Lone Star Regionals – 17 Bid – Liberos/DS

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The George R. Brown Convention Center, in downtown Houston, was packed over the weekend with 80 volleyball courts, which staged the traditional Lone Star Regionals tournament, a national qualifier that attracted numerous teams from Houston and other cities in Texas, such as Austin and San Antonio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was in attendance on Sunday morning, following the gold bracket of the 17 Bid division, where the eight best teams in the group battled for a good finishing spot. There was plenty of talent on the courts and I'm taking the week to highlight the players that stood out in their positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These were the liberos/defensive specialists that caught our eye during the day:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["178811"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Kuehn made a huge impact for second-placed TAV Houston 17 Adidas playing as a defensive specialist for the team. She covered a large area of the court in serve-receive and formed a strong pair with libero Ava Terry, keeping the team in system more often than not. Kuehn also made several strong defensive plays from her middle back position, displaying extraordinaire ball control to deal with hard-driven swings. She also an important serving run during the second set of the championship game, which helped TAV bounce back and take the match to three.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3d3b"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1655274058164961284?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1655274058164961284?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["194169"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The starting libero for an impressive STVA 17 Mizuno team that finished seventh, Avendano was among the most productive players in her position during the day. She was always in a position to make plays and not much would go past her in the backcourt thanks to her excellent reaction speed and tremendous ball control. Avendano was really to score at for pin hitters that decided to go angle as they often found her right there, waiting to make the dig in her left back position. She was very solid with her passing too and was extremely precise when she had to set in transition. The libero was always there to cover her hitters and got an impressive recovery with a kick save against Roots 171 Green.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3da2"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17110140/6458a3ac0dbfec09f4518686' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3de4"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Evyn Clark","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"New Braunfels","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"United VBA","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Clark was another key piece in United VBA 17 Purple's victory in the division. She split the libero duties with [player_tooltip player_id='203028' first='Tayae' last='Garcia'] and helped the team have excellent defensive solidness during the day. United VBA 17 Purple used the middle a lot to score and that was only possible because Clark's great work in serve-receive as she was steady at all times. Very active on defense, she also used her ability to read play extremely well and did a good job when setting in transition.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3e86"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15086144/6459475e478d120e1064ecf0' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3eab"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Positional Breakdowns:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/05/lone-star-regionals-17-bid-middles/">Setters</a></strong> <strong>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/05/lone-star-regionals-17-bid-middles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Middles</a></strong> <strong>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/05/lone-star-regionals-17-bid-outsides/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Outsides</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124161"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Kelm has carried the great high school season she had with Brenham into club and was excellent for Houston Skyline 17 Black on Sunday. The libero was very strong with her play and got the job done on the backcourt with great efficiency. Kelm took responsibility for her team's passing efforts and delivered perfect balls for her setter to work with every time she was targeted. Her quick movement on the back also made a big impact on her defense, generating transition plays for the team.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3ef8"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13826269/644557bc90eebd063483dca7' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3f14"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Ava Wind","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'6u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Glenn","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Roots","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Wind was quality on the backcourt for Roots 171 Green and helped the team claim a sixth-place finish at the Lone Star Regionals. A player with excellent technical skills, she thrived by getting on the right place at the right time and making difficult plays look easier. Wind quietly put on some excellent performances during the day, giving a lot of stability to her team, especially in serve-receive. The libero also displayed excellent ball control to make some impressive saves out of her left back position.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3f99"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17142821/6459180f6e81880ff44a3ff5' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645acadbc3fb8"} /-->