Top 250 Expo 2027 Setters [Four of Nine]

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are the six athletes playing middle from the California Top 250 Expo in Gardena:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Audrey McFadden </strong>| 5'6" | 2027 | S | Redondo Union High School<br>When setting the ball, Audrey McFadden holds a grounded posture. That being flat footed with a slight lean forward. As she hustles to keep the rally going for her teammates, she takes big steps. Those steps are also at times very specific patterns of footwork. Specifically, consider a pass described as perpendicular to her as she is parallel to the net and about twelve feet from the net. The footwork pattern used is a giant step for her and two crossover steps for her again. This sequence of footwork combined with her forward lean makes her standout as a setter. Once she has made her steps to get to the pass, she begins the phase of contacting the ball to set. For McFadden this happens near to her wrist. After contact, she runs toward it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482031' first='Londyn' last='Neal']</strong> | 5'8" | 2027 | S | Centennial High School <br>[player_tooltip player_id='482031' first='Londyn' last='Neal'] sets near full arm extension. If time were paused and her setting was rewinded just tenths of a second earlier, that previous sentence might not be believable. Specifically, she frequently holds her elbows out wide prior to setting the ball. Her athleticism takes over and she gets those elbows to an excellent near full extension form. At this time, Neal is setting a backset about 25 feet across the court to the right sideline. When she backsets, she leans her entire body into that set. At times it is amazing to see her balance and she appears to be at a 45° angle to the floor. She will make shuffle steps a few times to get a read on where the pass is going. Additionally, she works hard to get her forehead under the ball to set. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='481402' first='Marley' last='Robinson']</strong> | 5'7" | 2027 | S | Orange Lutheran High School<br>The contact point for a [player_tooltip player_id='481402' first='Marley' last='Robinson'] set is a low to middle contact point. Specifically, the ball certainly is not entirely at her forehead but it is slightly above that space. After getting to the passing target spot, she works hard and smart to set each ball in a rhythm with her approach steps. There are two times that this rhythm shows up in her game. For any music fans, the analogy is a whole note and a staccato. Specifically, Robinson runs to where the pass goes and freezes in the air while setting [whole note]. And she also runs to where a pass goes and abruptly angles her body [staccato] to the left side antenna. When she backsets, it gets there low and in a hurry. Her persistence and determination to get to a ball are motivating.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482043' first='Sami' last='Semaia']</strong> | 5'4" | 2027 | S | Serrano High School<br>The contact point of a set for [player_tooltip player_id='482043' first='Sami' last='Semaia'] is observed at a middle contact point. Specifically, the ball is in a space slightly above her forehead before she makes contact with it. When she backsets, she makes the ball travel by setting over her left shoulder. Throughout the entirety of the path of the set, she is able to see the ball that is being set behind her. On the other side of the court, Semaia delivers a ball to leftside with a great push. This results in getting height on a set that made her outside sets stand out. Although, she, like many setters, probably prefer a pass exactly to target, her agile play gets her to those tough to set passes. Almost all the time the ball is in play, her heels are up and she moves softly on her feet. Her forearm setting also stands out as she commits to it early and has a very straight platform. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->