USAV GJNC Teams to Watch – 17 USA Vol 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>USA Jr Nationals, which will be held in Las Vegas in early July, is the ultimate test to the end of the season as it will bring together all of the teams who have earned a bid to participate.&nbsp; These wonderful teams have proven themselves through a very long and grueling club season and will compete against other top-notch teams who have earned the right to play in this prestigious tourney.&nbsp; We will be highlighting teams and individual players from the 17 USA division that we think you should be watching during the tourney in this series of articles.&nbsp; Let's take a look at a few names to know!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>CITY 17 Gold</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CITY 17 Gold is led by head coach Mitch Kallick.  They won their bid by winning the championship at the Salt Lake City Showdown National Qualifier.  This team has some serious ballers on it, however the offense is led by super stud and stone cold killer [player_tooltip player_id='331833' first='Ashby' last='Zubchevich'].  This young lady is extremely explosive in everything that she does.  No wonder why she is already committed to Duke University.  While a lot of players need to create momentum in order to get up high with their approach, Ashby has the lower body muscles that propel her up in the air with ease even from just her plant steps.  However, when she does have the time to take a full approach, her vertical stretches well beyond ten feet in the air.  Another dominant player for this wonderful squad is middle [player_tooltip player_id='770857' first='Siena' last='Morgan'] who truly knows how to score against blocks by turning in mid-air to throttle the ball around opposing middles.  She is set up by a wonderful setter who runs a solid 5-1 offense, [player_tooltip player_id='770849' first='Angelina' last='Dellutri'].  Miss Dellutri's jump set is very deceptive and keeps opposing middles honoring her jump and this creates some seams for her pins to exploit.  Opposite [player_tooltip player_id='478929' first='Olivia' last='Ip'] does a great job of blocking and attacking to give this team some firepower on the right side.  Brandi Boston is a star on the rise out of the middle.  She uses her long arms very well in order to throttle the ball toward the corners.  Due to her play, she has made her way onto my watch list for sure.  Libero Sophia Jun is constantly on her toes at all times and this makes her extremely swift everywhere on the court.  I love her first reaction to each contact of the ball.  This reaction time gives her the edge that she needs to be a stud of a libero.  Ceumara Hernandez is a solid second option on the left side that scores well by tooling the block and cutting around it also.  This squad can make a solid run at nationals this summer if they keep doing what they are doing.  Keep your eye on them!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Athletic Performance 17 National Black</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>APV won their bid with a fifth place finish at the Show Me National Qualifier.&nbsp; They are led by head coach Nicholas Gay.&nbsp; Libero [player_tooltip player_id='254147' first='Ella' last='Meador'] is super solid for this squad.&nbsp; She does a great job at creating some awesome angles when passing and digging that help her keep her team in system.&nbsp; Opposite [player_tooltip player_id='402485' first='Kinley' last='Elms'] plays very high above the net as a blocker and this is a huge reason that their defense is formidable.&nbsp; Her ability to attack down the line on the right side is a big reason why she is on my watch list.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='438214' first='Allyson' last='McCabe'] starts out most matches as the first setter and steadies the ship well to get the offense going.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='201502' first='Morgan' last='Collier'] is very well known by us at Prep Dig.&nbsp; We have her ranked for a reason.&nbsp; She plays big at the net and is super fast toward the setter and off of the ground.&nbsp; We have been watching her journey for a long time and think she has tons of room to grow as a player.&nbsp; We are glad she is playing at the Open and USA level now to showcase her skills with this stud of a team.&nbsp; Outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='515460' first='Kamryn' last='Glover'] plays all the way around and has that “it factor” to her game.&nbsp; She has exceptional ball control in the back row and can send some thunder to the opposition from any location on the court.&nbsp; Setter Ava Reding is the other half of the 6-2 offense that keep this team aggressive on the offensive end.&nbsp; She plays great defense out of right back and has a high volleyball IQ when spreading the ball around to all of her attackers.&nbsp; Even thought this club is pretty new, they have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the vaunted North Texas volleyball region.&nbsp; We will be watching this squad closely this summer at nationals and you should also.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite teams and athletes that will be attending nationals.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->