Red Rock Rave Qualifier: Five Texas Liberos to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most anticipated and competitive National Qualifiers held in the club volleyball season, the SCVA Red Rock Rave Qualifier will be hosting its second of two rounds of action this weekend, with matches taking place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, in Las Vegas, between Saturday and Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Rock Rave is a gigantic tournament, that attracts club teams from the entire country, and in the second week of action, over 1,000 of them will be on the court, competing across 15 divisions in the 15s, 16s, 17s and 18s age groups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams from Texas will obviously make the trip West to have another shot at qualifying for the USA Volleyball Girls National Championships coming up between April and June. As we prepare for the start of the event, let's take a look at some promising prospects from the Lone Star State that will be on the court. These liberos could have big roles for their teams:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["443035"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Paulino is one of the liberos of the [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] 15 Black team that will appear in the 15 USA division. She splits time between the libero and defensive specialist roles and brings a lot of defensive solidness to the team when she's on the court. Paulino is a versatile defender, who can help on the left and the middle back positions, and she uses her length extremely well to get to the ball and always places her body behind it, when making contact, helping her keep control in her digs. She's also very disciplined and does a very good job of covering her hitters.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf0801ce"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20884989/65fbbe070c5e8302182e4511' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf08029f"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["254231"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Hardy will be with The Woodlands Skyline 16 Royal in the 16 USA division in Vegas. She's a player of impressive defensive instincts as she's always in the right spot to make plays, be it on defense or when covering her hitters. Hardy also works hard on the backcourt and has great technique, which allows her to get a lot of touches on defense. The libero also plays an important role in organizing the team and encouraging her teammates with her vocal style on the court.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf080306"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15374729/65e6c02564dedb03a0ddf370' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf08032c"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Ariel Martinez","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Pebble Hills","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"915 United VBC","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Martinez is part of the 915 16 Gilbert team that will be in action in the 16 Open division. She's a versatile prospect, who can play libero and setter, and has the technical skills to thrive on either position. Martinez is extremely solid with her passing and is excellent at finding angles to deliver the ball to her setter. Also very active when playing defense, she serves very tough and consistently helps the team with aces and by getting opponents out of system.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf08040a"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEv7xsaZWoc","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEv7xsaZWoc </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["179901"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Baker has been the starting libero for the [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 17 Adidas team that will fight in the 17 Open division. A lefty, she's very skilled from the service line and often puts their opponents in trouble with her aggressive and tricky floaters. When working on the backcourt, Baker stands out for her quickness, which allows her to get balls in no time, and her technique to keep them up. The libero is also very reliable with her passing, handling serves well and keeping her team in system.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf080476"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16319864/65caeb2b3df5b719e4db5461' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf08049e"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["194169"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Avendano will try to help her STVA 18 Mizuno team secure the bid in the competitive 18 Open division in Vegas. She's one of the pillars of the team, contributing with the defensive efficiency and helping create the conditions for their game to flow. A very technical player, Avendano is also extremely good at reading plays and is always one step ahead to get to the ball. The libero also does the little things such as covering her hitter and setting in transition with great efficiency and has a very calm demeanor on the court.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf0804f9"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17110140/65e63ac63453c909e4a385d6' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6601fcf08053e"} /-->