Talented Setters to Watch at Adidas Lone Star Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The New Year has arrived and, for the club volleyball season, it means there are still several months of action until the summer, when the USA Volleyball National Championships will be held.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 18s age group works on a different timeline, though, as they will play for the national title by the end of April, so it's time to start working towards qualification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend, teams in Texas will have a great opportunity to book their tickets to Salt Lake City, competing at home in the Adidas Lone Star Classic, one of the biggest national qualifiers held in the state, having the Austin Convention Center as the host, from Friday to Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams from all over the Lone Star State will be in action as the event will reunite 198 club teams split into four divisions. As we prepare for the start of the tournament, let's get to know some of the top Texas players who will be on the court, starting with the setters:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["179904"],"_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-678545fc5f707"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Massie is one of the setters of the HJV 18 Elite team that will compete in the 18 Open division in Austin. She's been playing at a very high level for the last several years and is used to big moments and to dealing with pressure. Much of Massie's efficiency at the setter position comes from her mental toughness, which allows her to remain calm and focused on the court no matter what. She's also a very productive playmaker, who uses her hitters well and is very precise with her locations. Massie also has the ability to help her team in many other different ways as she gets to make an impact at the net with her setter dumps and blocking and is also very efficient on the backcourt, serving well and playing great defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🌟 Here are some of my highlights from the Adidas Lone Star Qualifier Tournament 🌟 HJV 17 Elite - Setter - #16<br>Open Division - 3rd place - Qualified!<a href="https://twitter.com/houstonjuniors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@houstonjuniors</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ManvelVBall?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ManvelVBall</a><a href="https://twitter.com/PDTexas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PDTexas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VBAdrenaline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VBAdrenaline</a> <a href="https://t.co/LtAEbxVCRi">pic.twitter.com/LtAEbxVCRi</a></p>&mdash; KMassieVb (@KenedyMassie) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenedyMassie/status/1782451039389483382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["208725"],"_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-678545fc5f7cb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gray will set for the Roots 18-1 Green team that will contend in the 18 USA division. She has been a stud in the program for many years and continues to be a central piece in the team's playing system. A lefty, Gray combines technical and physical skills in a way that not many other setters do, opening up a number of possibilities in her game. She's super athletic and that helps when she needs to track a pass off the net or set a tight pass into it. Gray's playmaking ability is tremendous as she manages to remain accurate with her locations regardless of the situation and does a very good job with her distribution. Because of her length and intelligence, her setter dumps are typically lethal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5PA4GnuFgK/?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/C5PA4GnuFgK/?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 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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/C5PA4GnuFgK/?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 [player_tooltip player_id='208725' first='Mikayla' last='Gray'] 2025 Lefty Setter/RS (@mikaylagrayvball)</a></p></div></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- 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":"Bradi Rhodes","_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":"5'6u0022","_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":"Oak Ridge","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston']","_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-67856223297db"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Rhodes is with the [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 18 Adidas team that's entered in the 18 USA division. She returned to the club this season from Texas Legacy and is one of their options at the setter position. A very intelligent player, Rhodes makes the most of her impressive technical skills, orchestrating a dynamic and efficient offense with her teams. She has excellent setting hands and is capable of repeatedly hitting the same location on the pin from different spots. Rhodes is also very quick to get to the ball and her quickness allows her to play great defense as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16998085/66e5cbd91d1fc67aa313942d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6785622329993"} /--> <!-- 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":"Alayna Francis","_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":"32561","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Richards","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] BCS","_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-678545fc5f873"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Francis will lead the BCS Skyline 18 Royal team in the 18 Liberty division this weekend in Austin. A very technical player, she runs the team's offense with tremendous efficiency, remaining consistent and making intelligent decisions with her distribution. A solid all-around player, Francis also helps the teams in other areas of the game. She can take up hitting duties when at the net and gets to score at a good clip, combining a high contact point with superior shot selection. The setter is also an outstanding server and plays solid defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13546509/66f6e8805a229b6357bc7c7d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-678545fc5fa22"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["254140"],"_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-678545fc5fa79"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Phillips and her [program_tooltip program_id='475085' first='1United' last=''] 18 Elite Blue team will be in action in the 18 American division of the event. A very technical player, she can be used as a setter or a defensive specialist, displaying excellent ball control and a high volleyball IQ. When running the show at setter, Phillips thrives with her ability to feed her pin hitters with accurate sets, even when out of system. She's also a difference-maker on the backcourt, sending tough serves across the net that get opponents in trouble and generating many transition plays with her solid defense at the right back position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQbRNwzq5a8","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQbRNwzq5a8 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->