Sunshine Classic Showcase Closing Thoughts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's take a final look at the liberos and defensive specialists from the Sunshine Classic Showcase in Orlando, Florida on Friday. Lots of great wash games, serve receive drills and defensive drills to showcase the athletes that hold down the backcourt. Let's take a final look at some of these ball control queens.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting off is 5'7” 2027 Pine Crest player [player_tooltip player_id='487678' first='Kaylee' last='Foreman'] from Fort Lauderdale . She has a lot of energy to give on the floor and to her teammates. She has racked up 593 digs since her 8th grade year for the Panthers. Foreman has a great jump float serve that can either sail to the endline for an ace or float and die and land between the seams. She has great reaction time playing left back defense and absorbs hits and betters the ball. Keep tabs on this sophomore during club season for Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal (16-1) as her ceiling is high!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='750766' first='Sophia' last='Landrau'], a 5'1” 2027 athlete  out of Lake Brantley High School does a phenomenal job of getting under the ball no matter how short it is. She covers, moves and reads the ball well. Her angles on balls and the adjustment she makes is really good! Landrau is also disciplined when chasing the ball and has fantastic court awareness. She also has great passes for out of system balls to the pins. Another attribute was her good energy on the floor, but her enthusiasm off the court waiting to rotate in during drills! u</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class of 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='740629' first='Mackenzie' last='Taber'] is a 5'4” libero, has good energy on the floor and takes great angles to balls. She has a solid platform and plays seams well on serve receive, always communicating with fellow passers. Keep an eye on her as she plays club for TVA Smack 15 Paige. Along with Taber's energy it was equally matched by Lipan's Brianna Taylor. Another 2028 who has had a great platform and was always in a ready position. She passed extremely well in Zone 1 or right back. Taylor plays club for Fort Worth Fire 14-1 White.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lake Nona's [player_tooltip player_id='747321' first='Leilany' last='Starling'] reads the ball well and takes great angles to&nbsp; pass the ball. She does a really nice job of getting the deep balls on the line and she is quick on the court. Starling excels at getting her hips around the ball and staying behind the ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deya Taslidzic out of Jupiter High School is another 2028 libero/defensive specialist. Her strength is playing the ball down the line on defense. She talks well and has great energy! She is strong and has great hands for out of system balls. Deya covers her hitters well and has a great driving serve. Overall a strong athlete to keep eyes on!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This versatile defensive specialist can also take big swings on the pin! 5'6” Logan Pursley has great footwork and covers her hitters really well. During wash drills, she was taking some great swings! She also had a great energy on the floor as well. Pursley plays club ball for Summit National Amber. Pursley is a 2028 prospect!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2028's Jolene Meeks is all over the floor touching and digging balls. The 5'2” defensive dandy has a nasty serve that just clears the tape. Her strengths stretch to serve receive too. Meeks has a steady platform and is calm on the court. She has great reaction time and court sense for a freshman. Keep her on your radar!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Megan Spencer had a fantastic showcase as well! She has a great platform and reads well. Spencer can pass well from anywhere on the court as she demonstrated excellent footwork. Chaos balls she also chased well and good spatial awareness. Her serve is a nice deep float serve. Keep an eye on this defensive specialist!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is also a quick snapshot of some 8th graders or Class of 2029 that need to be mentioned as well. 5 '5 " Emry Ward from Edison High School in California was quick, covered well and read hitters at a high level. She passed dimes in serve receive as well. Ward gave a lot of energy on the floor too! Emmalyn Rainford is a 5'2” Class of 2029 from Nevada who was also strong at reading the court and hitters. She was in the right place in defense. Analiese Lim from Mater Dei High School in California was all over the court too and really excelled in bettering the ball even if her back was turned to the net on the endline. She had great court awareness!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lots of young talent on the floor at [program_tooltip program_id='518441' first='Winter' last='Park Volleyball Club'] with many of these athletes with a lot of playing time ahead of them. That wraps up the coverage of the liberos and defensive specialists for the Sunshine Classic Showcase!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->