February 01, 2008
Texas A&M volleyball player Kelsey Black (Amarillo, Texas) has been named to PrepVolleyball.com?™s list of 2007 high school All-Americans. In addition, Aggie teammate Chelsea Ringel (Arlington, Texas) received honorable mention on the website?™s annual list of the top high school volleyball players in the nation.
John Tawa, who compiles the comprehensive list, gave the following stipulation when soliciting high school coaches for names of players to be considered for All-American honors:
?To be a high school All-American, you must have made a massive impact on your high school team. ?'Massive?™ is subjective, but at a minimum requires that you be the best player on your team and one of the top 3-5 players in your state regardless of class, except for volleyball hotbeds like California, Texas, Indiana and Illinois, where you must be among the 10 best high school players regardless of class.?
It is the second consecutive year PrepVolleyball.com has credited Black with the prestigious accolade.
Black (5-11) and Ringel (6-0) were highly decorated outside hitters throughout their prep careers, starring at Amarillo High School and James Martin High School, respectively. Both were ranked in the top 50 in PrepVolleyball.com?™s Top 100 Senior Aces published in September, with Ringel listed at No. 40 and Black coming in at No. 42. In addition, both were three-time all-state selections by the Texas Girls Coaches Association and have participated in numerous USA Volleyball High Performance Camps.
Black and Ringel both graduated high school in December and began attending classes at A&M and training with the Aggies in January. The Aggies are tentatively scheduled to compete in their first spring exhibition match on April 5. The complete spring competition schedule, including opponents, locations and times, will be announced later.
More on Black?...
Black was recently tabbed All-American honorable mention on Mizuno/Volleyball?™s list of 2007 Girls High School All-Americans, Volleyball announced in its February issue. The 2007 District 2-5A Offensive Player of the Year capped her high school career by being named to the state all-tournament team after leading Amarillo High School to its second consecutive Texas 5A high school state title in November. The Lady Sandies, who became the first Texas Class 5A team to repeat as state champions in more than 20 years, finished 43-1 and ranked No. 2 in the nation in 2007.
Black completed her illustrious high school career having led Amarillo to an impressive 129-5 (.963) in her three seasons as a starter.
A PrepVolleyball.com All-American as a junior, Black also was listed on Volleyball Magazine?™s Top 25 Underclassmen to Watch list after directing Amarillo to a 45-1 record and its first of back-to-back state titles in 2006. She led the Lady Sandies in kills and made her second consecutive appearance on the Texas Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Class 5A all-state second team and also was a member of the Amarillo Globe-News Volleyball Super Team.
Black made her first appearance on the all-state team as a sophomore after the Lady Sandies went 41-3 and advanced to the region semifinals. She was recognized as a PrepVolleyball.com Soph 79 and garnered honorable mention on LoneStarVolleyball.com?™s 2005 All-Texas Team. Following her sophomore campaign, Black was one of 27 players in the nation to be named to the USAV Girls National High Performance Camp roster and led the USA Youth Red to a silver medal in the international junior division of the USAV HP Championships.
More on Ringel?...
Ringel gained national notoriety in 2004, as she was named to PrepVolleyball.com?™s ?Frosh 59?. Only the second freshman to play varsity in Martin?™s 23-year history, Ringel was selected Newcomer of the Year and named All-Texas Team honorable mention by LoneStarVolleyball.com. In addition, the Dallas Morning News proclaimed Ringel as its All-Area Newcomer of the Year and described her as playing ?like a veteran with the juniors and seniors? after leading the Warriors to a 35-8 record.
As a sophomore, Ringel was named to PrepVolleyball.com?™s Soph 79 and was a finalist for the website?™s High School Sophomore of the Year after leading Martin to a district championship, the Texas Class 5A state title and a 38-7 record. She was named to the state all-tournament team, and she also made her first of three consecutive appearances on the Texas Girls Coaches Association?™s all-state team.
The following summer, Ringel was named to the U.S. Girls?™ Youth National Team roster for the NORCECA Girls?™ Youth Championship. In addition, her club team, Texas Advantage 16 Asics, took third place at the 2006 Girls?™ 16 Open Tournament Gold Division.
Ringel, whose sister, Brittany, was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter as an outside hitter for the nationally ranked UCLA Bruins (2001-04), was the District 8-5A Attacker of the Year as a junior and was named to the TSWA all-state second team, as well as the Dallas Morning News all-area second team.
This past season, Ringel led the Warriors to a 38-8 record, a co-district title and the state region finals before being eliminated by Black?™s title-bound Amarillo team.