Setters to Watch at Tour of Texas Warm-Up

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most popular and competitive tournaments in the entire club volleyball season in the state, the Tour of Texas is coming up shortly, with the first of two stops scheduled for 2025 set to take place in Houston, from January 18-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend, teams from the Lone Star State that will compete in the event will have a great opportunity to test themselves at the Tour of Texas Warm-Up, which will be held at the Austin Convention Center, reuniting north of 150 teams across 11 divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some seriously talented Texas players will be on the court this weekend and we'll present some of them over the next few days, starting with the setters:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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":"Charli Niu","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_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":"32561","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Salado","_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-67716196331d5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Niu was one of the most impressive setters to emerge in the last high school season, when she helped Salado appear in the State Tournament. A starter in the AJV 15 Adidas team that will compete in the 15 Open division, she has absolutely everything she needs to develop into an elite setter, combining size, mobility, quality on the ball and a high volleyball IQ in a way that just a few others do in her age. Niu's playmaking is excellent as she manages to remain precise at all times and does a very good job of moving the ball around her hitters. Her size is a difference-maker at the net as it makes her setter dumps absolutely lethal and of her blocking another strong aspect of her game. Niu can also play very good defense, remaining disciplined and displaying excellent ball control.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCHu0OqPVxy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCHu0OqPVxy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"> <div style="flex-direction: row;align-items: center"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px"></div> <div style="flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0"></div> <div style="height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px"> <div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0"></div> <div style="flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px"></div> <div style="width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto"> <div style="width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px"></div> <div style="width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent"></div></div></div> <div style="flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px"></div></div></a><p style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCHu0OqPVxy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Charli Niu (@charliniuvolleyball)</a></p></div></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["339153"],"_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-677161963324b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Minus plays for the United VBA 17 Adidas team that will appear in the 17 Open division. A skilled and crafty setter, she plays a key role for the team, keeping their offense in a good rhythm while also leading them on the court. Her setting is typically very efficient as she's very stable with her locations and has a great feel for the game, which she effectively incorporates into her decision-making when distributing the ball among her hitters. Minus is an extremely well-rounded player, who also contributes on defense and can take on hitting duties when at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">highlights from lone star classic!! #13 setting United vba 16 Adidas <a href="https://t.co/la7SO7P7bP">pic.twitter.com/la7SO7P7bP</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='339153' first='Kingsley' last='Minus'] (@kingsley_vb) <a href="https://twitter.com/kingsley_vb/status/1785836342720578019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["184155"],"_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-6771619633297"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Schluter will set for the TX Legacy 18 Elite team that will be in contention in the 18 Girls division. She's a very technical player, who stands out for her ability to keep her teams in a strong offensive rhythm. Schluter's playing style is probably not the flashiest, but she is incredibly efficient with her intelligent distribution and her ability to set the ball to the pin from anywhere on the court. The setter is also great when she has to improvise and can be a threat on setter dumps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15378253/66e1cf303e2fed75ef362960' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6771619633437"} /-->