AAU Houston Grand Prix – 17s – Right Sides
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…
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Continue ReadingAll 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.
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.
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. As we continue to explore the different positions, the right side hitters are our next subject.
Division winners Katy United 17 Adidas used a few different players on the right but Cieslewicz was the most consistent one to play there. A player that continues to evolve every new season, she has become a very efficient offensive player who can score in a variety of ways and makes very few mistakes. Cieslewicz was very good with her shot selection and managed to create problems for her opponents even when the set wasn’t ideal. She also had good moments with her blocking, produced some solid serving runs and helped with her passing on some rotations.
Highlights
Morgan Korinek
Morgan Korinek
Previously a full-time setter with Texstar 17, Korinek has embraced new roles with the team and now splits her time between setting and hitting. In fact, her offensive duties have grown quite important as Korinek was set on right, the left and even the back right during the team’s campaign. She displayed a diverse offensive game, swing hard to different directions and using tips and tooling the block to score as well. A very complete player, the right side hitter also contributed with her blocking and passing.
Other Positional Standouts:
* Setters * Middles * Outside Hitters * Liberos
Ariana Willis
Ariana Willis
An undersized right side hitter, Willis impressed with her offense playing for Texas Tornados 17 National. A great leaper, she can jump out of the gym and uses that and her heavy arm to score. Very versatile, she can score at a high rate from the right, the left and even the middle and is extremely efficient, making very few errors. Another thing that stood out in Willis’ game is her ability to maintain the same level of intensity from the first to the last point of a match.
Averee Bates
Averee Bates
Bates was the main player in her Texas Fury 17 Impact team. Playing on the right, she was the team’s most-used offensive option and was very effective with her plays. Bates is very productive from the right and the left and, although tall and powerful, she also finds good angles to score. She was very efficient when hitting a quick set behind the setter.
Landry Wells
Landry Wells
A right sider hitter with very good technical skills, Wells stood our for her Katy United 17 Fathom team. She’s not very tall, but has a talented left arm, with which she finds ways to score even against big blocks. Wells is crafty with her offense and finds good angles around the block from the right and the left, always targeting the end line. She swings hard when in system and will keep asking for the ball even if she makes a mistake. Wells also passes in some rotations and has very good ball control.