May Madness – Liberos/DS to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The club season is starting to wind down around the country with all qualifiers completed and teams now starting their preparations for the 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship, which will take place in Chicago, from June 28-July 6.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are, however, still some good tournaments going on around the state of Texas and one of them will take place this weekend, when TAV hosts the May Madness in Lewisville. Besides the top teams from the popular home club, other strong clubs from the region, such as Drive Nation, [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='[program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last='']' last=''] and Dallas Premier will also be represented in the 15s, 16s and 17s divisions of the two-day event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're taking a look at some of the most promising names that will be in action during the weekend in Lewisville and here are the liberos/defensive specialists that could be real difference-makers for their teams:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["196848"],"_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":"TAV 15 Black have one of the strongest backcourts in the state in the age group with Fernandez and [player_tooltip player_id='235445' first='Julianna' last='Hernandez'] taking shifts in the libero/defensive specialist roles. This dynamic has been turning out great for the two, who get to play defense in different positions and further expand their skillsets. Fernandez is great with her ball control and is incredibly quick to get to the ball when working on the backcourt, what also expands the area that she's able to cover. Very technical, she is a reliable passer and does very well when covering her hitters too.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a480017cc"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3q61vIBS78","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3q61vIBS78 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["305666"],"_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":"Vo is another talented backcourt player who has been playing mostly as a defensive specialist with [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='[program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last='']' last=''] 15's N Green. She's very efficient in serve-receive, covering a huge area of the court and delivering precise passes to her setter at the net even when she has to dive to get to the ball. She plays defense on the left and is very good at keeping the ball in play, be it when dealing with hard-driven swings or tips. Her impressive ball control gives her team the confidence to try out different strategies when blocking because they know Vo will be back there to make plays. She's also very active when covering her hitters and recovers several balls every match.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a48001844"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17205172/64605722da5afb0cb477d58e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a4800188b"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["351623"],"_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":"Crosby is a defensive rock for her Premier 16 Black team. She's excellent in serve-receive and much of her efficiency should be credited to the fact that she takes her time to stabilize her body and get her platform in place before making contact with the ball. Crosby is also a stud when playing defense on the left as she gets to keep a lot of balls in play, be it hard-driven hits or tips. She's very disciplined and it's easy to see how she pushes herself to always having her body facing her target when making contact with the ball.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a480018e5"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15483568/642ddf4db023200d3043c891' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a48001905"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["180168"],"_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":"Mendoza is the floor general of a strong Drive Nation 16 Red team. She's a player that quietly puts on huge numbers every match and helps her team succeed. Don't get me wrong, Mendoza will make some eye-catching plays every now and then, but it's her volume that makes of her a special player. She gets so many defensive touches because of her ability to read plays extremely well and her quickness of movement. She also has the mindset every coach would want from a libero as she's always willing to work harder than everyone else to keep the ball off the floor.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a48001959"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19013753/6442cacb386dfc09188b60c6' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a48001978"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["180174"],"_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":"Playing one age group up with TAV 17 Black, Pitts has grown into one of the most consistent liberos in the state. One of her main strengths is her mental power as the defender is capable of remaining ground and confident regardless of the situation her team is facing. A very tall libero, she's capable of expanding her defensive reach far beyond a 'regular-sized' libero would, further strengthening her skillset. Technically wise, Pitts' game is very smooth as she uses her positioning to cut corners and be in position to make plays over and over again.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://sportsrecruits.com/athlete/gillian_pitts?video=1629223u0022u003eHighlightsu003c/au003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6463a480019d0"} /-->