USAV GJNC 16s-17s Day Two Top Performers

<!-- 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 will be highlighting some awesome individual players who caught my eye due to their performance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='546747' first='Addison' last='Yendrey']</strong> of Corpus Christi Force 161 Crossfire proved to be a valuable weapon as this squad battled very tough on day two.  She was very aggressive and showed near perfect timing on running quicks in front of the setter in the match I watched.  The opposing middle did not know where to set up on her defensively because she kept turning the ball to both corners for kills.  Because her timing was so fast, the defense only had time to put up a one on one block against her and it was just no match at all.  She was a scoring threat each time that she touched the ball.  I was very impressed with what she showed and am looking forward to more fireworks from her as the tourney continues. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leeanna Hamilton</strong> of [program_tooltip program_id='431254' first='San' last='Antonio Juniors'] 16 Adidas stood very tall on the right side of the defense and shut down many would-be point scorers for her squad in the match I stopped at to watch.&nbsp; Her performance made me write down a ton of notes on her so I can consider her for a spot on one of our lists in our next update of the State Rankings.&nbsp; As an opposite, you have to go up against the opposing team's best attackers and I thought she did such an amazing job of not only shutting them down, but making them alter their shots and funnel them to her defenders that were behind her.&nbsp; She deserves a few looks from college scouts with her strength, tall frame, and awesome blocking fundamentals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='534410' first='Sasha' last='Keys']</strong> of [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Adidas is one of the most athletic setters you will find on the courts right now.&nbsp; Since she has changed positions from a pin attacker to a setter, she has gotten better each time that she has touched the ball.&nbsp; On day two, I stopped by her court and was amazed at how she was moving the ball around against the flow of the pass.&nbsp; As she was moving forward to track the ball down, the opposing defense was moving to that side with her.&nbsp; Just when they thought they knew where she was going to set the left side, she used her awesome power to push it back to a right side hitter for a one on one kill.&nbsp; I also watched her use her jump set to fool the middle blocker a few times.&nbsp; If you haven't seen this young lady ball out, I strongly suggest you grab some popcorn and give her a look.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='884716' first='Keely' last='Harrington']</strong> of [program_tooltip program_id='475085' first='1United' last=''] 17N Blue was masterful in how she was moving the ball around to all of her attackers on day two of the tourney.&nbsp; Her accuracy was surgical as she put the ball exactly where it needed to be for each hitter.&nbsp; I loved how she was tracking each pass down with ease and putting herself in a position to succeed.&nbsp; Her hands looked like mirror-images of each other and this helped her stay super consistent with her location.&nbsp; I was very impressed with everything she did in the match I watched.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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 -->