Lone Star Regionals – 17 Bid – Setters

<!-- 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'll take the week to highlight the players that stood out in their positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We begin today with the setters:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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":"Taylor Kubacak","_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":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32561","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Tivy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Alamo","_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":"Kubacak split her playing time with [player_tooltip player_id='142207' first='Gabriella' last='Reeves'] and the two helped their team Alamo 17 Premier finish third in the division. A tall and skilled playmaker, Kubacak did a very good job when she was on the court, running the team's offense with efficiency and intelligence. She tried to keep all hitters involved but was very good at feeling the moment of each of them and distributing the ball accordingly. Kubacak has been splitting time between hitting and setting with both her club and high school teams and that, besides developing her all-around game, seems to have significantly improved her understanding of the game and decision-making.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6459162c76b05"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13504952/64580c79b0230014f4c0630a' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6459162c76b5d"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124134"],"_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":"Division winners United VBA 17 Purple also had a pair of talented setters splitting the team's playmaking in Clay and Salamasina Nuu. The 5'8u0022 Clay was truly impressive with her accuracy and distribution and her ability to get good sets from bad passes was a huge asset for her team. She could send the ball to both pins from anywhere on the court and that has placed her hitters in great situations to score every time she set against the flow. Clay used her middles a lot, as she should, as they were delivering, but knew when to turn to her pin hitters and right side. She also made a big impact on defense and played with great energy, helping her team have the confidence to overcome tough opponents during the day.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6459162c76bca"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1655279442434899970?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/1655279442434899970?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["142639"],"_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":"Division runners-up TAV Houston 17 Adidas also had two setters splitting their playing time with Fadal and [player_tooltip player_id='254252' first='Kira' last='Braun'] taking turns. Fadal was very smooth on the ball and her ability to place it wherever she wants with apparent no effort is truly remarkable. The setter also did a great job when operating with passes that were either off the net or a little too tight, using her excellent movement and touch to right things and deliver hittable balls to her offensive players. Fadal was also always very calm and focused on the court and ran a solid offense, feeding each of her hitters frequently. She also did well with her serving and played good defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6459162c76c30"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1655268608904142849?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/1655268608904142849?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124136"],"_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":"Eighth-placed Houston Skyline 17 Black didn't have a great day on Sunday, but Dellesky was solid and consistent with her play as usual. She operated with passes off the net for most of the time and did her best to keep her hitters in system, having some success with it. Her calm on the court proved to be an important asset when the team was under pressure as Dellesky still managed to remain level-headed and make good decisions with her distribution. She also made some strong plays on defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6459162c76c8c"} /--> <!-- 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/">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> * <a href="https://t.co/ioKdIAgaED" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Liberos/DS</strong></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["186231"],"_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":"Blaine led her team Texas Legacy 17 Elite to a fifth-place finish in Houston with another solid display. A very complete setter, she has great chemistry with each of her hitters and that showed during the day as shared the ball well among them and ran some very creative and efficient plays when in system. Blaine is always very calm and clean on the ball and that helps the team remain on a consistent rhythm during matches. She did very well at the net too with 6'1u0022 frame and played good defense on the backcourt. The setter was also on fire from the service line against Houston Skyline 17 Black.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6459162c76ce9"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1655251713551478784?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/1655251713551478784?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->