Ball Control Kids I Liked At The Early Bird

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven courts, 25 teams. All of them had setters and defenders, but a few caught my eye. Here are a group of kids from three different rosters that showed out when I saw them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">NCISVBC 18-1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In order for a team to compete for a bid to GJNCs, you have to have a setter that knows where the ball needs to go AND distributes the ball enough to keep the defense honest. Insert <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='228395' first='Riley' last='Hoaks'] ('25, 5-9 S, Benton Central),</strong> who is a solid setter that understands each hitter's tempo and space from the net to allow her hitters to swing. It's not that her squad was the <em>best</em> of passers; her ability to turn <em>any </em>pass into hittable balls for her attackers was the difference in most matches. She also defends her position well, which is a hallmark of Benton Central volleyball players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">NCISVBC 16-1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wait, ANOTHER solid and consistent setter from Benton Central?!? Sure enough, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='499444' first='Izzy' last='Adams'] ('26, 5-8 S, Benton Central)</strong> continues the (apparently) long line of ball control and high volleyball IQ setters that will keep the Bison competitive for years to come. Smart, athletic and fast, Izzy had her team humming on all cylinders when she got to the second ball. Helping that second contact be easier for her setter was libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='499448' first='Rilee' last='Clifton'] ('26, 5-5 DS/L, Lafayette Jefferson),</strong> who had to regularly do her impression of Superwoman and take flight to save a few balls. Here's to hoping that her teammates don't defer to her to save the day every time---but if that's the case, Rilee will be sure to take that first contact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Circle City 16 White</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the advantages to specifically coming to the Early Bird is that you get to immediately see teams that might not be on everyone's radar. Circle's 3s team acts closer to a 2s team because of the immense amount of size and skill they have. For size, having a setter like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402577' first='Becca' last='Rogers'] ('26, 5-11 S, Brownsburg)</strong> has to help in many areas. She can go over on two and beat blocks, she can go get a tight pass and make it hittable, she blocks better than most setters in this class, and is smooth to the ball regularly. Helping her get that second ball is libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='499450' first='Krea' last='Martin'] ('27, 5-5 DS/L, Columbus East),</strong> the only freshman on a sophomore-heavy squad. Her fast footwork, coupled with her calm platform, make her a great candidate for libero at the next level. Not once did I think she was the young one on this team---she plays with a maturity not normally seen in freshman liberi. The combination of these two players will take this squad far this spring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->