Lone Star Regionals: Five Liberos to Watch
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One of the biggest tournaments of the club season in Texas is coming to Houston this weekend as the Lone Star Regionals will held at the George R Brown Convention Center over the weekend. Almost 600 teams coming from everywhere…
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Continue ReadingOne of the biggest tournaments of the club season in Texas is coming to Houston this weekend as the Lone Star Regionals will held at the George R Brown Convention Center over the weekend.
Almost 600 teams coming from everywhere around the Lone Star State will be on the court, competing in the 15s, 16s and 17s divisions. Around 150 of those teams will also be playing for the much-coveted bids to the National Championship in those age groups.
Prep Dig will be covering the event over the weekend, bringing photos and reports on the players that stand out on the court, but before it begins, let’s take the time to highlight some prospects who could be poised for strong showings this weekend.
These liberos will be ready to work their magic on the backcourt for their teams:
Jyllian Casas
Jyllian Casas
Casas is the starting libero for the SA Juniors 15 Adidas team that will play in the 15 Bid division. A hard worker on the backcourt, she’s extremely productive at the left back position, displaying great agility to get to the ball. Casas’ precision in diving digs speaks volumes about her ball control and she also thrives with her positioning. A solid server too, the libero does a very good job of setting in transition plays, sometimes even handsetting from the back.
Duong and her CC Force 161 Crossfire teammates will test themselves in the 16 Bid division. A defensive player with extraordinary reflexes, she’s really difficult to score at and can control even the toughest swings. Her ability to dig balls while moving generates some highlight-reel material, but Duong is above anything a productive player on the back. Because of her ball control and her ability to remain focused, she’s also an extremely reliable passer. The libero can serve tough too and often gets opponents out of system.
Highlights
A class of 2027 libero, Cano will be playing one age group up this weekend with McAllen Fierce 16-1 in the 16 Bid division. She’s used to playing against older opponents and she can only do that because of how mentally strong and technically developed her game is. Despite still being very young, Cano won’t put a foot wrong with her defensive routine because she’s extremely focused and well-trained. That allows her to perform every action in the right way and deliver excellent results on the back. The libero gets a lot of touches on the backcourt and is extremely precise with each of them, playing a major role for her team.
Highlights
Ash will work on the backcourt for United VBA 16 Adidas in the 16 Bid division. As a defender, she’s extremely agile and explosive and uses these skills in a very efficient way to keep the ball off the floor. Ash does an excellent job of getting to tips and deflected shots by staying low, but also controls hard-driven swings with tremendous efficiency. The libero is very disciplined and generates several transition opportunities for her team when covering her hitters and has a tough floater that causes problems to opponents.
Cotten will be in action with MoCo Mavs 17 Red in the 17 Bid division. The trademark of her game is stability as she’s very consistent with her play and gives the team the defensive solidness it needs to face opponents. Cotten is very technical, but what takes her to another level is her ability to cover a lot of ground defensively, reading the game well and fully extending her body to get to the ball. The libero never holds anything back and will do whatever it takes to keep the ball off the floor.