Reliable Liberos at the H-Town Showdown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025-2026 club volleyball season is set to get into a much faster pace after the arrival of the New Year, with multiple tournaments being held every weekend in many different cities in the state of Texas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first weekend of the year will have a big one going on in Houston, with the first of three scheduled stops of the popular H-Town Showdown taking place across three different locations in the area on January 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reuniting teams in the 16s, 17s and 18s age groups, the first stop will feature 34 teams, representing 14 clubs in the region, with matches going on at the FAST Complex and the Absolute Volleyball Academy and the [program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados'] facilities.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig Texas will attend the event and provide the best coverage of it, featuring the top performers in the days following the tournament. Before we get to that, however, let's know some of the most promising prospects that will be on the court on Saturday. Today, we look into the liberos:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["799724"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f368c7154"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Butler is a libero in the [program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados'] 16 Adidas team that will play in the tournament's 16s division. She's extremely solid in serve receive, keeping her balance as she moves for the ball, and being very disciplined when it comes to her body shape when she makes contact with it. Butler produces at a high level when playing defense, too, popping up in good spots in the back row and demonstrating solid reaction speed. A lefty, the libero also serves with great precision, making it hard for opponents to pass, and is very reliable with how she covers her hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/21372953/6951f4b46c786d3174507798' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f368c7324"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["269795"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f368c737a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hopkins is the starting libero of the HJV 17 Elite team that will get on the court in the 18s division. One of the most technical and consistent liberos in the region, she's been among the best in Houston for some years now. Hopkins is very intelligent and accurate with everything she does on the backcourt and has the mentality we see in elite liberos at the next level, chasing every ball as if it were the last. She's extremely confident and productive in serve receive and shows impressive quickness to get to difficult shots on defense. Hopkins has improved her setting over the last few years and is now capable of feeding her hitters with great sets in out-of-system plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lisDFdMU4Y","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lisDFdMU4Y </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["580037"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f9c69c89e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kearns will be with the AVA TX 18 Adidas team in the event's 18s division. She's very productive on defense, doing a great job of keeping her eyes on the ball and adjusting her positioning as it moves so she can be in the perfect spot to make plays. Kearns also has outstanding ball control, which is evident in her consistent serve-receive game and every time a hard-driven swing goes her way. She does very well from the service line too, putting nice pressure on her standing serve and giving opponents very little time to react.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17288090/68bede97ca4f0c869d2152c7' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f9c69cbfa"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["808597"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f9c69cca0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ramirez will represent HJV 18 Premier in the event's 18s division. She plays with a lot of energy and intensity on the back row and will do whatever it takes to keep the ball off the floor. Ramirez has excellent ball control and is extremely quick, making it very hard to score in her zone with tips. Very comfortable and proactive in serve-receive, she's also very reliable from the service line and can go on long serving runs at times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/21407432/690fe87e314c2ebcf23f9bcc' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6957f9c69cceb"} /-->