17 USA Standouts At Mideast Qualifier

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mideast Qualifier was this past weekend in Indianapolis and gave a chance for a lot of Michigan clubs to step up at various levels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 17 USA, Dead Frog 17 Black secured a bid with a third-place finish, going 7-1 on the weekend with only a loss to the eventual champion, Stars 17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Legacy 17-2 ADIDAS reached the gold bracket and ended up ninth on the weekend with a 5-3 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's some of the players that stood out from those clubs in Indy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='446691' first='Taliyah' last='Hanks'], MH Dead Frog 17 Black</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hanks continues to put up a very impressive club season. The 2026 prospect has been a dominant force in the middle for Dead Frog this winter. At 6'3” with a lot of hang time, opposing teams are having to put a lot of focus into where she is on the court. She's able to push hitters to have to play difficult sideline shots, while also leaving the defense scrambling when the ball comes her way offensively. Hanks is getting a better and better feel for pace of play and still exhibits a lot of room to improve. She can be a big-time prospect in the years to come.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443826' first='Jordyn' last='Hughes'], MH Dead Frog 17 Black</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's one thing to have one dominant middle, but Dead Frog has two. Hughes can held her own with most middle prospect in this state. She's got the length and athleticism to be a big disruptor defensively. On offense, she reads the court very well and has the ability to adjust her shots at the last second to beat blockers. Hughes likes to play an aggressive pace as well, which bodes well for her developing into a top prospect at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443896' first='Sydney' last='Bates'], S Dead Frog 17 Black</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a reason why the Dead Frog offense has been so challenging for opponents. It's not just because they have a lot of dynamic hitters, but they also have a great court leader in Bates running the offense. Bates has a great feel for her hitters and can push a solid pace. Her athleticism and competitiveness lead her to making some great sets that others couldn't match. She also places a smooth bump when a set just isn't in the cards. Even those still give her hitters a chance to finish the point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156291' first='Taygan' last='Corstange'], L Dead Frog 17 Black</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All the offense in the world doesn't mean much if you can't defend. Thankfully for Dead Frog, [player_tooltip player_id='156291' first='Taygan' last='Corstange'] is a battle-tested libero that is shining this club season. There's no lack of effort and no lack of confidence in this libero. She's already been up against top hitters throughout the state, so she's got the instincts to carry Dead Frog in these key USA division matches. This past weekend Corstange was racking up digs by the dozens.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='288954' first='Brooke' last='Hehl'], S Legacy 17-2 ADIDAS</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hehl looked really locked in this weekend. She had a good feel for when to play a dump and typically scored on them. She also mixed up the offense well for Legacy. Hehl never got to fixated on a single hitter and had the offense attacking from both pins regularly while bringing in the middles to finish at a high rate. Hehl's leadership and command had Legacy playing right with the top teams in the division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='239993' first='Kadie' last='Tarasiewicz'], MH Legacy 17-2 ADIDAS</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another impactful middle in the division was Tarasiewicz. When she stepped on the floor, it just seemed that opponents had to adjust their game plan. She was constantly keeping opponents from getting clean attacks and recorded her fair share of blocks as well. When not involved in the attack on offense, Tarasiewicz really locked into defensive support of her hitters and showed a lot of awareness to transition into a defensive role. When the ball did come her way, she put a lot of pop into the ball and terminated regularly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->