FAST Pre Nationals: 17s – Right Sides

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <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> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <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> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/06/fast-pre-nationals-17s-photos/">FAST Pre Nationals: 17s - Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <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've been featuring some of the players who shone during the day. As we complete our positional reviews, let's find out who were the most productive right sides on the court:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["269826"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b532e04"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hickman was one of the main offensive weapons of the HJV 16 Elite team that finished in second place with a campaign of five wins and two losses. The towering lefty made great use of her physical tools to stand out at the net, making contact with the ball at a very high point and hitting it hard. Hickman continues to improve her game as she's been adding new tools to her offense, while also getting more consistent throughout matches. She also offered a solid blocking presence to her team on the right, getting several stuffs and creating many problems for opposing hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17157377/666fea8c3b6f7d910a8396ec' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b533127"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["235512"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b5331aa"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lotspeich and her [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Adidas got a solid third-place finish playing one age group up, with two wins and three losses. Originally an outside hitter, she's been used on the right this season and showed again she can deliver there as well. If Lotspeich doesn't bring the size and physicality right side hitters typically do, she compensates with an intelligent and efficient game. She got off the floor well, made excellent decisions with her swings and was extremely consistent, scoring with regularity and making very few errors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/LotspeichHailey/status/1803922064996192439","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/LotspeichHailey/status/1803922064996192439 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["229048"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b53323e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hoff and her [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 17 Adidas team had a good campaign over the weekend, getting four wins and one loss to finish fifth. A lefty, she was very explosive offensively and used her reach to beat blockers and score points. Hoff punished opponents every time they left the line open for her, but also displayed good offensive variation, hitting a shortened set on right with tremendous success. She also did a good job with her blocking, always making strong moves for the ball and closing out the space above the net very effectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- 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":"Avery Kent","_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":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Stratford","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b533383"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kent's HJV 17 Premier took a fifth-place finish in the event, ending the weekend with three wins and two losses. The team used several different players on the right and Kent was the one who gave them the strongest answer, being a viable scoring option. A lefty, she used her length very well to make contact with the ball at a high point and was able to find nice angles, while still keeping her firepower, to put it down. Kent also made nice blocking moves above the net and got some stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16336353/666e9d24d521b87e7af6eaa2' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b533402"} /--> <!-- 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":"[player_tooltip player_id='212731' first='Mackenzie' last='Collins']","_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":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Cedar Creek","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Austin Juniors","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6672f1b533555"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Collins played on the right for the AJV 17 Helix team that ranked ninth with two wins and three losses. Also capable of playing in the middle, she did a fine job offensively, showing good resources and making few errors. Collins showed the ability to hit with power in different directions, but also scored off of tips when she was faced with strong blockers. Her athleticism also contributed to her blocking. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":551924,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/IMG_5624.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-551924" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Houston Stellar 17 Elite vs. AJV 17 Helix</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->