Top Defensive Specialists: 2021

These five Juniors have an incredibly difficult job to do for their team, sacrificing their body to keep the ball alive and working their hardest to keep their team in system. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14204209/Caitlin-Gay"><img class="alignleft wp-image-105056 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/05/caitlin-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Caitlin </a>Gay, 5’7", DS, Canby High School, Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy Gay had an interesting junior season, playing outside hitter for the Canby Cougars, even though she has played libero her entire career. With her impeccable court awareness and volleyball IQ, this transition was fairly seamless, garnering her Three Rivers League Honorable Mention. In the previous season, she was awarded Three Rivers Second Team All-League as the Cougars libero. As a freshman, she made Three Rivers First Team All-League playing libero for Lakeridge High School, before transferring to her neighborhood public school, Canby. With the help of Gay’s exceptional defense and smart attacking, the Cougars finished 3rd in the state. She is currently the libero for Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy 17-1 National. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12353318/Zoe-Nguyen">[player_tooltip player_id="91118" first="Zoe" last="Nguyen"]</a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12353318/Zoe-Nguyen"><img class="alignleft wp-image-105057 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/05/zoe-n-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>, 5’8", DS, St. Mary’s Academy, Athena Volleyball Academy Nguyen had another stellar season for St. Mary’s Academy., stepping back into her role as their primary setter. During club season, she trains as a defensive specialist, but the Blues needed a setter, and Nguyen rose to the challenge. She was awarded Three Rivers First Team All-League this past season for her exceptional play, as well as Three Rivers League Honorable Mention as a sophomore. Her all-out mentality and athleticism make her an incredibly versatile and valuable asset to any team. She is currently playing for Athena Volleyball Academy’s 18-1 Gold team and is the lone junior on the roster. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12329354/Grace-Clark"><img class="alignleft wp-image-105058 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/05/grace-c-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Grace </a>Clark, 5’5", DS, Mountainside High School, Athena Volleyball Academy Clark had another great season with the Mountainside Mavericks, helping them secure a fourth-place finish in the 6A State tournament. As their starting libero her sophomore and junior season, she was awarded Metro First Team All-League. As a freshman, she was the libero for their JV team as Mountainside was a brand new school so they did not participate in any Varsity sports. Clark moves very well on defense, using her speed and athleticism to her advantage. She is currently the libero for Athena 17-1 Gold. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqY1-0xJi71Ulgw0WVtTemA/videos"><img class="alignleft wp-image-105059 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/05/lily-snook-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="91123" first="Lily" last="Snook"]</a>, 5’7", DS, West Linn High School, North Pacific Juniors Snook had a breakout junior season, suiting up as the libero for the West Linn Lions. Snook took over the reins from the previous Lion’s libero, Snook’s older sister Ellie, who is the current libero for Portland State University. Snook was awarded Three Rivers Second Team All-League for her play this past season. With her amazing backcourt play, she helped the Lions secure a fifth-place finish in the 6A State tournament. She is a quick defender with a great ability to cover her hitters, easily picking up the seemingly impossible balls. She is currently playing for North Pacific Juniors 17-1 National team. <img class="alignleft wp-image-105060 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/05/emily-king-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="91124" first="Emily" last="King"], 5’5", DS, Summit High School, North Pacific Juniors King had a solid junior season, helping Summit High School finish sixth in the 6A State tournament. With her consistent serve receive, she puts her team in successful situations to earn the serve back quickly. She is currently playing for North Pacific Juniors 18-A National team.