Up-and-coming Fort Bend County high school volleyball star Ava Underwood will attend a new campus certain of one thing: she is a proven winner.
Underwood, who just transferred from Katy Seven Lakes High to Fulshear High for her sophomore year, is fresh from helping the Houston Skyline Juniors clinch the 15 Open National Championship at Indianapolis earlier this month.
Club director Jen Woods said the 5-foot-6 libero, or defensive specialist, “never takes a rep off.” Not only can spectators distinguish Underwood from the rest of the squad since she dons a different-colored jersey in the back-row, but they are likely to hear her direct her teammates as well.
“She’s a vocal leader for our team,” Woods told Texas Scorecard. “She’s always communicating important aspects. She’s very encouraging. She’s very competitive so she has a very natural drive that really pushes herself and her teammates.”
Woods added that Underwood’s focus on the court is on ball control: serving, passing, and, of course, defense. It is a role in which the underclassman excelled her freshman year for the Lady Spartans and definitely for the rest of her high school career as a member of a young Fulshear Chargers program.
“She’s very talented in her position,” Woods said.
A First Team All-District honoree representing Seven Lakes, Underwood will mark her third year with Skyline with a spot on the 16s roster. The website PrepVolleyball.com ranked the program No. 1 in the country thus presenting Underwood an opportunity to help turn the club into a dynasty of sorts.
“She will continue to be a rock and a major integral piece of this team’s success,” Woods said.
According to Woods, Underwood has received multiple Division I college scholarship offers. It is possible more will come as she gets acclimated with the Lady Chargers, who are among the top high school volleyball teams in the state heading into 2019-2020.