Rising 14’s at Jingle Bell Jam

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='920502' first='Kennedy' last='Albright']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kennedy was the driving force behind the offense of the 14s Division Champs:&nbsp; Virago 14 Elite.&nbsp; She has all the attributes you want in a setting prospect- tall, strong, athletic, and left handed!&nbsp; While her current team is running a 6-2 offense, we could see Kennedy being utilized as a setter in a 5-1 for her school team, and in future club seasons.&nbsp; Her ability to push the ball to both pins from nearly any position on the court set her apart from other setters in this age group.&nbsp; A strong server as well, Kennedy finished the tournament (6 matches) with zero service errors, including a match her team won 25-4 (starting at 4-4) where she served all 21 points in a row!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emma Martin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kennedy's defensive counterpart, Emma Martin, libero for the champion Virago 14 Elite team, also had an excellent debut to her 14s club season.&nbsp; This team is absolutely loaded full of tough passer and defenders, which allowed them to win the serve and serve receive battle throughout the tournament.&nbsp; As an avid beach volleyball player, Emma really excels at reading opposing offenses and predicting how and where the ball will be attacked.&nbsp; She reacts quickly on defense, and moves well once the hitter has made contact- repeatedly cutting across the court to pickup tips, off speed shots, and hits off the block throughout the day.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isabella Bullen</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only team to really take Virago to the brink was [program_tooltip program_id='776295' first='Tulsa' last='Power']'s 14-2 team lead by setter Isabella Bullen.&nbsp; [program_tooltip program_id='776295' first='Tulsa' last='Power'] came into the finals with a lot of momentum after a thrilling 3^rd set win in the semi finals and nearly handed Virago their first set loss of the day, eventually falling 23-25.&nbsp; A big driver behind their success was Bullen's ability to deliver some very consistent sets to both her outside and right side hitters.&nbsp; A consistent right side attack can be very tough to defend as teams often will employ undersized outside hitters- making for a weaker block on that side of the court- and Isabella took full advantage of this all day, consistently reversing the flow of the defense and keeping her right sides involved.&nbsp; She was also one of only a few setters utilize her middles in an up-tempo pace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mya Burton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One player that caught our eye for the first time this weekend was Mya Burton, right side for Wave 14 Tsunami. &nbsp;After sneaking into the gold bracket on a tie breaker in pool play, Wave nearly pulled off the upset in the semi-finals against [program_tooltip program_id='776295' first='Tulsa' last='Power'].&nbsp; Mya was a big contributor for Tsunami all day, showing off her elite athleticism.&nbsp; As a left handed player, she was a natural fit on the right side, and the setters for Wave seemed to always look her way when they needed a big play.&nbsp; As the season progresses it will be worth watching to see if she can add some consistency in her transitions and approaches, to go along with her strong vertical.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kamryn Soward</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kamryn and her Dynamite teammates traveled up from Oklahoma City this weekend to kick off their season.&nbsp; The 5'9” outside hitter showed a lot of potential this weekend as a hitter.&nbsp; In addition to her height, Kamryn's athletic ability was also on display as a hitter and blocker.&nbsp; She is able to rise up above the net and hit with pace and consistency both in the angle and down the line- which is not easy at this age level.&nbsp; The 14U season tends to yield a lot of growth for athletes, as it serves as a sort of diving line between middle school volleyball and high school volleyball. &nbsp;Kamryn has all the talent and tools to make a big leap this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->