Rockwood Uncommitted’s Shine in Atlanta

<p>We took the opportunity to catch up on Rockwood Thunder 18's Navy and White teams in Atlanta over the weekend. Both teams finished 5th in their respective divisions. Navy already owns an American bid for Nationals coming from their region. They went 6-1, with their sole loss coming in the gold bracket in the USA division. White had a record of 5-3 and also took their final loss in the gold bracket. Here are some of the uncommitted 2021 players and notes we gathered in watching matches. We searched their recruiting profile pages to determine if they were still uncommitted.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Rockwood Thunder 18 Navy</strong></em></span></p> <p><strong>Maureen Matthews / MB / 5-11 </strong></p> <p>Matthews is an active middle for this Rockwood team. One thing that immediately stood out was her ability to find open space on the floor. Whether it was a tip to a vacant zone or cutting her swings, she was effective all weekend. We also noticed she has a nice aggressive serve and was able to score aces throughout the tournament. Her back row play after serving was really good for a middle, as she did play all the way around during the high school season. Defensively, she was able to get touches and blocks in the middle. She would be a perfect fit in the right Division II/NAIA program. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="41755" first="Addison" last="Fastenau"] / RS / 5-9</strong></p> <p>We loved Fastenau’s aggressiveness from the right pin in the matches we checked out. She could be considered undersized at 5-9, but she attacks with a mission and scored at high-levels. Her footwork was impressive as a right-handed opposite. She does a great job in her transition to give herself the right angle for her attacks. Another area of her game that stood out was her blocking. Fastenau gets great reach on her block jump and presses well over the net. Her technique in her swing block was good and explosive. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Rockwood Thunder 18 White</strong></em></span></p> <p><strong>Lauren Erke / OH / 5-10</strong></p> <p>Erke was a standout performer in our eyes throughout the tournament. The six-rotation pin is athletic and displayed the ability to adjust and hang in the air when necessary. She mixes up her shot selections accordingly and reads the blockers well. Defensively, she was able to hold her own in making plays and saving rallies. </p> <p><strong>Kaitlyn Goetz / OH / 5-9</strong></p> <p>We really liked what we saw in the play of Goetz in the matches we checked out. She is powerful and lets it rip on on every swing. You will get a face shot if you aren't aware, as she has a wicked line shot. She tools the block to score with great success. She can be an asset to a small program who is needing someone to rotate in and score points right away. </p> <p><strong>Paige Gordon / L / 5-6</strong></p> <p>The thing that stood out the most when watching Gordon was her instincts. She gets her hands up quickly to save not only herself but to keep balls in play. Her ability to get touches on balls, numerous with one arm was impressive. </p> <p><strong>Claire Hackney / DS / 5-7</strong></p> <p>Hackney stood out right away when watching this team when she rotated into the back row. There were numerous times she used her quickness to track down balls heading to the corners. She is a high-effort player who covers tons of floor space. Her passing was typically right on target and can definitely help a college program. </p> <p><strong>Abby Williams / MB / 5-11</strong></p> <p>Williams has the make-up and athleticism to play at the next level. She appears raw offensively, but definitely showed potential and could develop in the right program. We did notice she was solid in transitioning off the net to make herself available after a block attempt. Her length and speed moving side to side defensively is something to build on. She did well in slowing down attacks with touches to help the defenders. </p>