Prepping for the Sizzle: Liberos on the Rise

Rachel Kass July 12, 2022 @ 02:07 PM

<p>The Varsity Sizzle is one day away, and I am so excited to get a first look at athletes with some of their high school teammates. This is such a fun tournament because it’s just a few weeks after the club season wrapped up and still a month until high school tryouts. Here are some liberos I anticipate will make an impact at the Sizzle this week.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="178031" first="Natalie" last="Powers"] – Mukwonago – Class of 2025</h3> <p>Natalie is a force to be reckoned with in the back row. She is fast, scrappy, and gritty as a libero. Natalie will cover the majority of the court and brings a lot of energy and consistency to defense and serve receive. She has great court awareness and a ton of potential.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="178257" first="Alexis" last="Gardner"]</strong> also goes to Mukwonago and recently made the Badger Region High Performance Team. She is a natural leader on the court and is a rockstar of the intangibles of the game.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="178042" first="Ashley" last="Hutter"] – Pewaukee – Class of 2025</h3> <p>Ashley is a high-level libero who brings a lot of experience to the court. She earned a lot of playing time as a freshman and has a solid base of fundamentals. Ashley has a clean platform and great contact on the ball.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="122470" first="Ellery" last="Apel"] – Sauk Prairie – Class of 2024</h3> <p>Ellery had a huge club season where she was a leader and key player. She really impressed me every time I saw her play and has a huge amount of potential to impact this high school season as well. She has a great platform and is gritty in the back row.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="92023" first="Abi" last="Banitt"] – River Falls – Class of 2023</h3> <p>Abi is a fearless libero who will throw herself across the court and in front of every ball. She gets amazing touches and never gives up on a play. She brings energy and confidence to the court and is rock solid on serve receive.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="159655" first="Elise" last="Uphoff"] – Marshfield – Class of 2023</h3> <p>Elise is scrappy and reads very well on the court. She gets a touch on everything and will keep the ball alive. She is great in coverage and defense. She has a lot of energy on the court and is a motivator on her team.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122472" first="Ashlyn" last="Barwick"]</strong> (2024) also has a ton of talent and huge potential to impact this high school season.</p> <h3>Leah Nehls – Prentice – Class of 2024</h3> <p>Leah is very impactful on the court. She brings in a ton of digs and is all over the place on defense and serve receive. She also has a very solid serve and earns points from behind the service line.</p>