FAST Warm Up – 15 Open – The Skilled Setters
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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’ll take the days after the event to highlight some of the individual standouts of the 15 Open division and we start today with some very talented setters who were in action.
Zora Bello
Zora Bello
A revelation in the last high school season, Bello started club play on fire and was a key player in the HJV 15 Elite team that won the division. The game runs incredibly smoothly through her hands as the setter has an excellent reading of the game and made very good decisions with her ball distribution. Bello is also very active on defense and uses her size well, eventually taking up hitting duties at the net and offering great flexibility to her coaches.
TAV Houston 15 Adidas’ starting setter, Thomas is another one who displayed impressive maturity with her ball distribution considering her young age. She likes to play fast and her size helps her push the tempo even when she has to operate with the pass a little off the net. As a 5’11” setter, Thomas is also a constant threat with her setter dumps, but her size doesn’t slow her down on defense at all. She’s also very productive and reliable with her serving and had a long run from the service line at the start of the match against Texas Tornados 15 Adidas.
Kennedy Boatman
Kennedy Boatman
Boatman did a great job with her TX Legacy 15 Elite team. A setter with great size, she’s tremendously creative with her ball handling, but is always very precise with her locations. One thing that helps with her accuracy is the fact that she does a great job of moving to the ball and getting into the best possible setting shape. Boatner’s setting technique is excellent and it’s really great to watch her body movement when she makes contact with the ball. She has also has a very good floater.
Brooklyn Myers
Brooklyn Myers
Myers doubled up for the AP 15 Adidas team, taking up both setting and hitting duties. She’s fairly pragmatic with her ball distribution, always looking to feed the hitter that’s having the best moment in the game, but does a great job in putting her in a great position to score. Myers is very precise with her set to the middle in the back and can also play some very good defense and serve tough.
One of HJV 15 Elite’s main strengths on the FAST Warm Up was to have two elite setters. Robinson would come in to set when Bello was at the net and the team simply didn’t drop its level, although she has a different playing style. A lefty, Robinson changed the pace of the team, playing a little bit faster, while maintaining its quality. She’s very precise and smart with her ball distribution.