USA Volleyball GJNC Preview – Teams to Watch Vol 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most difficult aspects of the club volleyball season is to earn the elusive bid to USA Volleyball's Girls Junior National Championship.&nbsp; This year, the prestigious event will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas from June 25^th til July 3^rd.&nbsp; Prep Dig will be covering the event from start to finish.&nbsp; This article series will be highlighting those awesome squads who have earned their place for the chance to be crowned a national champion.&nbsp; Let's take a deep look at some of the individual stars for each of these teams.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Austin Juniors 16 Adidas</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This squad won a USA division bid by going undefeated at the Lone Star Class National Qualifier tournament and then upgraded their bid to the National division by winning the Lone Star Regional tourney.&nbsp; They have some big names on their roster.&nbsp; The defense is anchored by [player_tooltip player_id='449797' first='Laven' last='Blumoff'] who can pass nails, especially when the match gets a little tight.&nbsp; Her defense is a huge reason why they are so difficult to score on.&nbsp; Middle [player_tooltip player_id='443008' first='Audrey' last='Hedlund'] is another reason for their formidable defense.&nbsp; At the net, she does such a great job of setting up on the hitter's shoulders and taking away space.&nbsp; They have some special players that have a lot of versatility as well.&nbsp; One of those versatile players is [player_tooltip player_id='534305' first='Amelia' last='Albright'].&nbsp; She is so high on our radar because she shines both as a setter and as a right side attacker.&nbsp; Due to her being able to play both positions at a high level, we think she has tons of potential to play at the next level.&nbsp; She is a very intelligent attacker who can rip the ball or use tons of shots to exploit bad blockers or holes in the defense.&nbsp; Kerington Thornton provides some solid blocking when they use her both as a right side and a middle.&nbsp; The outside hitting duo of [player_tooltip player_id='402668' first='Hayleigh' last='Hennig'] and [player_tooltip player_id='693892' first='Avery' last='Ralston'] put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses with their big swings.&nbsp; With teams like this who are riding a huge wave of recent tournament finishes, the sky is the limit for them.&nbsp; Let's see if they can keep this momentum going into nationals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SCVC 16 Roxy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16 Roxy won their National division bid by winning the Southern California Regional tourney. They have had a pretty tough year this season but have remained resilient and battled through adversity to reach the promised land.&nbsp; With solid play from their entire roster, we think they could be on the brink of making a strong case to be in the running for a medal at nationals.&nbsp; It all starts with the setter and libero for any squad that wins a national championship.&nbsp; This squad has two really great ones in [player_tooltip player_id='545233' first='Lerin' last='Rosenthal'] and Gabriela Kumagai.&nbsp; Lerin is the ultimate leader who is one of the most competitive I have seen in a while.&nbsp; She hates to lose and pushes her teammates to be their best.&nbsp; Gabby on the other hand leads by example and routinely gives up her safety to make sure that there is maximum effort in keeping the ball off of the floor.&nbsp; If you watch this team compete, you will see her flying all around the court and making some very acrobatic defensive saves.&nbsp; Left side [player_tooltip player_id='545290' first='Allyn' last='Hilt'] provides a lot of firepower for their offense.&nbsp; There is not a shot that she can't send over to help her team stay aggressive.&nbsp; She has hard line, cross court, sharp cut shots, and off-speed as well.&nbsp; We are very proud of how they have stayed the course and not given up on a tough season.&nbsp; They will be ready to battle this summer for sure.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are very proud of their efforts and are so elated that they accomplished one huge goal of theirs to earn the elusive bid to USA Nationals.&nbsp; There are many more amazing teams and players that will be written about.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; You can also DM me on Instagram or X by searching @CoachMikeDZ.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply reposting on X, Instagram or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->