Florida Regional Qualifier Standouts Pt. 4: Opposites

<p>In part 4 of this series, we will be taking a look at the right-side hitter position. The opposite hitter is an undervalued position yet a key component to having a great all-around team. The standouts that I'm shouting out either have an all-around game like an outside hitter or are exceptional at the skills and responsibilities they're trusted with. The four prospects showed why this position is so important not only to the game of volleyball but especially the success of their team. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='189738' first='Ashlyn' last='Anderson']: JAX Skyline 17 Royal (Class of 2024)</h2>   <p>Ashlyn was one of the most impressive right-side prospects I was able to watch from this past Regional Qualifier. At 6'3" and left-handed she uses that height and length along with her athleticism overall to her advantage in the front row. Usually, prospects at her height are either a little clumsy or very specific in how they earn points, whether with power or speed. Ashlyn does a great job using all the tools in her toolbox to earn points for her offense. She has the range to face angle and hit line as well as facing line and hitting angle. Having that ability on top of the control she has through her contact forces the defense to have to play the whole court. She uses both her core and a quick arm-swing to drive through the ball both down the line and in the angle. When Ashlyn is in the front row, she's the main hitting option for her team no matter what the situation is. Defensively, Ashlyn's main prowess comes from her blocking. Not only does she put up a big block, but does a good job of using good hand placement to take more court and keep her block touches in the court. Ashlyn is the type of prospect that coaches and teams alike love to play with but hate to play against. </p>   <p><a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Kw8Da" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://www.hudl.com/v/2Kw8Da</a></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='455026' first='Ana' last='Julia Peixoto']: OT 17 O Omi (Class of 2025)</h2>   <p>Ana is an exceptional athlete and brings a different level of power to the game from the opposite position. She is a unique and rare prospect not only because of her athleticism and power, but her level of skill at the level she plays for her age. Ana is a natural hitter prospect able to score and excel from both sides of the net. The hitting skills she possesses starts with her ability to hit with power both down the line and in the angle on both sides of the net. Her power comes from her strength just as much as her technique using her core to rotate through the ball. Her arm-swing is fluid, so when her body goes through the ball she's able to focus on good contact and location of her swing. Ana is a great blocker as well, using great eye work that she also uses when attacking. Eye work is so important in blocking and hitting because it gives the blocker or hitter the opportunity to use their IQ of the game to make great decisions. Blocking is mainly from making good decisions, timing, and placement. Ana does a great job of utilizing her athleticism to get her feet in good position, and uses her eyes to make good decisions and have great timing. Ana is a young prospect playing at a very high level both with the level of competition and playing in an older age group. </p>   <p></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Abby Mas: OVA 17 Black (Class of 2024)</h2>   <p>Abby is one of the few hitters that have the skill set to be proficient as a hitter from both the left and right pins. Like Ana, Abby is proficient on both sides of the court but really excelled for me as a right-side prospect. Her team utilizes the right side a ton, and it makes sense why. Abby is a long prospect who may not have elite athleticism but makes up for it with an aggressive mindset and play style while looking and playing very calm. The best part of her game in the time I got to watch her play was her range of shots and swing angles and styles. She has every shot, angle or speed change that you would want from a prospect. On top of that, she uses her IQ to make good decisions, for example she does a great job using the block to tool. When you have an opposite hitter who has the skills and smoothness Abby has, the team trusts her moving around the court to hit different sets at different tempos to help open her up against the opposing defense. She uses her IQ on offense just as much as her defense, knowing when she has the opportunities to block the ball down or when it's time for her to transition to hit the next ball. She has great anticipation when blocking down overpasses as well as opposing hitters she's responsible for. Overall Abby is an all-around volleyball player who I could see playing both outside and right-side at a high level. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='204079' first='Olivia' last='Ryno']: JJVA 16 Teal (Class of 2025)</h2>   <p>Olivia is a dynamic hitter from all positions on the court but was most impressive on the right side opposite of her teammate [player_tooltip player_id='203435' first='Ryan' last='Murphy']. Ryan uses Olivia in all aspects of the offense, whether from the left, middle, or right side of the court as well as using both 1st and 2nd tempo. Olivia is a very smooth athlete, where like Abby makes everything look easy. The first thing you see from Olivia's game is her recognition of blocks and defense when attacking for her team. The eye-work to go from defense to set to block before she even jumps to swing is something you rarely see from prospects in the club level, let alone at the 16 age group. Once she's done her recognition of the other side, she uses either speed or off-speed swings to take advantage of the defense. She has both hard line and hard angle swings and shots even if the set is inside or outside of the court, respectively. Having all of these skills on the offensive side, of course her blocking prowess is there as well. She's an aggressive blocker who is willing to take a few chances to get blocks or to force the opposing hitter to funnel outside of her in the direction of a defender. There aren't many prospects that have the same makeup as Olivia and I can't wait to see how she grows as a player throughout her club career. </p>   <p>At the highest levels of volleyball, the opposite position has very different responsibilities, roles, and skill sets that you don't see often in the club scene. The new wave of club volleyball shows how important it is for every position to be skilled in all aspects of the game, not just specialized in a few key aspects. These four prospects showed exactly why their position is important and how much of an advantage it is for your team if you have an elite-level opposite hitter. </p>

In part 4 of this series, we will be taking a look at the right-side hitter position. The opposite hitter is an undervalued position yet a key component to having a great all-around team. The standouts that I'm shouting out either have an all-around game like an outside hitter or are exceptional at the skills and responsibilities they're trusted with. The four prospects showed why this position is so important not only to the game of volleyball but especially the success of their team.