GJNC Previews: Madfrog 15’s N Black

<p>The most important moment of the season is just around the corner for teams from the 15s, 16s and 17s age group from around the country as the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 26-July 5.</p> <p>As many as 728 teams are expected to compete in the 15 divisions for these three age groups and the state of Texas will, of course, be well-represented in the tournament with more than 50 teams expected to make the trip to Nevada.</p> <p>During the next few weeks, we'll use this space to present the Lone Star state representatives in the tournament, recapping their performances during the club season and highlighting some of their top prospects.</p> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15's N Black</strong></p> <p>Representing the strong [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] volleyball program from the Dallas area, 15's N Black will be one of the teams competing in the 15 USA division. With head coach Olaya ‘Yaya' Pazo at the helm, the squad has had some strong finishes this season, including a second-place at the ASICS Show Me Qualifier, a third at the Adidas Lone Star Classic and a fifth at the Texas President's Day Invitational. They won 41 and lost just 15 of the matches they played in 2021.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNirMLjMRAF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNirMLjMRAF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] VOLLEYBALL Official (@[program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last='']vball)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <p><strong>Isabel Thingpen – Middle Blocker – 2024</strong></p> <p>Isabel Thingpen is a difference-maker for [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15's N Black with her six-foot frame. The middle blocker uses her size really well to make life difficult for opposing hitters and to send overpasses right back across the net. She has good timing on her offense and scores at ease due to her impressive reach. Her long arms are also very effective when blocking, if not to score the point, to take power off the ball and help defenders. Thingpen still has a way to go in regards to her technique and movement on the court, but working with such a strong program, she'll quickly get where she needs to be.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13781823/60874a0690f9ad021cb4242e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Gabriella Ashcraft – Setter – 2024</strong></p> <p>Gabriella Ashcraft is one of the most talented players in [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15's N Black roster. She has good size for the position at 5'8” and also checks all other boxes as a setter. Ashcraft has a great touch on the ball and does an excellent job with her distribution. She likes to mix up with her offense, calling for different combinations and is impressively consistent with her accuracy. She typically takes part in beach volleyball tournaments in the area and has developed a strong all-around game because of that.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13781824/60b7c0a76e8ba706145373ff" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Catherine McWhorter – Outside Hitter – HS: Pearce – 2024</strong></p> <p>Catherine McWhorter brings a lot of power to [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15's N Black's offense from the left side of the net. The 5'10” outside hitter has a quick and powerful right arm which she uses to hammer balls across the net. She's lethal when in-system but is surprisingly really effective too when in transition as she holds off on her power and uses her high volleyball IQ and her finesse to figure out which is the best way to put the ball on the floor.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13781757/608b4f8a5eeca409e4e6b6d0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>