Playmakers at Redlands Rendezvous in 17/18Open

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was one of the best open divisions I have seen at Redlands in a handful of years. The parity that took place was perfect for the fans. From the gold bracket championship being between the 3rd and 6th overall seeds, both from the same pool on Saturday, to the 15th/16th place match going 15-13 in the final set. There was so many great matches and even more amazing players. I wish I could write about every single team, each had multiple solid players worth covering. Let's take a look at some of those amazing playmakers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='709450' first='Sophia' last='Devlin'], Libero for Charge 17UA. Sophia was all over the place. She does a good job of reading her blockers and how they are set up. If there was a gap, she would slide up into it and prevent the kill. I also thought she did a good job of digging balls outside of her midline. At the level she plays and the type of hitters she sees on a daily basis, you have to be. Sophia is going to be an excellent pick up for a college team!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Piper Batie</strong>, Outside Hitter for Ozark Juniors 17 Mizuno. VERY impressive hitter out of Arkansas. She was a huge part of her team's success this past weekend. She has a great transition from digging or from blocking to attacking. This allowed her to be available often and also not limit her in her approach/swing. She is one of the best the west side of Arkansas has to offer. Her and her team will do big things this club season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='391123' first='Stella' last='Wishon'], Outside Hitter for Charge 16UA. Stella is rising up the charts quickly. The fast arm and hand control she has is legit. She can bring some real heat when she swings. She isn't afraid to challenge the block and force them to be disciplined. Hitters who struggle with not staying wide enough on the pin should come and watch her play. She always has the ball on her right shoulder and jumps into the ball. She is going to do big things very soon!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Payton Milhoan</strong>, Middle Blocker for Rise 17-1. I have gotten to watch Payton the past few seasons. She continues to work on her skills and intangibles. She is a great teammate who is always up beat. I love the power she can bring at times to her swing. If she could attack from more areas on the net, she could take her game to the next level. Middles get a bad rap for their serving and <a href="https://prepdig.com/2026/10/elite-playermakers-setters-liberos-turned-heads-2026-asics-challenge/?itm_campaign=wp-parsely&amp;itm_medium=smart-link&amp;itm_term=5583743b98491472d2afefa819411430&amp;itm_source=traffic-boost" data-smartlink="5583743b98491472d2afefa819411430" title="Playmakers at Redlands Rendezvous in 17/18Open">passing</a> but Payton actually can hold her own. A local college would be getting a steal if they got her on the roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='212417' first='Addison' last='Dale'], Middle Blocker for Charge 18UA. She is committed to OBU and will be a playmaker there as well. Great feel and read on the game. A ton of high level play has contributed to this. She has great pre-set movement as a blocker. This helps keep her from being set up incorrectly and be tooled. Her ability to attack multiple spots across the net and multiple locations on the opponent's side of the court, make her a very dynamic attacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Redlands was a great start to the season, next up is Tulsa Attack and Adidas Classic. See everyone there!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->