’25 Liberos Who Will Light up the Gauntlet

<p>Liberos bring so much energy, leadership, and grittiness to the court. They are fun to watch, are fearless, and are willing to throw themselves across the court or into benches to save a ball. The Gauntlet will be filled with some of the top liberos in the class of 2025. Here are some liberos who are set to have a huge impact throughout the tournament.</p> <h3>Ava Young – 1^st Alliance 15 Gold</h3> <p>Ava has clean lines on serve receive and defense. She is quick on her feet and has an incredibly fast reaction to the ball. On serve receive she is relaxed, confident, and utilizes simple movements.  She also is huge at covering and picking up tips. Ava is great in scramble plays and is always available to help a teammate out on the court.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="189850" first="Lauren" last="Cortina"] – Adversity G15 Adidas</h3> <p>Lauren has great fundamentals and angles on the ball. She is very consistent on serve receive and reads very well in the backcourt. She is disciplined in her movements to set herself and her team up for success on defense and serve receive. Lauren provides consistency on the court for this very talented team.</p> <h3><img class="alignleft wp-image-170144 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/12/79-McKenna-Payne-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="156321" first="McKenna" last="Payne"] – Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno</h3> <p>McKenna is the type of libero who is going to get a touch on literally any ball that comes over the net, no matter what it takes. She will get a hand, finger, knuckle, fist, anything on the ball to keep it alive. She is gritty and scrappy and almost nothing gets past her on the court. She is a fun athlete to watch because no ball is ever dead on her side of the court.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="156315" first="Laura" last="Mabry"] – Michigan Elite 15 Elite</h3> <p>Laura is a valuable athlete because she is dynamic in the back row. She can play both middle and left-back at a very high level to lead her team to success. She reads opposing hitters well and is disciplined in her movement.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="178042" first="Ashley" last="Hutter"] – Milwaukee Sting 15 Black</h3> <p>Ashley has awesome ball control and angles to target. She is a tough athlete and rebounds quickly from challenging plays. Ashley is a natural leader on the court and is always giving everything she has to her team.</p> <h3><img class="alignright wp-image-166594 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/164-Natalie-Powers-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="178031" first="Natalie" last="Powers"] – Milwaukee Sting 15 Gold</h3> <p>Natalie is a perfect balance of everything a libero needs to succeed. She is quick, has great court awareness, reads opponents well, and is consistent on serve receive. Natalie knows when to be gritty and scrappy and when to slow down and focus on ball control. She is a force to be reckoned with in the back row and one that won’t be easy for opponents to get a ball past.</p> <h3><img class="alignleft wp-image-166544 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/112-Alexis-Gardner-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="178257" first="Alexis" last="Gardner"] – Motion 15 Blue</h3> <p>Alexis runs the backcourt like a well-oiled machine. She is constantly communicating with her teammates about defense and shots. She is quick and gritty in the back row and gets great touches on even the toughest balls. Alexis has a “libero’s intuition” and it shows in her performance on the court.</p> <h3><img class="alignright wp-image-168542 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/12/13-McKenna-Garr-e1638730583813-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="177422" first="McKenna" last="Garr"] – Northern Lights 15-1</h3> <p>McKenna is ready for any ball that comes over the net. Whether it is an overpass, tip, hard-driven ball, or anything else that could possibly come at her, she gets a hand on the ball. She has great ball control and is scrappy and gritty on the court. She makes momentum-changing plays and is a huge leader in the backcourt.</p> <h3>Other liberos to have on your radar:</h3> <p>Abby Gross – New Wave 15 Tsunami</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="178024" first="Kati" last="Berezowitz"] – Sting 15 Gold</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="178225" first="Jumana" last="Martin"] – FC Elite 15 Navy</p> <p>Megan Johnson – RVA G15 Navy</p>