Strong California Performers Dazzle in the Windy City
To be completely transparent I’m a Midwest guy and whenever a California team gets to play in the Central Time Zone, I get really excited. I think the Midwest teams feel the same way. When California teams come our way…
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Continue ReadingTo be completely transparent I’m a Midwest guy and whenever a California team gets to play in the Central Time Zone, I get really excited. I think the Midwest teams feel the same way. When California teams come our way it’s a different style of volleyball. Overall, the players have a more diverse skill set with most of them being able to get touches on a beach all year round, they have the bright colors on their jerseys, and overall just have the California swag (which I mean that in the best way possible). Also, I think when Midwest people see the California teams come, we’d be happy to take a plane back with them as it is still under 40 degrees in the upper Midwest. Here are some California athletes who stormed the Windy City this past weekend.
Sunshine 17 LA
I was able to watch a little bit of this Sunshine squad in 17 Open on Saturday while they continued to advance and was able to watch and full match and then some as they took on a team with over 55 wins and only two losses on the season in Circle City. This may have been one of the best matches of the tournament. I was captivated by both teams, but was in awe of Sunshine as they played with so much intensity, fire, and had a skilled all around lineup that will be one that will be scary come late June.
With their 6-2 system with Sydney Floyd and Emily Wen, they were able to really utilize all of their attackers in a variety of ways. They were able to use their pins in multiple positions and got their middles involved. Circle City is so disciplined and organized on defense – so tough to score points against, but with two good setters who can put the ball where it’s needed, the Sunshine offense was really able to execute.
Olivia Babcock Olivia Babcock 6'3" | OH Sierra Canyon | 2023 State #13 Nation CA and Torrey Stafford Torrey Stafford 6'0" | OH Marymount | 2023 State #20 Nation CA will be two players on this squad who will be heading to Final Four power in Pittsburgh. These two are highly effective, but yet bring a different style to the table. Babcock has the size to play on both pins. She has a high contact point where she can use a variety of angles to score points. She also has a dirty top spin serve that was hitting the floor before teams were able to get a touch. Torrey Stafford Torrey Stafford 6'0" | OH Marymount | 2023 State #20 Nation CA is electric, so exciting where she is explosive with her approach and has such a violent arm swing. Sunshine is able to use her as a point scorer on both pins and will run routes where she can hit a two ball out of the middle.
Amaya Tobias – Middle Blocker – Top Flight 17-1 National Black
Jaida Harris – Outside Hitter – Top Flight 17-1 National Black
I was able to watch Top Flight out of Califonia this weekend where I could quickly see they have a lot of athletes on the floor. Amaya Tobias is a long, athletic, and strong middle blocker where she takes up a lot of space at the net with her hands and can cause a ruckus. Harris has to be around 6’2 or 6’3 and has a crazy high ceiling of potential. She looks like a college player today with her build, physicality, and athleticism. She moves extremely well on the court and is quite a leaper. There were some college coaches on this court that were taking peak and rightfully so, these two would definitely add to the overall athleticism of a lot of teams.
Clara Cronin Clara Cronin DS/L Menlo-Atherton | 2023 CA – Libero – Encore 17 Kalekonas
Mia Etheridge – Libero – Encore 17 Kalekonas
Encore had a strong showing in Chicago this weekend playing 17 Open and advancing to Day 2 gold pools. With a balanced offensive attack and solid ball control led by libero Clara Cronin Clara Cronin DS/L Menlo-Atherton | 2023 CA , this team is able to compete and go head to head with top teams. Cronin is able to make the routine plays while also handling a high volume of serve receive. Mia Etheridge is one of their go-to point scorers on the outside. She can pass to attack and also use a variety of shots to score points. She is able to keep the defense on their toes with hard swings down the line or cross while mixing in some off speed as well.
Chloe Lemons – Outside Hitter – Rage 17 Greg
Emily Meyer – Outside Hitter – Rage 17 Greg
Kylie Griffin Kylie Griffin 6'2" | MB Downey | 2023 State CA – Middle Blocker – Rage 17 Greg
This Rage team was a lot of fun. Extremely dynamic and a lot of high flyers at every position. They have a solid 1-2 punch on the outside in attackers Chloe Lemons and Emily Meyer. At 5’11, Lemons is a six rotation outside who can score from the front and backrow. She moves around the court like she is gliding and then goes up with an aggressive demeanor when attacking, she is a high impact player. Midwest coaches would love to have an athlete like her on their college roster. Kylie Griffin Kylie Griffin 6'2" | MB Downey | 2023 State CA is uber athletic out of the middle for this team. A ball hawk who can get anything on the net. She has a really high ceiling for the college level.
Ashley Li of @tstreetvb 17s super physical with a lot of power on the pin. Gold pool play in 17 USA pic.twitter.com/4YiiVog1FX
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 16, 2022
Ashley Li – Outside Hitter – Tstreet IE 17 Asics
So physical and athletic. Li is a major presence for Tstreet where she has a heavy arm on the outside that can handle a lot of swings. In or out of system, Li is a go to attacker for this squad who is very scrappy, a tough matchup for plenty of teams. When Li is able to get a big swing on a third contact for Tstreet, that means really good things for this squad.
Gianna Wardy – Outside Hitter – Sunshine 17 Westside
Annelise Rising – Outside Hitter – Sunshine 17 Westside
Neha Tummala – Setter – Sunshine 17 Westside
Sunshine 17 Westside had a strong start to the weekend before running into some tough matchups on day two. Gianna Wardy and Annelise Rising were a solid 1-2 punch on the outside with electric arms and could find a split or opening around the block to keep the other side off balance. I also really like the scrappiness and grit of setter Neha Tummala who was extremely high IQ, making the right play at the right time to keep this team going throughout the weekend.