Eleven Players Who Shined at Gran Prix

I've been to a number of volleyball tournaments but never been clipped. That seems a popular fashion this year. Girls on my team seem to come away from a volleyball tournament clipped half a dozen times. It is easier to clip a girl because you can clip the clothesline to the back of her long hair. The Gran Prix was my first clip. Thank you, Maryland Juniors.   The eleven players named below stood out at the Gran Prix tournament this past weekend in Richmond for their stellar play. None of these players are ranked, however one appears on a watch list. They are all from the class of 2027 to 2029.   Momentum Orange   This was a team competing in the 17 age group. At the time their performance did not stand out. Until I learned they were competing with three starters from the class of 2027 to 2029. The remaining five players were from the class of 2025 to 2026. That forced them to compete at the older age group.   [player_tooltip player_id='768546' first='Eleanor' last='Jastrzemski'] (Momentum/Home School) left side - At first, I thought Eleanor and Nadia were twins. They both stand about 6'2" with broad shoulders. Eleanor pounded the ball from the left side. With only eight on their roster she played six rotations. Like many of her teammates she plays for Central Virginia Home School Athletic Association. She could probably start at any high school right now except she played last year as an 8th grader. Eleanor is rostered on the Momentum 16 Navy team as well as the 17 Orange team. It appears an older sister Emily played for Veritas School/Cedarville University. Definitely a player who has grown up in a family dedicated to volleyball.   [player_tooltip player_id='768547' first='Nadia' last='Jastrzemski'] (Momentum/Home School) Middle - Nadia is a couple years older than Eleanor. She plays middle, running the quick tempo sets well. Quick feet allow her to move to the pins to create a block, There still appears a need to work on her reads. For her high school she finished second in kills with an impressive .442 hitting percentage. She also led the team in blocks. Pretty good for a sophomore. Nadia is rostered on the Momentum 17 Orange. She also stands around 6'2".   [player_tooltip player_id='768545' first='Autumn' last='Schwartz'] (Momentum/Home School) Left side - Autumn is another player competing up a couple years. She also played for Home School as a frosh this past season. She finished first on the team in kills and second in digs as well as service aces. While she played left side for Momentum her left handed swing would be better suited for the right side. However, she was their main offensive weapon with good arm extension to her swing. She also stands out as a solid defensive player with quick reactions in the back row.    A strong build who can put some juice on her spikes. Still a little bit inconsistent with her location. Once she enhances her approach that consistency will come. When the approach is early she tends to hit underneath the ball and bang it out.   While her defense is solid in the back row she occasionally is subbed out for a back row player. She also has a tendency to serve too many balls in the net. She needs to work on keeping that elbow up. If you are going to miss a serve miss it deep. Despite some of the flaws there is a lot of potential in her game to create a dominate player. Can't wait to see her game when that time arrives.     I first noticed her at National Harbor when Juniors won the 14 Division. She was the top offensive performer. Her approach and swing are a little more consistent than Alaenah. At times, when things are not going well her swing becomes short and she fails to complete her arm swing. As she matures, she will learn just to bang it or work on a roll shot.   An excellent back row player who already has the ability to hit the ball with power behind the three meter line. She passes well and moves quickly to the ball in the back row.   Madison clearly is the emotional leader on this team. She is just one of three Oakton players on this list.    [player_tooltip player_id='768529' first='Tess' last='Mahon'] ([program_tooltip program_id='431413' first='Braddock' last='Road Youth Club']/Ireton) left side - Last year she started for a struggling Ireton team. I saw a couple games but she did not stand out. She did finish second on the team in kills but with a .164 hitting percentage. At the Gran Prix her hitting seemed very consistent. She has some length at 5'10" to be a force on the outside, especially if she can add a little more growth to her frame. In the matches I watched she only played three rotations.   [player_tooltip player_id='768530' first='Ellen' last='Verwys'] ([program_tooltip program_id='431413' first='Braddock' last='Road Youth Club']/Fairfax) left side - Another left side who started for Fairfax this past season as a frosh. Fairfax was another team that struggled to find wins. Ellen was one of the bright spots for her high school team. For Braddock she was an offensive force on the outside. While she lists DS as an alternate position she only played front row in the matches I watched.   [player_tooltip player_id='768534' first='Carolyn' last='Angelicchio'] (Braddock Road/Oakton) libero - Carolyn made the Oakton varsity as a frosh. With [player_tooltip player_id='235291' first='Sadee' last='Gedse'] graduating someone has to take over the libero well. She provided consistent passing and solid defense with her back row.   [player_tooltip player_id='768531' first='Luciana' last='Martinez'] ([program_tooltip program_id='431413' first='Braddock' last='Road Youth Club']/Oakton) middle - Luciana does not appear to have played for the varsity at Oakton last year. Her middle play shows she has improved enough that she could make varsity this coming season. She was powerful when hitting the quick tempo sets and showed proficiency with a number of redirect kills on oversets. Her serves generated a number of aces.   [player_tooltip player_id='722538' first='Maren' last='Bert'] (Valley Juniors/Harrisonburg) left side - Maren is a smaller left side who has a whip for an arm swing. She can create offense from the front or back row. As a frosh she started for Harrisonburg and even earned a second team appearance on the All Region team. For Valley Juniors she clearly stands out as the primary offensive weapon. Her serve creates bullet like velocity on the ball as it passes over the net in a downward trajectory, generating a number of aces or poor passes that keep teams out of system.   [player_tooltip player_id='768536' first='Claire' last='Stallard'] (Valley Juniors/Turner Ashby) middle - At 6'1" she brings some height to the middle. Her long arm reach combined with her height makes her tips over the middle tough to defend. She can also hit the quick tempo sets as well. Still probably needs a little work on her transition game in the middle to put herself more consistently in a position to hit.

I've been to a number of volleyball tournaments but never been clipped. That seems a popular fashion this year. Girls on my team seem to come away from a volleyball tournament clipped half a dozen times. It is easier to clip a girl because you can clip the clothesline to the back of her long hair. The Gran Prix was my first clip. Thank you, Maryland Juniors.