AAU Houston Grand Prix – 17s – Defensive Specialists

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All eyes in club volleyball this past weekend were turned to the Triple Crown NIT, one of the most anticipated tournaments of the entire calendar, which is reuniting the very best teams of the country in Kansas City, MO. Prep Dig will continue to have for the next several days extensive coverage of the event, but we've also continued to follow very closely all the local tournaments that took place during President's Day weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of these for the state of Texas was the AAU Houston Grand Prix, a massive event that reunited 170 teams in seven different age groups across three venues in the Houston area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was at the Katy United facility on Saturday, checking out the 17s division, which featured 19 teams from Texas, Louisiana and Utah. During the week, I've been bringing my positional articles, highlighting the players that shone the brightest in their position. Our final topic is some of the defensive specialists who strengthened their team's backcourt games. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/02/aau-houston-grand-prix-17s-photo-gallery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CHECK OUT OUR PHOTO GALLERY OF THE EVENT</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["186678"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"There was a lot of rotation in the lineup of division winners Katy United 17 Adidas when it came to the libero and defensive specialist roles, but Ilagan was always a solid presence in their backcourt. Regardless of the shirt she was wearing, Ilagan made some very good plays using her excellent positioning and quickness to react to get to balls. She has great ball control and is only getting more confident on the court as she continues to develop. Serving was another area of the game where Illagan contributed with some aces and a handful of serves that got opponents out of system.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40a35"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15136855/63f4cb12688ec60438e543f8' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40a82"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Cielo Corral","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Waco VBC","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Corral had some good moments on the backcourt of her Waco VBC 17 UA Red team during the day. She was brought in to serve a few times and made some good positive impact from the service line. Corral would typically play defense of the left and got a hand on several tips that went towards her zone. She displayed some excellent ball control and was very productive and reliable with her passing as well.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40b4a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Other Positional Standouts:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/02/aau-houston-grand-prix-17s-middles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Setters</a> * <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/02/aau-houston-grand-prix-17s-middles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Middles</a> * <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/02/aau-houston-grand-prix-17s-outsides/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Outside Hitters</a> * <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/02/aau-houston-grand-prix-17s-liberos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Liberos</a> *<a href="http://aau-houston-grand-prix-17s-right-sides" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Right Sides</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["267808"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Juarez made a big impact from the service line on more than one occasion on Saturday, firing aces and putting opponents in tough spots with her complicated floater. She was very active on defense too, making some very good plays from the left and generating transition plays for her team. Passing, however, was perhaps the strongest area of her game as she not only covered a large portion of the court but also did very well in identifying some really tough serves that went her way and playing safe with them, making a high pass toward the center of the court.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40bac"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18000437/63f2586238636b0f64b3c273' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40bcb"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jaedyn Ozoa","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Club South","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ozoa's presence on the court immediately strengthened Club South 17-1's backcourt game. Very calm on the ball, she covered a huge area of the court in serve-receive, offering great help to libero Emily Rivera. Ozoa also made a good impact on defense as her great positioning has placed her in good spots to make plays and give her team another opportunity to score. The defensive specialist also displayed great intelligence to cause problems with her serves, which weren't necessarily tough, but were always well-placed.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40c52"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Princess Spitzenberg","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Orem","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Club 801 (UT)","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Every time Utah's Club 801 17 Nat. Kaipo were in trouble with their passing, they would bring Spitzenberg off the bench - and she would always get things right for them. The defensive specialist would come in for one of the team's outside hitters and immediately improve the team's serve-receive with her excellent ball control and superior positioning. Spitzenberg also made some good plays on defense and made of her team a more stable one when she was on the court.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f7912d40cd7"} /-->