Spike Sport #6: The All-Tournament Team

<p>Last weekend ranked high up there among the busiest in the current club season with a handful of hugely important tournaments going on around the country, including National Qualifiers in Indiana and Washington.</p> <p>These events drew several top teams from Texas away from the Lone Star State for the weekend, which gave us to watch some teams that normally fly under-the-radar in action in the tournaments that were going on in the Houston area.</p> <p>Our choice was the Spike Sport #6, which reunited 11 teams from the 17s age group for a single day of competition in Missouri City. We’ve highlighted the players that stood out over the course of the week and with our positional breakdowns completed, it’s time to share our All-Tournament Team selection.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Liberty Scoggins – Setter - TX Legacy 17 National – HS: Klein Collins – 2024</strong></p> <p>Probably the craftiest setter in the entire tournament, Liberty Scoggins took her TX Legacy 17 national team a long way with her intelligent and entertaining playing style. Very smart with her ball distribution, she’s one of those setters who potentialize her hitters by putting them in a great position to score over and over. Scoggins is also very positive on the court and excels on the backcourt with good serving and defense.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Aleria Lane – Right Side - AVA TX 17 Power – HS: King – 2023</strong></p> <p>Aleria Lane’s ceiling is still far from reached, but her game is already good enough to make of her the best right side in the tournament in our opinion. Very long and athletic, she was a consistent scoring threat for her AVA TX 17 Power team and provided the team with an excellent blocking presence that helped shut down opposing outside hitters. The 5’11” Lane is also very versatile and can play on the left as well.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sophie Harlan – Outside Hitter - H Skyline 17 White – HS: Memorial – 2023</strong></p> <p>A technical and explosive outside hitter, Sophie Harlan offered a lot to her Houston Skyline 17 White team. She was the team’s go-to scoring option but also contributed to a great extent on the backcourt. Standing at 5’11”, Harlan uses her size really well to score points with power, but also knows when to put the ball on the floor with a tip or roll shot.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Grace Ramberansingh – Outside Hitter - Houston Force 17-1 – 2023</strong></p> <p>Grace Ramberansingh’s aggressiveness on the court makes of her, above anything, a very exciting prospect to watch. The dynamic outside hitter plays the game with tremendous intensity and is a handful to team with at the net because of her power. As with Harlan, she also mixes hard-driven hits and finesse plays really well. Ramberansingh is also an asset from the service line with her excellent serving.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="188124" first="Kendall" last="Wilson"] – Middle Blocker - Houston Force 17-1 – HS: International Leadership of Texas - 2023</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="188124" first="Kendall" last="Wilson"] has all the tools to play any position at the net. She’s very tall at 6’1", long and athletic, but also tremendously skilled. She’s a force with her ability to right from the left, right, or middle on offense and also stands out for her blocking. Wilson has the complete package as she’s also an excellent passer and a player who can make a difference from the service line.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Makenzie Briles – Middle Blocker – AVA TX 17 Power – HS: Texas City - 2023</strong></p> <p>A dominant force at the net for her AVA TX 17 Power team, Makenzie Briles is a very active and efficient middle blocker. She plays taller than her 5’10” frame because of her long arms and excellent movement at the net. She’s powerful with her offense and is very intelligent and technical when stopping opponents with her blocking.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Eliza Cosme – A1 Elite 17 Royal – 2024</strong></p> <p>Eliza Cosme’s defensive skills were some of the main strengths of her team A1 Elite 17 Royal. Very mobile and active on the backcourt, the libero is impressive with her ability to dig balls and her consistent passing. Cosme clearly reads the game really well and she was often no more than a couple of steps away from recovering lost balls.</p>