May Madness – Setters to Watch
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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. There…
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Continue ReadingThe 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.
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, Madfrog and Dallas Premier will also be represented in the 15s, 16s and 17s divisions of the two-day event.
We’ll take a look at some of the most promising names that will be in action during the weekend in Lewisville, starting with the setters:
The third-best setter in the state according to our Class of 2026 Prep Dig State Rankings, Whitmire will be setting for TAV 15 Black. She’s a unicorn of sorts when you consider the fact that very rarely a setter of her age is as ready and developed as she is. Whitmire has a very sound technical game, which shows every time she gets on the ball. Her release is very clean and precise and the fact that her movement is always the same makes it harder for opposing blockers to figure out what she’s going to do. The setter is also a physical player, standing at 6’1″, and is very calm and focused when on the court.
Kaci Wade
Kaci Wade
Wade is the starting setter for Premier 16 Black. She moves really well on the court and always gets herself in a good position to set the ball, which makes her sets be even more accurate. She’s very good at distributing the ball among her hitters and is very creative with her plays, often catching opposing blockers off-guard. A tall setter, Wade is also a threat to score on setter dumps. She can also swing from the right if needed and can put on a solid block up at the net.
One of the most promising setters in her age group in the entire state, Beauford will be in action with Drive Nation 16 Red. She has the entire package when it comes to being an elite setter, from technical skills to physical tools. Beauford is extremely good with her accuracy and smart with her distribution and she likes to move players around in order to create doubts across the net. A solid blocker, she can also hit from the right if that’s what her team needs. Beauford is also a very positive leader, who keeps her teammates confident and engaged during matches.
Highlights
The ballhandler in her TAV 17 Black team, Hall is having an impressive rise in the club/high school volleyball scene in Texas. She was on fire during high school with Highland Park and hit the ground running with club, orchestrating a dynamic and efficient offense with her team. Hall has a very quick release and can get the ball anywhere on the court in no time. She likes to play fast and will do so every time she can in order to give her hitters the best opportunity to score. Another thing that stands out in her game is her athleticism and body control, which help her a lot when working with tight passes at the net.
Setting for Madfrog 17’s N Green, Wilson will have some of the most athletic and powerful hitters of the event to work with. She plays with tremendous intensity and is very quick on the court, being able to react to bad passes or unexpected plays in no time. Wilson is very smooth on the ball too, using her great touch and quick release to feed her hitters with some excellent sets. She’s also an exceptional defensive player, who’s truly capable of making a difference on the backcourt when covering the right position.