Top 3 Gasparilla Finishes: 18's & 17's

Every year the Gasparilla tournament held in Tampa attract teams from across the state to compete. The notable finishes accompanied with so many great players is what makes this tournament enticing every year. Here's a breakdown of the top finishers and a couple players that really stuck out to me.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">18's Division</h2>   1st: Team Kiwi 18 Graphite   With a record of 9-0 and only two sets dropped it's needless to say that this team was dominating their opponents. A few names stuck in my mind to watch out for the rankings list update. Dylan Elferdink is a tenacious athlete who won't give up on plays. It doesn't matter how bad the situation might be, she is going to do her best to put her team in a better position. She never stops with effort and determination on defense and especially on offense. Another player who really stuck out to me is their libero [player_tooltip player_id='455076' first='Marianela' last='Heymans']. She is in the class of 2025 yet is playing at a high level on an older team. She has been able to make a huge difference in what this team can do on both sides of the court because of her ball control and the range she has on defense. This team has a lot of dynamic players that can and are planning to play at the collegiate level.   2nd: EVCA 18 Teal   Finishing in a close second place, this team went 7-2 on the weekend. The two players that stood out to me when watching them online were setter Megan Kelly and outside hitter Mia Elder. Megan does a great job of keeping her release point high above her forehead while keeping her release quick out of her hands. She has enough strength and touch to set any position with her hands from anywhere inside of 15 feet of the net. Mia is the go-to hitter that Megan will go to in big situations. Mia has a big arm that can overpower teams if you leave too many holes in the block. With both of them being 6 rotation players they were both impactful on the defensive end as well.   3rd: AVA 18 Coral   A 3rd place finish for AVA with a record of 7-1 on the weekend. The two biggest standouts for the weekend in my opinion was middle blocker Elaina Fischer and outside hitter Ava Mohler. Most teams can't have their middle hitter be their go-to option, but that is the confidence that Elaina shows on the court. She's got a nice combination of vertical jump and quickness. This makes her offense a legitimate threat even if the pass or set isn't perfect. When they can't run Elaina, they go to Ava. She's a great out of system option with her vision, IQ, and the necessary shots to be successful in those situations. She can put a ball down yet can also take speed off of the ball and place in open spots on the court.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17 Open Division</h2>   1st: OT 17 T Jose   With a big win for the weekend OT Jose finished out with a 7-1 record for the tournament. There were two players that really stood out to me. Libero Haiden Spano and middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='455068' first='Camille' last='Holloway'] really caught my eye watching film. Haiden is everywhere on the defensive end, running through and diving through balls up and down the court. She does a great job of reading the hitter from left back in their rotational defense and can cover a ton of court in those reads. When Haiden puts up a good pass, which is often, it usually will get set to their middle blocker Camille. Camille is the new age quick armed middle that is an absolute problem offensively. They were consistently looking for her in good offensive situations and most of the time she is going to put the ball away.   2nd: Tampa United 17 Black   In a close second place finish Tampa United finished with a record of 6-2. The player I talk about the most from this squad and have covered already is outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='499510' first='Charlotte' last='Thompson']. She's such an integral part of her team that it's hard to leave her off of my list of impactful players from this past weekend. However their setter [player_tooltip player_id='355767' first='Sophia' last='Custodio'] showed up and represented for their team. The lefty setter did a great job distributing the offensive workload while being an offensive threat herself. She has one of the cleanest two hand dumps I have seen in the class and it worked almost every time I saw her attempt it on film. She also acts as a second libero on their team with the high level defense she plays in area 1.   3rd: Venetian Bay 17-1 Frontier   Just missing out of the championship match, Venetian Bay finished 5-2 on the weekend. The two players that really stood out as impact players for their teams are their middle blocker Gabrielle Meese as well as their outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='499549' first='Summer' last='Kohler']. Gabrielle is a menacing presence on the net especially when blocking. She is not just tall but has the arm length and hand size to really be a force at the net. My favorite part of her game has to be her fluid arm-swing. She's able to really make a massive impact in the three rotations she's on the court, yet Summer on the pin makes up for a lot of the out of system situations. She has the ability to really finish her swing across her body or straight through the ball with ease. The range she has on offense was one of the most impressive of the weekend.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17 USA Division</h2>   1st: OT 17 Justin   With a fantastic tournament finish, OT Justin went undefeated with only two sets dropped all tournament. Although there are plenty of players to choose from, the two players that stood out to me the most were libero Vanessa Sierra and setter Cassidy Dart. Vanessa is technically sound with good posture and a strong platform. Yet the thing that I like about her game the most has to be her tenacious attitude on defense. She really will not let the ball touch the ground and a lot of the time will still keep her team in a good transition opportunity. Cassidy as the quarterback of their offense really took advantage of the passes that came from Vanessa. She does a good job of spreading the ball out to different hitters at the right times while still making an impact on their defense both on the net and in the backrow.   2nd: Buffalo Stampeders 17-1   In a close matchup the Stampeders just miss out on the 1st place medal finishing 16-5 in sets on the weekend. The two players that stood out the most were both of their outside hitters. First of the two I will highlight is Ava Herren. Ava is the type of hitter that can really translate at the collegiate level when it comes to being able to play 6 rotations and be an impact for your team in each of those rotations. It doesn't matter if their team is on offense or defense it seems like Ava is always involved in the play. The second outside to highlight is Allison Ham. She's an intriguing prospect that could really push her game to the next level. She really impressed me when it came to her overall skill that is needed at the position.   3rd: Countdown 17 Elite   Countdown Elite had a great finish to the weekend with a record of 6-2, just falling short of the championship game. The two players I saw when watching film that caught my eye were right side Shamaiah Richardson and setter Ivy Taylor. Shamaiah is really their go-to option and put her in positions to make plays. A lot of the time in serve receive their coach would have her pass in middle back and transition to still hit right side. That on top of her whip of an arm really show the trust and impact that she makes for her team. Ivy is a consistent player for her team who doesn't make flashy plays but keeps their team very steady. She really allows her hitters to be in positions to hit the ball as long as the pass is high enough for her to get her hands on.   It was a very successful weekend for a lot of clubs and teams this weekend. I wanted to highlight just a few of the top players for some of the top finishers this past weekend. Some of these players are going to be represented in updated rankings lists if they aren't on them already. Can't wait to see how each of these prospects really impact their teams during upcoming qualifiers.

Every year the Gasparilla tournament held in Tampa attract teams from across the state to compete. The notable finishes accompanied with so many great players is what makes this tournament enticing every year. Here's a breakdown of the top finishers and a couple players that really stuck out to me.