Skyline Classic #10 – 17 Girls – Middles
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The club high school season is entering its final stage with the season-ending Girls Junior National Championship, in Chicago, just around two months away. Teams from Texas are all ramping up in order to bring their best game in the…
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Continue ReadingThe club high school season is entering its final stage with the season-ending Girls Junior National Championship, in Chicago, just around two months away. Teams from Texas are all ramping up in order to bring their best game in the most important moment of the season and even those that won’t make the trip to Chicago are also in their best form after months of practice and competing together.
This past weekend, we followed one of the tournaments that were going on in the Houston area, the Skyline Classic #10, held at the popular Houston Skyline Volleyball Club. We were following the 17 Girls Division, which had nine teams from the region in action, and are bringing our positional reports and All-Tournament team selection during the week.
This time we’ll highlight some middles that made a big impact at the net for their teams:
Lauren Dale
Lauren Dale
Division winners TX Legacy 17 Elite rotated their middles during the day and that gave Dale the opportunity to show her strong play. The most impressive part of her game is perhaps the intensity that she brings at the net, especially on offense. Dale has excellent footwork and is capable of making a strong and quick approach before jumping well and hitting the ball with power. She can hit several different sets and has beat opposing blockers more often than not on Saturday. Her excellent movement and strong athleticism also makes of her an efficient blocker.
Avery Sims
Avery Sims
Sims’ length and power at the net were a big part of W Revolution 17 Adidas’ play on Saturday. A strong offensive player, she was unstoppable at times, using her excellent footwork and tremendous offensive range to beat blockers and defenders. Sims has a well-developed offensive game and efficiently hit several different sets in the middle and also some on the right. Her blocking was also a big factor as Sims did a very good job of bothering opposing hitters with her reach and positioning. She has long arms and places them very across the net to put pressure and take up space.
Possibly the most athletic middle in the tournament, Coleman made a huge impact ifor her H Skyline 17 White team. It was the second time I watched her play in a few months and she just confirmed my initial thoughts, proving she has all the tools to dominate matches. Coleman was very strong offensively, making a strong approach and having tremendous success in her powerful swings through the middle – her ability to hit different sets also proved important to keep blockers guessing. Her blocking was also very active during the day as Coleman was very quick to get to the pins and extremely aggressive above the net.
Highlights
Sophie Jones
Sophie Jones
Jones displayed a strong presence in the middle for W Revolution 17 Premier and was one of the most-used offensive options in the team. Very quick with her movement, she had success hitting quite a few different sets and was particularly strong when working with the slide set. Her excellent footwork made of her an offensive option even in transition plays and setters weren’t shy of feeding her the ball every time they could. Jones’ blocking was also very solid as she was always well-balanced and in position to make stops.
Caitlin Cullen
Caitlin Cullen
Capable of playing anywhere at the net, Cullen split her time between the middle and the pin with her team Sporting Edge – 17 Armour. She was set quite often on both positions and, despite some inconsistency at times, scored at a good rate, using her size to overcome blocks and smart tips to beat defenders. She also had a good presence at the net, making a good impact with her blocking and creating issues to opposing hitters. Cullen also played the backcourt rotations and did a fine job with her passing.