FAST Warm Up – 15 Open – The Reliable Liberos
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The club volleyball season is underway in the state of Texas and one of the most popular and exciting season-opening events in the Houston area, the FAST Warm Up, took place last weekend across multiple venues, reuniting as many as…
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Continue ReadingThe club volleyball season is underway in the state of Texas and one of the most popular and exciting season-opening events in the Houston area, the FAST Warm Up, took place last weekend across multiple venues, reuniting as many as 273 teams from H-Town and several other cities.
I was at the FAST Complex on Sunday to watch the top eight teams of the 15 Open division compete in the gold bracket and it was exciting to see some new faces emerge and display excellent playing level and intriguing skills – Houston Juniors ‘ HJV 15 Elite ended up as the division winners, with TAV Houston 15 Adidas finishing second.
We’re taking the days after the event to highlight some of the individual standouts of the 15 Open division and in today’s article we’ll list some of the most consistent liberos who were on the court.
Reece had done an excellent job at our Prep Did Top 250 Expo and it was even more impressive on actual matches with her TAV Houston 15 Adidas team. She’s incredible reliable with her passing and one of the reasons for it is that she prepares really well to make contact with the ball, always putting her body in the right place and picking the angles very smartly. Reece also works very hard on defense, getting a lot of touches on the backcourt, and often creates problems with her serves.
Highlights
Julia Flessas Julia Flessas 5'6" | DS/L Grand Oaks | 2026 TX
Julia Flessas Julia Flessas 5'6" | DS/L Grand Oaks | 2026 TX
Flessas was one of the individual standouts in her Texas Legacy 15 Elite team that played in the gold bracket. She’s tremendously agile and determined on defense and reacts very quickly to tips and deflected shots, becoming a nightmare to opposing hitters. Flessas is also very consistent with her passing, serves a tough floater and can set really well in transition. She really plays the game with her heart and does a very good job in communicating with her teammates.
Butler was easily one of the best pure defenders in the division playing with her AP 15 Adidas team, which wasn’t necessarily a surprise considering she produced more than 500 digs during her freshman high school season. Butler has an incredible ability to anticipate plays and that gives her an extra second to get to the ball or shape her body. But she also has great ball control and can deliver it exactly where she wants, even if she had to dive to make the dig. Butler is also a very good server.
Karis Carpenter
Karis Carpenter
Carpenter was a stud for her STVA 15 Mizuno team switching between libero and defensive specialist. She gave her team a lot of defensive volume taking up either the middle or left positions on the back. Carpenter has great ball control and was able to keep a lot of plays alive with her defensive game. She’s also very comfortable and reliable with her passing. She made it to her high school La Vernia’s varsity team near the end of the season and had great production, including a 38-dig match against Bellville in the playoffs.
Hopkins moved from defensive specialist to libero during the tournament, but regardless of the color of the shirt she was wearing with her HJV 15 Elite team, she did great on the backcourt. Her positioning was consistently excellent and she generated a whole lot of transition plays for her team with her digs. She’s also very quick and technical and gave HJV a lot of stability with her passing. Hopkins had some good serving runs too, most notably one near the end of the match against STVA 15 Mizuno.