Chris Tobolski

The opening week of the high school season didn’t pass without its share of dramatics. Prestonwood Christian TX captured the Battle of the Rock; Dripping Springs TX brought home the trophy at Pearland John Turner Classic; Cy Ranch TX finished first at the KISD/CFISD tournament; and Byron Nelson became the first school from Texas to claim the title at the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii. We highlighted those happenings here. Below, we look at a few of last week’s top performing athletes from around the country. Ashlyn Seay JR OH Byron Nelson TX: A 3-star Rice commit, Seay played an instrumental role in Byron Nelson upsetting national No. 4 Mira Costa CA during Saturday’s pool play at Ann Kang. The junior recorded a team-high 16 kills and added 8 digs in the three-set victory. Kylie Kleckner JR OH Byron Nelson TX: Kleckner – a 4-star Washington recruit – came up clutch in helping Byron Nelson fend off the upset from Orange Lutheran CA during pool play at Ann Kang. She recorded 15 kills and hit .303 in the three-set victory. Kleckner was also a big part of the team’s victory against Mira Costa, when she posted 11 kills and 11 digs while hitting .409. Callie Krueger SR L Dripping Springs: Krueger is a new addition to the Tigers’ lineup this fall and the 4-star Texas commit is already paying dividends. She registered 18 digs in three sets against Argyle TX in the final of Pearland. She was just as sharp in the semifinals, when she made 16 saves in a sweep of Harlan TX. Isabella Perkins SR L Marvin Ridge NC: An Appalachian State commit, Perkins came through to help Marvin Ridge beat Reagan NC in the final of the North-South Invitational. The senior defender recorded a team-high 17 digs. Elly Randolph SO OH Reagan NC: Randolph – a 3-star recruit – had a strong outing to help Reagan fight off Wando SC in the semifinals of the North-South Invitational. She put up 12 kills and hit .520 in the three-set victory. Gabby Nichols SR MB Reagan NC: Before Reagan competed in its weekend tournament, the Raiders beat Grimsley NC in four sets. It was Nichols – a 4-star Penn State pledge – doing damage with 16 kills while hitting .345 and adding 3 blocks. Megan Hodges FR OH San Juan Hills CA: Hodges – a 5-star recruit who helped Tstreet 15 Asics capture the USAV 15 Open gold medal – had a big-time outing in a sweep of Beckman CA. The rookie sent down 15 kills and hit .367. Hanna McGinest SO OH Sierra Canyon CA: The Trailblazers relied on a pair of sophomores to carry the team to a four-game victory against JSerra CA. McGinest – a 4-star recruit – was one of them. She recorded a team-high 17 kills. Eva Jeffries SO OH Sierra Canyon CA: Jeffries – a 5-star outside – was the other half who gave Sierra Canyon a boost. She put away 14 kills. Lauren Lynch SR L Sierra Canyon CA: Lynch – a 4-star San Diego commit – was another standout during Sierra Canyon’s victory over JSerra. She finished with a match-high 24 digs. Katherine Nowak SO OH JSerra CA: JSerra had its top performers from the match against Sierra Canyon as well. One was Nowak. The 3-star recruit was also part of Tstreet 15 Asics’ gold-medal performance this summer. She had a match-high 19 kills for the Lions. Maddie Goodrich FR L JSerra CA: Another underclassmen to shine in the match was Goodrich. The freshman totaled 21 digs for JSerra in defeat. Samantha Destler JR OH Marymount CA: The Sailors were among the schools who started play last week and receive a strong effort from Destler in the team’s sweep of La Costa Canyon CA. The 3-star Washington commit was part of SCVC 16 Roxy’s gold medal in 16 Open at USAV nationals and ended the contest with 14 kills. She hit .462 to go with 9 digs and 4 aces. Sydney Black SR L Fulshear TX: The Chargers took down Preseason No. 1 Grand Oaks TX in four sets in part behind the contribution of Black. The 3-star Colorado State commit came through with 17 digs. Taylor Porter SR OH Cy Ranch TX: Porter was unstoppable as Cy Ranch defeated Grand Oaks in five sets in the final of the KISD/CFISD tournament. The 4-star Vanderbilt commit totaled 27 kills and hit .389. Sade Bello FR OH Cy Ranch TX: A 4-star freshman, Bello also shined in the final for Cy Ranch. She recorded 16 kills and hit an impressive .455. Taylor Bruce JR RS Green Hope NC: The Falcons were carried by Bruce’s effort as they took down Broughton NC in three straight. The 3-star Georgia commit had a match-high 17 kills while hitting .500. Chloe Burbage FR S Green Hope NC: Burbage – a 3-star recruit – showed her value as the freshman distributed 40 assists for Green Hope in the victory over Broughton. Cameron Gerber FR L/DS Middle Creek NC: The Mustangs relied heavily on a pair of freshmen in their five-set victory against Wakefield NC last week. Gerber registered an eye-popping 40 digs in that one. Finley Brennan FR S Middle Creek: Brennan came through in a big way as well. She dished out 36 assists in the same match. Sarah Pfiffner SR S/RS Wakeland TX: Pfiffner – a 4-star West Virginia commit – had a strong opening week. Earlier in the week she had 10 kills and 23 assists as Wakeland upset nationally-ranked Lovejoy TX in five sets. She then posted 11 kills (.435), 18 assists, 5 digs, 2 blocks and 2 aces as the Wolverines upset nationally-ranked Southlake Carroll TX in five on Saturday at the Battle of the Rock tournament. *for consideration to be featured as a top performer of the week email chris@vballrecruiter.com 

