FAST Pre Nationals: 17s - Outside Hitters

<p>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.</p>   <p>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.</p>   <ul> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/06/fast-pre-nationals-17s-photos/">FAST Pre Nationals: 17s - Photos</a></li> </ul>   <p>Prep Dig was in attendance on Saturday, following the 12 teams that competed in the Power Pools of the 17s division. There was a lot of talent on display and we'll feature some of the players who shone during the day, this time looking at the outside hitters:</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Rogers led her team AVA TX 17 Adidas to a third-place finish in the event with four wins and two losses. She was the most explosive hitter in the entire field and every time she went up to swing, opponents should probably hope she would hit out, because if the ball was in, they were going to have a hard time controlling it. Rogers was set on the middle back position quite often too and was extremely efficient. The outside hitter was very stable with her passing and had great success at the service line, getting several aces and some long runs with her powerful top spin jump serve.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1802085365211439265 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Playing one age group up, Santiago and her [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Adidas teammates ranked third with two wins and three losses. The technical and consistent outside hitter was a key piece in the team's playing system, contributing on both sides of the ball. Santiago played a big role in the team's serve-receive system, passing with efficiency and also getting several touches on defense. When at the net, she used her impressive vertical and excellent vision to beat the blockers and score with consistency from the left and the right.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/IMG_5585.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-551916" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">AVA TX 17 Adidas vs. [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Adidas</figcaption></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Metoyer played for the HJV 17 Premier team that ranked fifth with three wins and two losses. A very physical player, she was an important offensive weapon for them, getting off the floor well and hitting with power. Metoyer was able to maintain her offensive consistency because of her excellent decision-making and because she had the resources to go around the block or tool it when necessary - the outside hitter also scored in big moments for the team. Her ball control was solid and helped her have a good display on serve-receive too.</p>      <p class="text-gray-700">Paugh's [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 17 Adidas side had a solid campaign over the weekend, getting four wins and one loss to rank fifth. Originally a middle, she played at the pin for them and proved to be a viable scoring option there as well. Paugh was nearly unstoppable when hitting a quicker set at the pin, smashing the ball straight down, but also displayed good vision and precision to score in out-of-system plays. Her blocking was also very effective, creating problems for opposing hitters. Paugh had a few brief struggles with her passing, but immediately regained her confidence and moved forward.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1802103585007972428 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">With Ahrens at the pin, AJV 17 Helix ranked fifth in the event with two wins and three losses. An outside hitter with strong technical skills, she was very comfortable in serve-receive, covering a lot of ground and delivering precise passes. Ahrens' ball control also made of her a valuable defensive piece for them, as she had good success digging at the middle back position. The pin hitter also held her own offensively, taking advantage of her great hangtime to make good choices with her swings, often finding interesting angles to beat the blockers and score.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/IMG_5601.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-551919" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Houston Stellar 17 Elite vs. AJV 17 Helix</figcaption></figure>

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.