very difficult thing to teach a young player. Ana is blessed to be able to buy into the speed of approach at such a young age. It will only help her as she continues to grow into the position as the years go by.
There are many more articles to come about this particular age group and this club. Stay tuned for the next installment, as there are many players to watch out for in this star studded class.
If you know of any other players or clubs that we need to cover, please email me at nov8vb@yahoo.com. We would also love if you can spread the word about our program here at Prep Dig Texas. We love what we do and if you like our articles, please share them with your friends. Help us help the players get recruited by sharing these highlight stories with the world. Thanks so much for following us!