It was a busy opening week to the high school season. Half of Vballrecruiter’s Top 10 was in action, including the top four teams in the country in Grand Oaks TX, Mater Dei CA, Prestonwood Christian TX and Mira Costa CA respectively. Three of the four were involved in tournaments, while Mater Dei went 2-0 in a pair of nonleague matches. Let’s run through them below. KISD/CFISD The 48-team field was highlighted by our Preseason national No. 1 in Grand Oaks, the reigning UIL 6A champion. However, it’s very unlikely Grand Oaks will occupy the top spot once our next Top 50 is released in early September. Not only did Grand Oaks fall to Fulshear TX earlier in the week, Grand Oaks was taken down in the final by Cy Ranch TX. After winning its first seven contests, including beating Seven Lakes TX in the semifinals, it was Cy Ranch finishing undefeated and not Grand Oaks. Cy Ranch prevailed in five, 18-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-12, 15-8. It was a great start to the new season for Cy Ranch, which also beat national No. 35 Cinco Ranch TX in the semifinals. Cinco Ranch finished runner-up to Grand Oaks in last year’s 6A state final, meaning Cy Ranch beat both 6A finalists in back-to-back outings. Joining Grand Oaks and Cinco Ranch in losing just one time were Bridgeland TX and Stratford TX. Bridgeland took its only loss to Cinco Ranch in Friday’s challenge play. Stratford fell to College Park in Friday’s pool play. Cy Ranch, Grand Oaks, Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes and Bridgeland are all scheduled to attend Volleypalooza in two weeks. BATTLE OF THE ROCK We highlighted Prestonwood Christian’s victory here, as well as tournament Show Stoppers. Prestonwood, ranked No. 3 nationally to begin the year, started off rocky and was upset by national No. 27 Southlake Carroll TX to start the tournament. However, Southlake Carroll lost its next outing to Wakeland TX, which allowed Prestonwood to still finish first in the pool. That kept Prestonwood and Cornerstone Christian TX, ranked No. 14 in the country, on a collision course. Prestonwood swept Cornerstone, 25-19, 25-19, in the championship match to bring home the trophy. Prestonwood is also set to participate in Volleypalooza. Prestonwood and Cornerstone are both returning to the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas next month. ANN KANG INVITATIONAL A Texas team made history in national No. 14 Byron Nelson. The Bobcat finished on top of the 16-team field at the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii. With it, Byron Nelson became the first school from the state to earn the tournament title. But like Prestonwood, Bryon Nelson took a loss along the way. Byron Nelson fell to Highland Park TX in Day 2 pool play but still finished first after taking down national No. 4 Mira Costa in three sets during Saturday’s pool play. Highland Park lost to Mira Costa in straight sets during Day 1 pool play and finished third in the pool to miss out on the semifinals. Highland Park fell to Palos Verdes CA in its first pool match to contribute to its third-place finish in pool. That left Bryon Nelson and Mira Costa advancing to the semifinals. In the other pool, it was Redondo Union CA and host ‘Iolani HI finishing 1-2 and making the final four. Byron Nelson swept ‘Iolani in one semifinal while Redondo Union upset Mira Costa in the other. In the final, Byron Nelson swept, 25-16, 25-17. Byron Nelson is back in action this coming weekend at the NorthWest ISD tournament. Also in attendance is Highland Park, which finished fifth in Hawaii. Another Texas school – Colleyville Heritage – finished 11th at Ann Kang and is also playing at the NorthWest tournament this weekend. Host ‘Iolani and Mira Costa finished tied for third. Redondo Union, Mira Costa and ‘Iolani are set to attend the Durango Fall Classic together in September. PEARLAND JOHN TURNER CLASSIC Dripping Springs TX, ranked No. 8 in our Preseason Top 50, is off to a flying start at 12-0. The record is bolstered by the team’s performance at Pearland, where it went 9-0. Dripping Springs outlasted Argyle TX, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, in the championship match. Drippings Springs swept No. 31 Harlan TX in the semifinals. Argyle did the same to Ridge Point TX. It was Harlan’s only loss in the tournament. Fulshear suffered just one loss as well, falling to Ridge Point in the quarterfinals. NORTH-SOUTH INVITATIONAL This two-day tournament featured teams from North and South Carolina. It was Marvin Ridge NC sweeping past national No. 42 Reagan NC, 25-23, 25-19, in the final. Marvin Ridge beat Cardinal Newman SC in one semifinal. In the other, Reagan clipped Wando SC, 22-25, 26-24, 16-14, to advance. Marvin Ridge lost during Day 1 pool play to Legion Collegiate SC, which fell to Wando in three sets, 25-17, 16-25, 19-17, in the quarterfinals. NORTH EAST/NORTHSIDE ISD A two-day tournament held in San Antonio, it was Brennan TX defeating Alexander TX, 23-25, 25-20, 25-16, in the championship match and finishing 6-0. Brennan downed Davenport TX, 17-25, 25-19, 25-20, in its semifinal contest. Alexander fought off Johnson TX, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20, in the other semi. MANSFIELD ISD The three-day, 32-team field ended with Lake Ridge TX sweeping El Paso Americas TX, 25-21, 25-14. Lake Ridge finished the event by going 9-0 and dropping just one set. AISD JASON LANDER INVITATIONAL Another three-day event, this one featured 37 teams after one dropped out. It concluded with Austin TX beating Bowie TX, 25-21, 25-22, in straight sets. Austin went 9-0 and didn’t drop a set.