Club Team Feature – TAV Houston 17 Adidas
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The club season is already underway in the state of Texas and hundreds of teams have already been in action and done great things over the first weeks of play in the Lone Star State. Everyone is taking a little…
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Continue ReadingThe club season is already underway in the state of Texas and hundreds of teams have already been in action and done great things over the first weeks of play in the Lone Star State.
Everyone is taking a little break for the holidays and will get back to full power on the first weekend of the month, so we’re taking the week to feature some of the 17s teams from the Houston area that we believe have the potential to make really good things over the next few months.
TAV Houston 17 Adidas
The most competitive 17s teams of the traditional TAV Houston club, 17 Adidas finished in fifth place in the FAST Warm Up, with three wins in five matches. TAV Houston 17 Adidas has a very balanced roster, with several players of the same level. Some of their standouts are Caelyn Emmerling Caelyn Emmerling 6'1" | OH Grand Oaks | 2024 State TX , Brooklyn Spikes Brooklyn Spikes 6'2" | MB Conroe | 2024 State TX , Kristen Kuehn Kristen Kuehn 5'7" | DS/L Brenham | 2024 State TX and Kira Braun Kira Braun 5'9" | S Magnolia | 2024 TX .
Key Players
Capable of playing on either pin, Emmerling is a key player in TAV Houston 17 Adidas’ system because of her offensive potential. She has great length and makes contact with the ball at a very high point, making it very hard for opposing blockers to slow her down. Emmerling likes to hit a quick set at the pin and will hammer the ball straight down if she has the chance, but is also resourceful enough to find other ways to score when the situation calls for it. She’s been used as an outside hitter at TAV Houston 17 Adidas and her passing and defensive skills are making the entire team better.
Highlights
Kuehn provides much of the defensive strength TAV Houston 17 Adidas with her reliable and efficient game. She’s one of the top passers in the area in her age group and excels in serve-receive mainly for two reasons – she’s very accurate when handling most serves that go her way and is very pragmatic when dealing with the tougher ones, prioritizing getting the ball “playable” at the center of the court. Kuehn also has excellent range on defense, touching on a lot of ball not many others would, and does a fine job when she has to set in transition.
Highlights
Spikes has emerged as a key player in her high school team Conroe which just had its most successful season ever. Her presence in the middle is always noticeable, especially in the way that she’s able to impact the game with her blocking. Spikes is really long and presses really well at the net, but what sets her apart in that category is her quickness to move, which allows her to get to any ball in a better position than many other middles would. She also works really hard on offense and does a very good job in making herself available to her setters no matter what.
Coming from a high school season in which she handed more than 1,000 assists in her team Magnolia, Braun runs TAV Houston 17 Adidas’ offense. She’s a setter who thrives on being reliable, consistent and smart with her ball distribution. Don’t expect the flashiest plays from Braun, but be sure that she’ll be extremely efficient with her sets and will do an excellent job in terms of placing her hitters in the best possible position to score. She also has good size to play at the net and makes very good plays on defense and is a deadly server.
Morgan has been playing a couple of different roles for TAV Houston 17 Adidas, splitting her time between the middle and the right according to what the team needs. That speaks volumes about her versatility and her ability to step up and deliver. Morgan is very strong physically but also very mobile and her great footwork plays a big role in her success in both roles. She’s nearly unstoppable when hitting quick sets in the middle but has adjusted well to the higher ones on the right, using her reach to score. Morgan is also a big and technical blocker, who can make an impact at either position.