USA Volleyball GJNC Preview – Teams to Watch Vol 11

<!-- 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>Valley Volleyball Academy 16 Rita</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>VVA 16 Rita earned their Liberty division bid at the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier.&nbsp; This squad plays the game very hard on defense.&nbsp; Each one of them does their part and it seems to be infectious to how they can create momentum to go on runs.&nbsp; Setter [player_tooltip player_id='750787' first='Avery' last='Dedekian'] can be seen flying around like a libero to make sure that no balls fall to the floor anywhere near her zone.&nbsp; I love how she stays disciplined until the very last second before releasing to track down the pass.&nbsp; This helps her back row to play their own zone with no fear and focusing only on their roles defensively.&nbsp; Libero Olivia Rogers matches that same energy out of middle back as she comes out of nowhere to save balls from scoring.&nbsp; The way she covers the court during all plays makes the coach in me very happy.&nbsp; Her counterpart in the two libero system is serve receive specialist Loryn Ayerza.&nbsp; This young lady has impeccable ball control as she redirects the ball to her setter perfectly with precision.&nbsp; Lengthy left side attacker Avery Roberson uses every inch of her long reach to swing with authority during side out opportunities.&nbsp; She has a lot of help from quick-swinging middle [player_tooltip player_id='495258' first='Ella' last='Rowe'] who can bring the thunder.&nbsp; I also love how fast she is transitioning from defense to offense out of the middle.&nbsp; We will be watching this team pretty closely at nationals to see if they can keep their momentum going against some of the best in the nation.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Summit 16 National John</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This North Texas Region squad earned their Liberty division bid at the Big South National Qualifier this season.&nbsp; They will have some home field advantage by being extremely close to home for the tournament.&nbsp; Middle Samyika Rudraraju has a very powerful attack that she unleashes at will during quick attacks.&nbsp; This team knows her strength and goes to it early and often to establish their offensive scheme.&nbsp; If she gets on fire, it will be hard to stop her.&nbsp; Feeding her the ball is setter Sofia Winter who has impeccable form and technique when delivering each set.&nbsp; Her hands are identical mirror-images of each other and this will help her consistency as she continues to grow in the position.&nbsp; Lengthy right side [player_tooltip player_id='427824' first='Elyse' last='Lam'] sends over some power also and is a shut down blocker against team's best hitters.&nbsp; Another solid blocker is middle Karringtyn Keen.&nbsp; This young lady has a motor that is full of high-octane gas and patrols the net from pin to pin very well.&nbsp; Two of their pins, Ava Funderburk and Jillian White do such a great job of playing all the way around on both sides of the ball.&nbsp; This team is fun to watch and will be ready to put in some work against whoever gets in their way.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more from them and the rest of their studs as we cover the tourney.&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 -->