KISD/CFISD Tournament Top Performers – Liberos
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The high school volleyball season started at full pace in the state of Texas and a massive number of matches were played in the opening week alone, several of them in varsity tournaments that took place all over the Lone…
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Continue ReadingThe high school volleyball season started at full pace in the state of Texas and a massive number of matches were played in the opening week alone, several of them in varsity tournaments that took place all over the Lone Star State.
One of them was the Katy ISD/Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Varsity Tournament, which reunited as many as 48 teams from the Houston area and beyond for three days of competition across eight high schools in the region between Thursday and Saturday.
I was at the Katy Taylor and the Cinco Ranch high schools on the opening day and watched the matches at Tompkins on Friday, being able to see in person 22 different teams across the two days. During the week, I’ll be sharing the positional top performers from the teams I was fortunate to watch, and now it’s time we show some love for the liberos who stood out.
One of the most reliable and consistent liberos in the region, Hopkins put on another tremendous performance, making it to the All-Tournament Team. She’s extremely technical and quick, but the two things that most contribute to her incredible production are her positioning and ball control. Hopkins, who also plays a key role for Tomball as one of the team’s most vocal leaders on the court, tallied 95 digs, 87 passes and ten aces.
Highlights
Morgan Madison
Morgan Madison
Another All-Tournament Team selection in the position, Madison looks even more comfortable and confident as College Park’s starting libero in her second season with the team. The 5’6″ defender is impressively consistent and reliable considering her young age and plays a central role in the team’s system. She’s earned quite the reputation in the region that opponents rarely target her with their serves, but when they do, she typically responds with inch-perfect passes. Madison is also an excellent defender.
Brooklynn Merrell
Brooklynn Merrell
The 5’6″ Merrell emerged from her last season’s defensive specialist role to become Tompkins’ starting libero and left no one wondering if she was up for the task with her performance at the tournament. She was a rock on the backcourt for the champions and registered as many as 88 digs, 88 passes and 13 aces in just 18 sets. She’s extremely versatile and can also play as a setter.
Davila played a key role in her Brandeis team during the event and that showed in the numbers she was able to put on – 125 digs and 114 passes. The confidence the team has in her game is so big that the 5’6″ Davila would often be tasked with covering half of the court in serve-receive and still deliver perfect passes all day long. Her quickness is truly impressive as not many other players were able to react better to tips than her.
The electric Hoss was a joy to watch at Jordan’s backcourt. She’s the kind of player who talks the entire time and brings positive energy to the team, but her contributions go far beyond that. Hoss is very precise with her passing and does a great job in initiating her team’s offensive actions. She’s also a hustler on defense and benefits from her excellent positioning and ball control to up several balls.