Recapping the Tour of Texas

The first tour stop set the tone with elite competition across the 17s, 16s, and 15s divisions. Loaded power pools, dramatic challenge matches, and championship-level performances highlighted a weekend that featured some of the top prospects and programs in the country.

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17s

OK Charge 17 UA came ready to compete in Challenge Rounds, led by strong performances from green-level prospects libero Kenzie Smith (Colorado State) and OH Sophie Payne (MTSU). In a pair of tightly contested three-set matches, OK Charge earned wins over Excel 17 National Red and then edged Alliance 17 Gold 15-13 in the third to secure a spot in the Gold Bracket.

Houston Juniors 17 Elite survived a thriller against Club V 17 Prodigée, winning 30-28, 15-25, 16-14 to advance to the Gold Bracket. Once there, they knocked off OK Charge in three sets to set up a championship matchup with the powerhouse TAV 17 Black Jon.

Austin Performance 17 Adidas was rolling for much of the weekend behind silver-level prospect Gentry Barker (San Diego State), and it came as no surprise to see them reach the Gold Bracket. They eventually fell to TAV, finishing with a strong tie for third place.

TAV 17 Black Jon capped off an impressive weekend, winning the first tour stop while dropping just one set over three days. In the finals, they defeated Houston Juniors 17 Elite 25-20, 25-21. Gold-level prospect Sophee Peterson (Texas A&M) led the way, supported by silver-level prospects Brynn Stevens (SMU) terminating on the left and Nyla Livings (LSU) controlling the middle.

16s

This heavyweight division lived up to the hype.

Wave 16-Scott bounced back in a big way after a rough first day in a loaded power pool, going 0-3. They responded with a strong showing in the seeding pool and Challenge Matches, finishing 3-1 and winning both challenge matches to earn a spot in the Gold Bracket. An impressive turnaround in a stacked field.

TAV 16 Yun, led by two of the top players in the country for the 2028 class, Maya Ogbogu (Gold) and Sarah Floyd (Diamond), cruised through day one with a 3-0 power pool performance and challenge match wins to reach Gold. They matched up with Dallas rival Skyline 16 Royal Paul, a team that battled through an up-and-down start to the weekend. Skyline, paced by silver-level prospect Taylor Johnson, won both Challenge Matches, including a straight-set win over Tstreet 16-Bailey, before pulling out a 15-11 third-set win over TAV to advance to the final.

A5 16-Gabe featured the best player in the gym, and she proved why. Kari Knotts (Diamond), a top 2029 recruit, took her team, along with fellow OH Leilani Lamar (Gold) and stud libero Bethany Benjamin (Red), to a title. A5 opened the weekend with a tough three-set loss to TAV (25-22, 22-25, 11-15), but from there it was all wins. Their second Challenge Match against Alamo was razor-thin, but A5 escaped with a 15-13 third-set victory to reach Gold. They defeated Wave 16-Scott in straight sets (25-21, 25-20) before facing Skyline in the final.

In the championship match, Knotts was unstoppable, showing why she was the top player in the gym and a leading scorer for Team USA’s 19U squad. A5 16-Gabe claimed Tour Stop 1 with a straight-set win over Skyline, 25-22, 25-21.

15s

Rematch of the 2025 USAV Open National Championship Semifinal

The 15s division was every bit as competitive as the 16s, if not more.

Wave 15-Brennan put together an outstanding weekend, with their only two losses coming against the eventual finalists. They opened day one with a 3-0 power pool performance and followed it up with one of the most exciting matches of the weekend on day two, falling just short to reigning 14 Open National Champions Dallas Skyline 15 Royal-Ryan in a 23-25, 27-25, 15-17 heartbreaker. Wave rebounded by winning both Challenge Matches convincingly to earn a spot in the Gold Bracket and a showdown with Madfrog 15’s N Green.

Dallas Skyline had one of the best overall weekends of any club, placing both of their 15s teams into the Gold Bracket. Skyline 15 Royal-David suffered just one power pool loss to AJV 15 Adidas, falling 15-12 in the third set. That set up a rematch in the Challenge Round, where Skyline responded with a dominant three-set win (25-20, 17-25, 15-5) to advance. This set up an all-Skyline semifinal, where Royal-David eventually fell to Royal-Ryan in a tight three-set battle, 25-27, 25-16, 15-10. Royal-David finished tied for third alongside Wave 15-Brennan at the Austin stop.

That brought us to the championship, a rematch of last year’s 14 Open National Championship semifinal, between Madfrog 15’s N Green and Dallas Skyline 15 Royal-Ryan. Madfrog entered the final a perfect 8-0 on the weekend. Gold-level prospect Peyton Smith and her squad rose to the moment, defeating Skyline for the second time in three sets, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13, to capture first place.

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Standout players from the weekend:

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2027s:

Kenzie Smith, OK Charge (Colorado St)

Sophie Payne, OK Charge (MTSU)

Willtrace Ngoh, Houton Jrs (USC)

Gentry Barker, Austin Performance (San Diego St)

Sophee Peterson, TAV (Texas A&M)

Nyla Livings, TAV (LSU)

Brynn Stevens, TAV (SMU)

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2028s:

Maya Ogbogu, TAV (Gold)

Sarah Floyd, TAV (Diamond)

Taylor Johnson, Dallas Skyline (Silver)

Sade Bello, Houston Jrs (Silver)

Leilani Lamar, A5 (Gold)

Bethany Benjamin, A5 (Red)

Trynity Alsaid, Madfrog (Elite Orange)

Summer Tukua, Wave (Elite Red)

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2029s:

Kari Knotts, A5 (Diamond)

Jentri Denwalt, OK Charge (Orange)

Soleil Rhodes, Dallas Skyline (Gold)

Skye Lincoln, Dallas Skyline (Gold)

Baylee Wilson, Wave (Silver)

Olivia Kitur, Madfrog (Elite Red)

Grace Hengler, Madfrog (Elite Red)

Peyton Smith, Madfrog (Gold)