Top 250 Expo Session 2 Houston: Freshman DS/Ls

Abby Shipes, DS/L from Cy Fair, class of 2027.

Rebecca Russell December 20, 2023 @ 12:55 AM

<p>These DS/Ls save their teams huge amounts of points during a match. They are all super-talented athletes who can change any results of a game they are playing in. Let's look at them individually and figure out what makes each of them tick.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='486957' first='Mia' last='Alvarado']</h2>   <p>Alvarado is a 5'1" freshman defensive specialist from Robert Vela High School. Alvarado was a hot player from the start performing in drills at the expo. She pops the ball up very high for the setter to work with. She is very flexible and that helps her go to the ground fast to dig up a ball. She has a perfect platform and never loses it during a match. She has great stamina. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/20-Peyton-Hotaling.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-455230" style="width:210px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='443038' first='Peyton' last='Hotaling'], DS/L frpm Hardin High School, class of 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='443038' first='Peyton' last='Hotaling']</h2>   <p>Hotaling is a 5'3" freshman defensive specialist from Hardin High School. Hotaling is a really good defender. She is always on and ready. She has a perfect platform, bumps straight to the setter every time, and she can hit from the back row for a kill. She is lethal in the backcourt and is a hustler. She digs and runs for saves all day and never seems to lose her positivity and drive. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='486813' first='Heather' last='Nguyen']</h2>   <p>Nguyen is a 5'2" freshman defensive specialist from Clements High School. Nguyen was one of my favorites to watch at the expo. She moved with such grace making the impossible look easy. She has a great pancake and is very efficient in her movements. She can get low to the ground and do it fast. She was very impressive.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/47-Abby-Shipes.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-455255" style="width:177px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='443002' first='Abby' last='Shipes'] , DS/L from Cy Fair High School, class of 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='443002' first='Abby' last='Shipes']</h2>   <p>Shipes is a 5'4" defensive specialist from Cy Fair High School. Shipes is the real deal. She can play any defensive position and easily set, serve/receive, serve, and dig anywhere on the court. She is super athletic and always ready for whatever is thrown at her. She anticipates the hitters at the net and seems to know where to move to receive their hits. Great defender!</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='487043' first='Rachel' last='Ryan'] </h2>   <p>Ryan is a 5'5" freshman defensive specialist from Creekside Park. Ryan was an aggressive DS and would never let the ball go to the ground. She showed so much energy that I worried she would overplay the ball but never did. She got to the ball every time though. She has a magic touch on the ball and when she has a freaky tip or runaway ball she manages to get it back to her setter, not just back in play, but to the setter every time. She was really impressive. </p>

These DS/Ls save their teams huge amounts of points during a match. They are all super-talented athletes who can change any results of a game they are playing in. Let's look at them individually and figure out what makes each of them tick.