Kiva High School Elite Camp: Notable Prospects (Part 4)

<p>The final session of Kiva's High School Elite Camp was no different in the expectations of the athletes there. They had finished three intense and fast-paced sessions filled with lots of reps and great coaching. It was an exhausting day and a half of hard work from both coaches and players, but with three hours left the energy at Kiva did not waver from the day prior. On all six courts, coaches ran their own high-intensity wash drills that kept the reps coming and players working hard giving them one more chance to leave it all on the court. </p> <p>Here are the top players that gave their all for the final session at Kiva's High School Elite Camp:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="107402" first="Reese" last="Collins"] (MB) Kiva- 16 Red '24</strong></p> <p>Reese is a 6'3" middle blocker that naturally swings at full arm swing extension which makes her heavy attack a very hard ball to defend. Not only this, her hard work on transition and ability to track a fast dig and find her setter to be an option at any time in a rally. Her block is also just as impressive because of her vision and awareness to dive block to take away the hitter's options. She is quick to find the hitter and her height combined with her shoulder extension to block is what really gets the jobs done.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="195856" first="Lindy" last="Radaszewski"] (MB) Elevation- 15 Crofton '25</strong></p> <p>Lindy is another attacker at Elite Camp with a high approach touch. She is only 1 inch away from joining the 10ft club as a 15-year-old middle blocker. She moves fast on the court and her ability to get her hands in the face of blockers fast is a huge asset. Offensively she swings high above the tape and blockers hands finding a spot for the ball every opportunity she gets. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="106666" first="Lydia" last="Stephens"] (DS) Kiva- 17 Red '23</strong></p> <p>Stephens is the player you would want to play next to on the court. She is an awesome, energy-giving defensive specialist and was all of that and more at Elite Camp. Her strong will to keep the ball off the floor sets the defensive tone for her team and her elite defensive plays keep her front-row teammates producing. Her aggressive float serves also has movement that moves passers off their passing line or quickly drops on them. Stephens is the type of teammate you play for because of her consistent giving to others on the court and defensive mindset.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="114574" first="Maria" last="Drapp"] (S) [program_tooltip program_id='430852' first='Tri-State' last='Elite']- 16 Blue '24</strong></p> <p>As a setter, Maria has great spatial awareness and body control which was made very clear as she put up balls from everywhere on the court. She also as a setter understands the importance of playing a defensive role in a rally first which is seen in her pursuit of balls and quick angles with her platform. She also has a great natural finish on her set and successfully transfers balls long distances always giving her hitters an opportunity to swing on the ball. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128200" first="Emma" last="Closurdo"] (OPP) Kiva- 16 Red '24</strong></p> <p>Emma is another hitter who might at first be underestimated for her size at the next compared to other hitters, but she plays bigger than she is. She puts great pace behind the ball on the right side with her fast arm swing and great vertical. Her vertical certainly is what keeps her playing against some big blockers always challenging the block and finding her way around it. If you're in Orlando come to the end of June, be sure to stop on Closurdo's court to see her tear it up in 26 Open.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>