2026s that made a big first impression – Setters
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The club season is almost completed now, with only a few tournaments set to take place between now and the season-ending 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship, which will take place in Chicago, from June 28-July 6. The last few…
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Continue ReadingThe club season is almost completed now, with only a few tournaments set to take place between now and the season-ending 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship, which will take place in Chicago, from June 28-July 6.
The last few months were busy ones, with events taking place all over Texas, and I tried to be in as many as I could around the Houston area in order to see the most players possible.
As with any year, the 15s divisions were always intriguing as they contained several prospects we didn’t get to see before and many of them lived up to the expectations or even surpassed them. As we prepare to wrap up another fantastic club season, let’s take at some Class of 2026 players that I got to see for the first time over the last few months and who did an excellent job with their club teams, starting with setters:
I had heard good things about Bello after she completed her first high school season with Cy Ranch, but seeing her in person with HJV 15 Elite made it easy for me to understand that she was much more than what people were saying. In addition to having a very reliable and efficient setting game, which helped her team remain in a good rhythm during entire matches, Bello also added in several other areas of the game. She split setting duties with the talented Simone Robinson Simone Robinson 5’9″ | S Shadow Creek | 2026 State TX and used her physicality extremely well at the net, hitting and blocking at a very high level. She also did a very good on the backcourt, working hard to get digs and making an impact from the service line.
Highlights
I watched Thomas early on in the season and she immediately stood out as one of the most promising setters in the state playing for TAV Houston 15 Adidas. Not many players of her age have her technical skills and size, and, most importantly, the volleyball IQ to use them in a very productive way as Thomas does. Her ballhandling is excellent and she seems to always operate with a clear mind when orchestrating her team’s offense, regardless of the situation. Thomas does a lot of other things well, such as serving, scoring on setter dumps and playing defense and having watched her multiple times during the season, it was easy to see how much she continued to progress over the months.
Setters who make a great impact on their teams always catch my attention and not many were at the same level as Zuniga when it comes to that. She was the brains and the soul of her Valley Venon – 151 Red team, being involved with a lot of what they did on the court. Besides being very smooth with her ball distribution, she also displayed a very high volleyball IQ, which helped her to make the most of difficult situations and remain accurate and lucid no matter what. Zuniga would also take up hitting duties when at the net and became one of the team’s most-used offensive players, swinging hard from the right.
Highlights
Minus was a very nice surprise during the Nike Cross Court Classic, when I first watched her play. Playing with great energy and being very dynamic, she was a key player in her United VBA 15 Purple team that week. Minus is always very accurate with her locations and sets hittable balls even when out of system. Defense was another of her strengths and is one area of her game in which she has great confidence after playing as a defensive specialist in the last high school season. Minus would also play as a hitter when at the net and did a very good job, using her vision and skills to put the ball down consistently.
Highlights
I didn’t get to watch King in person during the club season, but followed her progress through social media after she left a very strong impression at our Prep Dig Top 250 Expo in Houston in December. Setters who can do it all at a high level don’t grow in trees and King certainly falls into that category with her complete game. She sets and hits at a very high level with her team New Age 15 Select and will only get better as she continues to work with a fantastic high school program such as Manvel. She had a very good mix of technical and physical skills and that shows in every area of her game, from setting to hitting or playing defense. With that kind of a skill set, her floor is really high and her ceiling is virtually unlimited.