Epic Tourney Standouts

This weekend we got to watch some amazing volleyball being played at ASU with 96 teams coming from all over the state and conference. Although a number of girls stood out we wanted to specifically highlight a few who caught our eyes!    Claire stood out as one of the most dominate pins we got to see this weekend. Leading Chaparral to the championship of the tournament and leading the team in kills most set and matches. Anytime the Firebirds were in the trouble it was Claire who came to the rescue putting balls away that were not only in system but ones that were out of system as well. What makes a great pin is what they can do when they are out of system and Claire is someone who can put balls away whether she is in system or out of system. She also had a great serve and would routinely keep the opposing team out of system with her serves on top of her offensive game if they were able to get touches on it.     Faith really stood out as one of the best offensive weapons in her pool and during bracket play. Seemed like every time her team needed a point the ball would find her on the offensive end, or she would take matters into her own hands and get a block. She has a great offensive game and seemed to be able to put the ball away from multiple locations on the floor. She reads the ball well on defense as well, and always seemed to have a closed block on the defensive side as well. Currently she leads her team in kills as well and from the middle position is all the more impressive and demonstrates how important she is to the offensive.     An all around setter is always one of the the best things to watch and Williams Field has a good one in Makenna. She does a wonderful job running a high efficiency offense and you never know where she is going to go with the ball as she hides it so well. Most importantly she puts the ball at a great location, even when they are out of system giving her hitters the best chance to be successful. Our favorite part was watching her on defense as she always seemed to read the hitters well to get the tips or dig a down ball from the opposites on the floor. A high impact player from this last weekend and someone we will look for in the future.     One could argue she was the best libero at the tournament and you won't find us arguing any other way. Playing in the top bracket against some of the toughest competition she routinely made plays look easy. She was terrific in serve receive when teams dared to serve her, passing well over a 2.0 in all the matches we watched. What was most impressive is that wasn't even the best part of her game as she covered what seemed like half the floor with her defense. She would touch balls that most other liberos couldn't even get close to. She is a complete libero who should be in the running for all conference (and all AZ) when the season comes to a close.     London was one of the better middles we got to see this weekend. She really stood out with her defense game play, make countless blocks throughout the weekend. We enjoyed watching her shutdown multiple top level middles throughout the weekend as most hit below .200 when they were matched up against her. London is also a threat on offense as well, as ALA QC run a very fast tempo offense she was always available to get swings on the ball, and had some thunderous kills throughout the weekend.     This high flying middle really stood out over the weekend at ASU. We were impressed with how many balls she put away and at such a high clip. Offensively Aniah is a game changer for the Vipers, and should be getting some college looks at this point. This is another player who should see a jump in our next rankings update. Seemed every time she got set she would put the ball away and not only from middle, but could hit from all spots on the floor. Overall she was a dominate force on offense and set the tone on defense with some blocks as well. Has a quick first step to the ball on her blocks and is very rarely late to the block and forces many offensive players to hit around her or else they end up getting blocked.     We enjoyed watching Sophia play this weekend for the Titans. She is a great outside hitter who really stood out with her offensive game. It would seem that any time the Titans needed a point the ball would find its way to Sophia, and this was front row, back row it didn't matter. She was able to hit line, angle, and even threw in some tips too. She is one of the top kill performers from the conference and was 6th at the time of this post. It is obvious as to why she is at the top of the leaderboard in kills as most teams can't stop her. We look forward to seeing her continue on this trend and can't wait to see her in person in the coming weeks play again.     This 6 rotation outside hitter who is committed to New Mexico State was a standout during the tournament. Ava had multiple double digit kill games and was easily averaging over 4 kills a set throughout the tournament. She is an offensive weapon on the floor, routinely putting balls away whether they are in system or out of system. We were impressed watching her play as she contributed in multiple ways and not only on offense. She was also a good server and good defender who basically impacted the play each and every point with some type of play. She is the type of player you want touching the ball on every point!     Sometimes we have a miss as a group, and this is a miss and a tragic one since she isn't ranked. I will let you know when our updated rankings come out this girl is going to fly up the boards as she is a game changer to say the least. She was easily the highest flyer across all divisions in this tournament. She would almost every ball be out jumping the block and putting balls away from all locations on the floor. Her other best feature was her blocking as teams tended to stay away from whatever side she was on for the block. When they did challenge her she ended up punishing that choice with multiple blocks throughout bracket play.    Although we can't write about all the players who stood out, here were some others that impressed us throughout the weekend and we plan to see at some point this year!   Other standouts from this weekend:   <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/local/player/profile.aspx?athleteid=3504d401-9471-44d7-87b3-36bbfe890d59&ssid=758b6b67-5a8f-4d36-adbf-8a9d3ee48f81">[player_tooltip player_id='806213' first='Kristyn' last='Grantham']</a> OH ALA Gilbert North [player_tooltip player_id='888740' first='Isabella' last='Palladino'] S Centennial [player_tooltip player_id='836853' first='Payton' last='Sims'] OH Buckeye [player_tooltip player_id='880918' first='Haidyn' last='Nelson'] S Greenway [player_tooltip player_id='832888' first='Izzy' last='Darnell'] OH Deer Valley [player_tooltip player_id='816637' first='Makenna' last='Murphy'] S NPA [player_tooltip player_id='826372' first='Hazel' last='Andersson'] OH Tempe Prep Arianna Anadu MB St John Paul [player_tooltip player_id='874847' first='Tatum' last='Naber'] S NWC [player_tooltip player_id='881062' first='Ella' last='Bowser'] OPP Marana [player_tooltip player_id='832197' first='Gabby' last='Rice'] OH NVCA [player_tooltip player_id='883367' first='Sarah' last='Hodgson'] S Chaparral

This weekend we got to watch some amazing volleyball being played at ASU with 96 teams coming from all over the state and conference. Although a number of girls stood out we wanted to specifically highlight a few who caught our eyes!