Hot Upper Classmen DS/Ls at San Antonio Top 250 Expo Vol. 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensive specialists are amazing athletes who can turn a match that is on the line into a win by making great plays when it matters. The first two on this list are seniors and if they are still looking for a place to call home in college, they looked good at this weekend and should be given a review by the coaches who attended the Prep Dig Expo in San Antonio. It was amazing to watch the more senior athletes at the event and see the amount of depth, skill, and maturity they can develop in such a short time in high school. Let's consider them individually and discuss what makes them special.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='722146' first='Vanessa' last='Cavazos']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cavasos is a 5'3" DS/L from San Antonio Health Careers High School in the senior class. Cavazos was really impressive at the Expo. She is great at serve/receive and pops the ball up perfectly to the setter. She has a great platform and execution when digging the ball up to keep it in play. She has a lot of speed that helps her when diving for a dig.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":722361,"width":"147px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"thumbnail","linkDestination":"none","align":"left"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/IMG_5498.jpeg?w=150&amp;h=150&amp;crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-722361" style="width:147px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='722096' first='Kalie' last='Rodriguez'], DS/L from Southwest Legacy High School, class of 2025.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='722096' first='Kalie' last='Rodriguez']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rodriguez is a 4'11" defensive specialist from Southwest Legacy High School's senior class. Rodriguez is very fast, has a great pancake, and is super athletic. Rodriguez's speed and agility are her greatest assets on the court. She can cover most of the court successfully by anticipating what is coming at her and moves well to get to the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":722359,"width":"155px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"thumbnail","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/IMG_5504.jpeg?w=150&amp;h=150&amp;crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-722359" style="width:155px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='722107' first='Leighton' last='Hale'], DS/L from Tivy High School, class of 2026.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='722107' first='Leighton' last='Hale']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hale is a 5'6" DS/L from Tivy High School in the junior class. Hale has great movement to the ball and ends up in the right place at the right time. She can adjust to out-of-system balls easily and makes them useful to her team to score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='722141' first='Stevie' last='Rasmussen']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rasmussen is a 5'8" defensive specialist from Pieper High School in the junior class. Rasmussen is the type of player that never gives up on the ball. There is just not a lot of quit in her. She is great at serve/receive and is very athletic. She has powerful serves and is accurate with them too. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":722367,"width":"158px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"thumbnail","linkDestination":"none","align":"left"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/IMG_5496.jpeg?w=150&amp;h=150&amp;crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-722367" style="width:158px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='722092' first='Julianna' last='Guajardo'], DS/L from PSJA High School, class of 2026.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='722092' first='Julianna' last='Guajardo']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guajardo is a 5'7" DS/L from PSJA High School's junior class. Guajardo has a great platform, a good sense of what is happening on the court, and great serves. When I was watching her, she was playing outside hitter and was doing a really good job at it too. She is potentially a 6-rotation player and effective at all positions on the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='722049' first='Allyson' last='Rosa']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rosa is a 5'3" defensive specialist from the junior class at Taft High School. Rosa is a good setter as well as a good DS/L. She dug up an attack at the back of the court, next play successfully set a hitter, then transitioned to the position to dig up blocks coming down from blockers on the other side of the net. She is good at digging the ball out of the net, her skills are versatile, and she utilizes them in a way that is an advantage to her team. Great athlete! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->