I was doing some searching around trying to figure out who we have coming in the 2011 class for the volleyball team but haven't found anything yet. Does anyone know who we have or has seen a press release on aggieathletics? Usually they put it out in the spring. I know there is a spring tournament coming up in Houston that I might go check out and see if we have any new faces.

I did happen to stumble upon a commitment for the 2012 class in this article:

http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/pearce-senior-volleyball-player-caroline.html

It just so happens she plays for Texas Advantage on LJ Sariego's team, so hopefully we can snag a few more good commitments based on his time with A&M last fall. I don't know what her ranking is but she is listed in the USA Volleyball pipeline and it's been a while since any of our high school people were in that program (Maybe Kelsey Black or Sarah Ammerman?)

Apparently the 2012 commit, Shelby Sullivan, is also Laurie Corbelli's cousin according to her bio on USA volleyball. So probably not too much to get excited about, although she still sounds like a really good player!

I was just about to post about Sullivan....
We have a OH from Highland Park Mendanhal (sp)

She does not fit the mold of what top teams are getting at OH position... 5'10+ decent player but ball control not near level of Black or Ringel for that matter...not as good as either on pin attacking.

This will leave roster of OH after next year as:

Heather Renyolds
Ashley Vrana
Margaret Mendenhall (sp)

not what is looking good for us at that position

Looks like Margeaux comes in at 6'...and approach reach over 10'. I haven't seen her play - can't comment on that.
http://i-skyline.com/internet/Profile.asp?AthleteID=76&TeamID=2

I haven't seen any other kids listed on richkern.com for this year or next.

Added Sierra Patrick to the Class of 2012 from Lake Travis a 5'10/11" pin hitter. She has hops but fits the mold of the type of player we have been going for the last few years

Patrick is a beast in both vball and track, we got a good one

Wicked needs a can of positive!

Just fyi, this was linked on that skyline profile page ... Margeaux Mendenhall Volleyball Skills Video

Pretty basic video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEDH2wurYgo

Seems like all the top VBall talent in Texas leaves the state. I don't follow it closely, but my wife coaches and over the last 5 years has coached in Houston and DFW. The two best players I have see in all the games I have watched are both committed to USC (Kiara ??? from Clear Lake and Ebony ??? from Lovejoy and plays at TAV). Some other studs I have seen include:

1. Setter for Cy Falls, super athletic lefty, I think she was committed to UT (I think she is graduating this year)
2. Hebron had a pair of middles this last year that were both good, but one was a true stud. She was going to Florida, the other was going to UCLA. I watched this team several times last year and I told my wife if they didn't win state then the coach should be fired... well, they won state.
3. Flower Mound Marcus has a really good lefty who plays on the RS. She has high end D1 talent IMO. She will be a senior I think, no idea where she is going.
4. 2 years ago Sarah Shaw at Westlake was a stud (though very lazy). She went to USC as well I believe.

As for some up and coming talent, Coppell has several Juniors who were on the TAV team that won nationals the year before last (with Ebony). Erica and Chi both have high upside (Erica probably belongs on the outside, but she plays middle, Chi plays middle and is just a freak athlete).

we are dallas at regional vball tournament. saw coach corbellie, as well as every other coach of college vball.

last weekend was the open division.

lots of good players.

tav has all the coaches watching their games.

JT-There were open division games this weekend. Last weekend was the younger girls. This weekend was the boys plus the older girls (and the 12 year olds for some reason). And yes, I saw the Corbelli's up there yesterday along with damn near every other college coach in the country.

The TAV team I referenced earlier in my post was in the Championship game today against Sunshine 16 Westside. Not sure who won as the website still hasn't been updated. Tournament may be running behind today.

thanks goose. I should have checked the site and posted, i was there helping my wife. she coaches a 16's team. Adam Johnson Volleyball Club. I am learning the game.

Yeah, my wife coaches as well so I end up having to go to lots of these tournaments. Its a little uncomfortable sometimes when you go to a tournament with not many people in the stands and there you are by yourself in the corner of the gym (a late 20's guy watching a bunch of 15 year old girls...).

The TAV 16's team lost in the finals to the LA club team. Both teams will be at nationals though.

Goose,

Texas is producing more elite volleyball talent than ever; and, the Pac 10 is really stepping in. Of course, the state of California still produces the best all-around players, IMO.

A couple of tweeks to what you posted:

1) 2012 MB Kiara Wright is committed to USC; 2012 MB Molly McCage of Klein Collins is committed to Texas; from most of what I have seen, McCage is the stud; came up big in last summer's international junior play for the USA with very big numbers.

2) 2013 MB Ebony Nwanebu of Lovejoy committed to USC last week; 2013 Setter, Chloe Collins attends Cypress Woods H.S. and committed to Texas her freshman season; she has two seasons left to go in high school.

3) Not positive, but Texas only had one scholarship to hand out for the 2013 season; not sure if that played a role in where Nwanebu landed, but USC definitely got a good one

4) Hebron was great last season winning the 5A title. 6'3 MB Tiffany Baker is headed to Tennessee; her club coach was a former Lady Vol assistant, so that could have played a huge factor. 6'0 Olivia Okoro is an undersized MB headed to UCLA. Most (if not all) volleyball recruiting services have 6'2 MB Kat Bell of North Mesquite as the higher ranked MB, and she signed with Texas.

6'2 Sarah Shaw of Westlake had a good freshman campaign at USC; 6'4 MB Lauren of Houston Statford had a great junior season at USC in 2010.

Cal-Berkeley has several players from Texas, including 6'2Adrienne Gehan of the metroplex (who started for last season's NCAA runner-up), and setter Elly Barret of Austin Westlake.

