FAST Pre Nationals – 16s – The Setters

<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. We’ll focus on the 16s this, starting with the setters today.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="179889" first="Kirra" last="Musgrove"] – HJV 15 Elite – HS: Clear Falls – 2025</strong></p> <p>HJV 15 Elite was one of two 15s teams that played up in the 16s division and they could that because they have size and quality, two skills that describe [player_tooltip player_id="179889" first="Kirra" last="Musgrove"]’s game really well. At 6’2”, she has the size of a middle blocker, but her game is as smooth as the one of a libero, with an excellent combination of power and technique. A lefty, Musgrove is very calm on the ball and intelligent with her ball distribution. Also a great server, she has some great hitters to work with and uses them very well. Musgrove also significantly improved her defense during the season.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15377784/62a6904690f9af0fe88cbaaf" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184155" first="Carleigh" last="Schluter"] – Woodlands Revolution 16 Premier – HS: Klein Collins - 2025</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="184155" first="Carleigh" last="Schluter"] ran Woodlands Revolution 16 Premier’s offense masterfully during the tournament. She’s great at making split-second decisions and is very intelligent with her choices, making her team play a smooth and consistent game. The 5’8” is not one to take many risks with her distribution but she’s very accurate and consistent, keeping her team in rhythm regardless of the situation. She’s also a threat to score on setter dumps.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15378253/62a6227b64e0640944aef375" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124131" first="Samantha" last="Valadez"] – Alamo 16 Elite – HS: Brandeis - 2024</strong></p> <p>One of the best class of 2024 setters in the entire state, [player_tooltip player_id="124131" first="Samantha" last="Valadez"] showed once again how great of a player she is. It’s easy to see the 5’9” Valadez is mentally ready for the next level as she’s very intelligent and does an excellent job in leading her team and communicating with her teammates. She’s the kind of setter that make her hitters better than they are and also adds a ton in terms of defense on the right side.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15061759/6282ce962aa65a08fc999107" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155125" first="Taryn" last="Gilreath"] – HJV 16 Elite – HS: Cypress Ranch – 2024</strong></p> <p>An excellent all-around player, [player_tooltip player_id="155125" first="Taryn" last="Gilreath"] made great strides as HJV 16 Elite’s setter this season. Her 5’11” size is massive for the position and she complements it with excellent technique and understanding of the game. Gilreath releases the ball in an extremely smooth way and she does a great job in running a fast-paced system. She’s also capable of playing as a right side hitter and can be a ferocious offensive player too.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12210014/627b1f0bd21b3e1b40bb0522" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="201902" first="Vanessa" last="Burton"] – SA Juniors 16 Adidas – HS: SA Saints – 2023</strong></p> <p>Vanessa ‘Nessa’ Burton was another prospect who impressed with her complete skill set. Her 5’11” frame makes things easier for her at the net, but Burton is also extremely technical and intelligent. Her touch on the ball is very clean and she does a great job in distributing sets to her hitters. Burton is also very efficient when working with passes off the net and adds a lot in terms of defense as well.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CY453JuLgJ9/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CY453JuLgJ9/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by 2024 setter [player_tooltip player_id="201902" first="Vanessa" last="Burton"] (@vanessa_burton.vb)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Kaia Thiele – Alamo 15 Premier – HS: Cornerstone Christian – 2025</strong></p> <p>Kaia Thiele was another class of 2025 setter with tremendous potential to stand out in the 16s division. The 5’9” playmaker showed a well-developed game, which made a great difference for her team. Thiele had no trouble setting against the flow or crosscourt and displayed an interesting ability to combine with her explosive outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id="182110" first="Megan" last="Fitch"] and Mya Allen in a variety of different sets.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17306941/628521c60662480550a57b14" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>