PD Gauntlet 14 Premier - Players that Shined

The 14 Premier Division of the Gauntlet had some tough teams that showcased great talent. While there were numerous skilled players that took to the court, below are a few that stood out as I watched from court side. While these players are young (have yet to start high school), their skills are ahead of many of their peers and I can't wait to see how they progress over the next few years.   Remember to follow me on Instagram @Prepdigamy and Facebook @PrepDig Amy for up to date event coverage, stories, and more.    Tracy is a 6 rotation outside that is force on the court. She is a combination of grit and power that she uses to do so many things well at her young age. At the gauntlet, she was solid on serve receive, hustled on defense in the middle back, and unloaded some huge swings. She has a high game IQ and has an arsenal of shots that she knows how and when to unleash to generate points.     Pierce is a 6 rotation outside with a ton of potential. She is quick and aggressive on the court. She takes big swings both when in system and also when out of system. She sees the block in front of her and knows when to go around it and or when to use the block to score points.     [player_tooltip player_id='522397' first='Peyton' last='Ubrig'] is an upcoming middle with a ton of potential. She is quick, reads the opposing teams setter well, and has good reactions. I was most impressed with her ability to read the court, see the open spots, and make good attacking choices. She understands when to take a big swing and when placing tips is more effective to generate points for her team.     Brown is a rising star as an outside. She does a good job reading the block in front of her and knows when to take big swings versus when to push to the corners, tip over the block, and when to bang it off of the blockers hands to score points. Brown also puts up a solid block on the defensive end. She reads well and knows how to correctly position her hands to shut down opposing attackers.     Welliver is a lefty opposite with a big, powerful attack. She does a solid job transitioning quickly off the net, has an explosive approach, and will take huge shots down the line and cross court that are hard for teams to handle. Welliver sees the block in front of her, can hit the seam, go around it entirely, or go off opponents hands to score.     Shorts is a versatile pin that can effectively take big swings and terminate from both pins. She was as equally powerful and aggressive when swinging from the right pin as she was from the left. Shorts also does a good job reading on defense and was able to not only effectively dig some big attacks from the middle back but also move efficiently laterally to track down line attacks and pushes with ease.     Kyle was a stud in the back court. This libero did a good job creating angles and passing off her midline to deliver balls efficiently to target. She also has a good, early read on the ball and thus, covers a ton of ground on serve receive. Kyle was also exceptional on the defensive end. She came up with some big, impressive digs as well as tracked down several other balls for some huge saves.     Rettler is a speedy libero with with quick reactions, solid footwork, and good mechanics. Her serve receive was especially impressive. She does a good job passing off her midline and delivering balls to target. She also runs through the short balls and did a good job covering her blockers and recycling balls to give her team second chance options.     Eisenmann is a setter on the rise. She can already deliver the gap set with tempo, pushes the ball to the pins with ease, and does a good job consistently placing balls in the right location for her attackers to be successful. Eisenmann also knows when the best time to throw out a perfectly timed setter dump scoring points for her team.

The 14 Premier Division of the Gauntlet had some tough teams that showcased great talent. While there were numerous skilled players that took to the court, below are a few that stood out as I watched from court side. While these players are young (have yet to start high school), their skills are ahead of many of their peers and I can't wait to see how they progress over the next few years.