Tour of Texas Finals – 17s – The Efficient Defensive Specialists

<p>One of the most anticipated and competitive tournaments annually held in the Lone Star State, the Tour of Texas brought its Finals for the 15s, 16s and 17s divisions to the city of Houston this past weekend.</p> <p>It was exciting to see some of the most talented volleyball prospects from several different regions of the state competing across four different venues in H-Town under the watchful view of several college coaches.</p> <p>We paid close attention to the 17s, who played at the FAST Complex, and are featuring the ones that stood out the most in a series of positional articles during the week. In our last piece about the event, we’ll list some of the most promising defensive specialists that were in action.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kennedy Gustafson – TAV Houston 17 Adidas – HS: Summer Creek – 2023</strong></p> <p>Kennedy Gustafson was a stud for her TAV Houston 17 Adidas during the tournament. The 5’8” defensive specialist is very calm on the court and does a great job in raising her team’s level on the backcourt. Gustafson is very technical and combines that with excellent positioning. Also an aggressive server, she produced 601 digs, 623 passes and 43 aces during the last high school season with Summer Creek.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15092605/62264174041dfc0f944d90d0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99501" first="Rylee" last="Busse"] – Alamo 17 Premier – HS: Cornerstone Christian - 2023</strong></p> <p>One of the things that we liked the most about [player_tooltip player_id="99501" first="Rylee" last="Busse"] was her attitude on the court. While most defensive specialists enter the game with the goal of helping their liberos, Busse was clearly one step ahead as she wanted to share the defensive responsibilities. She worked pretty well with [player_tooltip player_id="99495" first="Alyssa" last="Manitzas"] in a connection that also worked during the high school season, where she tallied 626 passes and 315 digs for Cornerstone Christian. An excellent server and passer, the 5’10” Busse played later on as an outside hitter and also did really well at the net.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14841241/6226634b478eac04ec78c5e2" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kayla Lopez – AJV 17 Adidas – HS: Rouse - 2023</strong></p> <p>Kayla Lopez spends more time playing as an outside hitter for AJV 17 Adidas, but as her defensive skills are excellent and make a great positive impact on the team, we thought it would be a good idea to highlight her here. A recent commit to San Jose State, this 5’7” prospect fives her team a lot of passing and defensive stability with her game. Lopez has excellent positioning and great ball control and is really hard to score against when on the backcourt. She led her high school team Rouse in passes (832), digs (667) and kills (516) last season.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12990412/6213283ff31d1008b0de44c8" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sara Clark – Houston Stellar 17 Elite – HS: Deer Park - 2023 </strong></p> <p>Houston Stellar 17 Elite’s passing system gets so much stronger when Sara Clark is on the court. The 5’3” defensive specialist is not only very technical on the ball but is also extremely fast and operates well with libero Emma Carro. Clark is also an efficient server and does a good job of covering her hitters.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17195383/6227ffd5b3c86017bc0a5c26" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Alyssa Koehl – Ignite 17 Blaze – HS: Canyon - 2022</strong></p> <p>Alyssa Koehl adds a lot to Ignite 17 Blaze’s defensive game. The 5’7” defender really impresses for her ability to control hard-driven hits on the backcourt and keep balls in play that not many would. She’s also very consistent and precise with her passing. Koehl had a terrific senior season with Canyon, registering 612 digs, 487 passes and 49 aces.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15098206/618b84ed0c53e80b4cd59680" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Rhiana Reyes – Texstar 17 – HS: St. Joseph-Victoria – 2023</strong></p> <p>A key piece in Texstar 17’s game on the backcourt, Rhiana Reyes is very consistent and intelligent with her play. The 5’3” prospect thrives for her excellent positioning and reaction speed. She also pays close attention to the small details of the game and does a good job in tracking plays and covering her hitters.</p>