FAST Pre Nationals – 16s – The Outside Hitters

<p>The club volleyball season is quickly approaching its end, with the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship (GJNC), the highlight of the year, set to happen from June 23-July 4 in Indiana.</p> <p>The FAST Pre Nationals tournament has established itself as the final event in the Houston area ahead of the GJNC. This year, the tournament was held in three different venues this past weekend and offered a final opportunity for us to watch some of the best teams in the state before they had to Indiana to fight for the national title.</p> <p>We were at the FAST Complex on Saturday afternoon watching the 16s and 17s Power Pools and this time will spend not one, but two weeks producing reports about the event. This week we're focusing on the 16s division and today we'll give some love to the most impressive outside hitters who were on the court.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Caelyn Emmerling – TAV Houston 16 Adidas – HS: Grand Oaks – 2024</strong></p> <p>Caelyn Emmerling checks all the boxes when it comes to being an elite outside hitter. Standing at 6'1”, she's a force at the net and is particularly difficult to stop when she hits angle and unleashes all her power. Emmerling is also very solid on the backcourt, actively contributing to the team's serve-receiving system and producing a handful of digs every single match. She's also very productive form the service line, with a floater that's really tough to control.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16380272/62a800cf6898840840ef3bfd" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Taylor Kubacak – Alamo 16 Elite – HS: Tivy – 2024</strong></p> <p>Taylor Kubacak spent the last high school season taking on setting and hitting duties on the right with her team Tivy, but her excellent all-around game allowed her to move to the left for the club season with Alamo 16 Elite. The 5'11” Kubacak has the tools to help in every aspect of the game, combining an efficient and error-free offense with a highly-productive defensive game. She has tremendous firepower on offense, but is also smart and skilled enough to score off of sets off the net.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13504952/62a7e6f79a9c1f0ed005e436" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124117" first="Mariana" last="Buchanan"] – HJV 16 Elite – HS: Cypress Falls – 2024</strong></p> <p>An extremely prolific point-scorer for both her high school and club teams, [player_tooltip player_id="124117" first="Mariana" last="Buchanan"] can do wonders with her right arm. She stands at 5'11” and is very explosive, but, more important than that, is capable of coming up with the exact solution each play needs, be it a hard-driven swing or a finesse shot around or over the block. Buchanan is very versatile offensively, being able to hit from the right and even the middle too, and makes very few mistakes considering the number of times she's set every match.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17160370/62a7de099a9c1f0ed005db71" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="195590" first="Ashlynn" last="Kilgore"] – Woodlands Revolution 16 Premier – HS: Lake Creek – 2024</strong></p> <p>A 5'10” outside hitter with excellent length and power, [player_tooltip player_id="195590" first="Ashlynn" last="Kilgore"] was the go-to scoring option in her team Woodlands Revolution 16 Premier. She's the type of hitter that doesn't shy away in front of big blockers and because of that, she would be set in big moments, delivering more often than not. Also a beach volleyball player, Kilgore is very well-rounded and is also capable of helping on passing and defense.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/4034550/62a843f6b53f930b38aa675a" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="182110" first="Megan" last="Fitch"] – Alamo 15 Premier – HS: Reagan – 2025</strong></p> <p>Even though she was playing one age group up, [player_tooltip player_id="182110" first="Megan" last="Fitch"] was easily one of the top outside hitters in the 16s division. Originally a middle blocker, the 6'1” prospect adjusted perfectly to her new position and quickly became a force at the pin. Besides her size, Fitch is also tremendously explosive and is equally productive hitting quicker or more standard sets. She has a great variety of offensive tools and is also an excellent server.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16326320/6186ff6ea680d70b843143ce" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kennedi Rogers – HJV 15 Elite – HS: Ridge Point – 2025</strong></p> <p>An extremely complete player, Kennedi Rogers plays a variety of different roles in her HJV 15 Elite team. The 5'10” outside hitter is an important offensive piece for them, using her excellent physical tools to score points at ease from the pin, but is also vital to the team's defensive system with her ability to deliver precise passes and play excellent defense. Rogers is involved with a lot of what the team does and her ability to make decisions helps her make very few mistakes despite her high usage.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15377788/62a738a16898840840ee4c26" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>