FAST Pre Nationals: 16s – Middles

With the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship less than a month away, preparation tournaments are taking place all over the country and a big one happened in the Houston area last week, the FAST Pre Nationals.   Hosted by the traditional club [program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors'], the event reunited 90 teams from the area and beyond for two days of action as clubs finalize their preparations ahead of the trip to Las Vegas.   <ul> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/06/fast-pre-nationals-16s-photos/">FAST Pre Nationals: 16s - Photos</a></li> </ul>   Prep Dig was in attendance on Saturday, following the eight teams that competed in the Power Pools of the 16s division. There was a lot of talent on display and we'll feature some of the players who shone during the day - in today's article, we'll look into the middles:    Bespaly helped her [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] TW 16 Royal team secure a second-place finish in the event, getting four wins and three losses. A very long player, she made her presence felt at the net on both sides of the ball. Bespaly read the game very well and seemed always to be one step ahead of her opponents, getting first to 50-50 balls and making some smart blocking moves. She was also very effective offensively, hitting different sets and showing great firepower.      With King in the middle, Texas Legacy 16 Elite finished third, with two wins and four losses. An extremely physical player, she played with tremendous energy at the net, which showed in a strong way in her offense. King made a very strong approach and smashed the ball with incredible power with her right arm, especially when hitting the slide set. The middle also displayed excellent mobility at the net when blocking.     Harvin and her STVA 16 Navy finished fifth with two wins and three losses. She was probably the tallest player on the field and, even though her game is still coming together in a lot of ways, she showed great promise. Harvin has all the tools to develop into a great blocker as she has excellent instincts, is agile to move at the net and places her arms very aggressively to take up space from opposing hitters. Her offense needs further work, but is already fairly effective because of her high contact point.      Brown's [program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] 16 Adidas team had a solid campaign last week, getting four wins and one loss to rank ninth. The middle was a big part of the team's game, showing great explosiveness on offense, getting set quite often and scoring with consistency. Brown was very active with her blocking too, displaying impressive mobility and placing her arms aggressively above the net. She also caused problems for opponents with her tough serves.     Collins was part of the AVA TX 16 Adidas team that ranked 13th with one win and four losses. Her physical tools and the way she uses them indicate she can develop into a solid player in the position. Her blocking was important for the team as besides getting in the way of opposing hitters with tremendous efficiency, she also did a good job dealing with overpasses and tight sets. Collins' offense was consistent, even if she wasn't set very often.

With the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship less than a month away, preparation tournaments are taking place all over the country and a big one happened in the Houston area last week, the FAST Pre Nationals.