Stanford has Janet Walker from Houston, and also has QB Andrew Luck's sister as a walk-on, I believe.

Washington has very good player from Austin Bowie in Becky Perry, and received a commitment from Lake Travis' junior setter.

With Nebraska no longer in the Big 12, this conference will have to fight the SEC for third best behind the Pac 12 and Big 10. We'll see if there is an increase in kids from the state of Texas flocking to greener pastures.

Nice post and thanks for the elaboration/clarification on my post. Can't believe the cy woods setter is only a soph., she is unbelievable. As for Kiara not being THE stud, you may be right, but she is unbelievably athletic and has progressed at an alarming rate from her freshman to junior year.

No doubt Mick Haley offered Kiara early for a reason; and, she might very well turn out to be better than McCage when it is all said and done. I was speaking more from a point in time perspective as of the 2010 USA junior volleyball summer season.

Goose you going to Austin may 7 8 ?

What team does Ur wife coach?

Most good vball players leave Texas because there aren't enough good programs in the state. You have Texas who has been dominant, Baylor and A&M have been pretty good the last couple of years, and thats really it. Tech is horrendous, I dont know much about TCU, and Rice is decent for how tough it is to recruit to. Baylor has a really good 2012 recruiting class as does Texas

Presently, tu is the only real in-state option for an elite Texas high school player. LC is a dead coach walking and everyone, players, parents, and high school coaches, knows it. Texas A&M volleyball has become a Title IX token.

We just a commit from 2012 outside hitter Angela Lowak and 2012 middle jazzmine babers both from Austin Juniors 17 Mizuno!

So why is the V-Ball program not on par with all the other programs on campus?

Just asking.

2012 is looking mighty good to me. Angela Lowak, Jazzmin Babers and Sierra Patrick all play for Austin Juniors 17 Mizuno, which is currently ranked #4 nationally. Shelby Sullivan and Lowak both played on the USA National Youth Team (USA Volleyball) last spring and they won the gold at the NORCECA tournament in Guatemala. All four of them were either on a preseason or a postseason all-state team or both (honorable mention or better) and one was All-American honorable mention. Here's what I found on the Austin Juniors website:

http://www.austinsportscenter.com/index.php?pid=2175

If it doesn't come thru as a link, cut and paste into your browser or go to www.austinsportscenter.com, Austin Junior Volleyball, AJV News, High School Accolades (link is at the top right of screen).

Obviously these girls are from great programs...my question is are they the creme de la creme of those programs, middle of the road, or bottom of the barrell? Can be valuable to A&M either way, but it does matter.

Looked up some records on some of them. All-state honorable mentions and the like. Not bad, but nothing above and beyond your typical D-1 player from the accolades.

The three girls from Austin Juniors had offers from schools like Michigan, North Carolina, Missouri among others. These girls are starters on the 17 AJV team as well.

That AJV 17 Mizuno team is loaded. Even if these three we're talking about weren't starters, what you need to know is that eight out of the ten girls on that team made an All-State list (coaches' picks and/or sportwriter's picks), and four made an All-American list by prepvolleyball.com.

i've been out of the juniors seen a bit, but I just saw on Darby Graff from East Texas say she is coming to A&M. Have no idea whether she is getting a scholly, hoping to be invited to walk on, or just go to school there.

http://www.richkern.com/vb/recruits/conf.asp?Div=DI&VBYear=2012&conf=Big+12

Good to know, thanks for the info all.

Prepvolleyball released top recruiting classes

Texas #1 with Kat Bell, Haley Eckerman, and katherine Hutson

Missouri #22 and Iowa State #25

Those in High Honorable Mention or Honorable Mention are Baylor, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Rice, TCU and SMU also in the HHM/HM list as well as Yale and Emory and D3 school

We are not listed however that is expected with only one scholie available and no seniors from last year...

Will be curious as to ranking next year with Patrick, Lowak, Sullivan etc coming in. Partick and Lowak can fly for sure.

I am one of Darby Graff's grandfathers, and a former Aggie golfer...let me share some things about her: Darby is from Hallsville H.S. in East Texas, will be senior there this Fall, and is a standout in volleyball, basketball, and track. She was 2010 Dist. 14-4A volleyball MVP, Top Hitter, and an All-State selection. 1st team All-Dist. in basketball. Darby is also a "high-flyer"...she won the 2011 4A State High Jump Championship in May with a 5"8" jump (personal best this Spring was 5'9" at Pine Tree meet, jumped 5'8" in 3 or 4 meets)...and finished 2nd at the Charles Austin Invitational High Jump in San Marcos last month where over 20 "champions" were invited. Incidentally, in each of these she bested Sierra Patrick. USA Track and Field 2011 World Youth Championships - Leading U.S. Candidates & ESPN Rise show her to be ranked 6th nationally on the most watched list for high jump. Most common comment from opponents in East Texas: "She's a beast!" Her great grandfather graduated from A&M (1920) and her grandfather (1967)...she has ALWAYS WANTED to be an AGGIE, and has now been recruited as a scholarship player by Coach Corbelli and assistants!!!

Darby!!! Maybe she can be the next 3 sport letter winner like Stacy Sykora !

Here's hoping she helps elevate volleyball to the same level as her other two sports! (maybe she can spend some time in the spring perfecting her high jump also)

Hmmmm, maybe a Destiny Hooker-Track/vball type??

thanks for comments...Darby is hoping to be able to high jump as well as play volleyball, I believe. no basketball.

Austin Juniors 17 Mizuno, which includes 2012 recruits Jazzmin Babers, Sierra Patrick and Angela Lowak, won the 17 Open National Championship this afternoon in Atlanta.