2023 GJNC Preview: 18 Open – TAV 18 Black
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The club volleyball season is coming to an end for the players competing in the 18s age group and the final stop in this stage of their careers will take place at the 2022 USA Volleyball Girls 18s Junior National…
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Continue ReadingThe club volleyball season is coming to an end for the players competing in the 18s age group and the final stop in this stage of their careers will take place at the 2022 USA Volleyball Girls 18s Junior National Championship, which will be held in Columbus, Ohio, from April 28-30.
Texas will have a huge representation in Ohio, with as many as 44 teams entered to compete across six different divisions and many of them will be real contenders at the National Championship.
We’ve already posted our Texas Previews for each of the 18 American, 18 Freedom, 18 Liberty, 18 National and 18 USA divisions and now we’ll do things a little bit differently for the prestigious 18 Open division, presenting individual previews for the eight teams from the Lone Star State that will fight for the title in Columbus.
TAV 18 Black – Texas Advantage Volleyball (Lewisville)
Season Record (on AES): 26-15
Players to Watch:
A versatile player who can play anywhere at the net, Gutierrez lights things up in the middle for TAV 18 Black. Only a player with a well-developed all-around game and with strong physical tools would be capable of doing it and that’s exactly Gutierrez. The combination of her technical, physical and mental attributes make of her game a very smooth one and it feels like there’s nothing she can’t do well on the court. Gutierrez is a fantastic offensive player, who uses her excellent footwork to hit every set in the middle and is particularly difficult to set in the slide set.
When a player gets to compete not only one, but two age groups up in a strong club program such as TAV, you know she’s the real deal. Jackson has been doing it this year and will be one of the main weapons for 18 Black in Columbus. A very complete player, she combines power and finesse like not many others and thrives in each of the multiple duties she has on the court as an outside hitter. A standout beach player, Jackson has developed a lot of her ball control, movement and reading of the game on the sand, where she also built some of the athleticism that allows her to play at such a high level indoors.
Clark runs TAV 18 Black’s offense in a very smooth and intelligent way, creating good scoring opportunities for her hitters time after time. Her contact with the ball is always very clean and she has no trouble remaining consistent with her locations all-day long. Because of that, Clark is never afraid of taking risks and setting against the flow, often fooling opposing blockers and getting her hitters 1v1 at the net. The setter is also very calm and positive, two skills that help her team go through difficult moments, and can play some really good defense.
TAV 18 Black has tremendous defensive strength with Gildon and Zoe Winford Zoe Winford 5’8″ | DS/L Community | 2023 State TX splitting up libero duties for the team. Gildon is vastly recognized as one of the best in the position in the entire state and, besides having excellent ball control and reaction speed, is also a very tall libero, which further extends her defensive range. Gildon, who played as a right side setter/hitter during the last high school season, is a very complete player, who has on the defensive part of the game her main strength.
Just like Gutierrez, Pfiffner can play anywhere at the net and the two form a formidable middle blocker duo for TAV 18 Black. A very tall player at 6’2″, Pfiffner is also incredibly athletic, being a two-time high jump state champion. She’s really fun to watch at the net because of her impressive mobility as she can make her offensive approach very quickly and get from pin to pin when blocking in no time. Her tremendous vertical also gives her a big advantage on both sides of the ball and she combines that with a very quick right arm on offense.