5 Unsung Players at the Kaizen Invitational

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Kaizen Invitational moved from the Cox Center downtown this year to the Expo Center at the Fairgrounds- which was a welcome move with more space and more opportunity to expand.&nbsp; Along with the new location came new dates, with the tournament finding itself on President's Day weekend this year.&nbsp; This move pit the tournament up against various out of state tournaments such as the Nike President's Day Classic and the NIT- which lead to some interesting competition and a unique mix of teams competing this year.&nbsp; Opportunities for players to make their mark were readily available, and her are 5 that caught our eye this weekend:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teagann Robinski - S, Virago 16 National</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Virago 16 National has been on quite a run recently- having finished 3^rd overall last weekend at Battle at the Fort, and now 2^nd overall here at the Kaizen Invitational.&nbsp; Teagann had a big part in putting her team in a position to win games.&nbsp; The Broken Arrow product has a very clean delivery and has an excellent feel for where to place the ball for her hitters- especially when her team is out of system.&nbsp; She produces positive impact plays for her team not just with her hands but also plays solid defense and is a very reliable server.&nbsp; She does a great job of mixing up her sets to keep the opposing team guessing where the ball will go- but in crunch time, when her team needs a point, she understands the importance of getting the ball to the hot hitter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='740639' first='Jayden' last='Adayehi'] – RS, Charge 17 Select Tulsa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Charge 17 Select Tulsa is chocked full of strong, fast, athletic players such as Jayden- who they utilize extensively on the right side.&nbsp; Being left handed gives them the added advantage of having an additional player hitting on their strong side.&nbsp; Jayden's combination of height, long arms, and big vertical create problems for the opponent in a number of ways.&nbsp; As a blocker, she takes up a lot of space- making it tough for the opposing outside to find room to kill the ball.&nbsp; Her high contact point when attacking make it difficult for opposing blockers to get a good touch on the ball.&nbsp; Even when the block is well formed, she has a very effective sharp angle swing that she can employ to end the rally.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dayanara Corretjer – L, Virago 18 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Virago 18 Elite showed some grit and toughness this weekend making it into the gold bracket and first round win before falling to the eventual runner-up.&nbsp; Daya really embodied that grit from the libero position.&nbsp; She was absolutely on fire in serve receive, delivering 3 option pass after 3 option pass all weekend.&nbsp; It was shocking to see how many teams continued to let their serves travel her way.&nbsp; She makes it tough to escape however, aggressively working both seams when in the middle serve receive position.&nbsp; She was excellent on defense as well, especially in pursuit- routinely chasing down defensive plays and errant balls to keep rallies alive long enough for her team to win the point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='740640' first='Kenzie' last='Benningfield'] – OH/M, Charge 17 Select Tulsa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another strong, athletic, fast player for this Charge team- Kenzie really sets herself apart with 2 things:&nbsp; quickness and versatility.&nbsp; When you watch her play- the first thing that jumps out at you is how quick she is in every phase of the game.&nbsp; When playing middle, she is incredibly fast going side to side along the net.&nbsp; As a pin hitter, she gets transitioned and ready to hit early, and has a very explosive approach.&nbsp; Even her arm-swing is lightning quick.&nbsp; Her versatility allows her to fit in with any team.&nbsp; She's played all 3 front row position effectively throughout her career, and is even a serviceable server and defender on the back row when needed.&nbsp; In this tournament alone we got to see her switch between the middle blocker and pin hitter position between sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902936' first='Emersyn' last='Smith'] – S, OK Elevate E.42</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emersyn had a very successful school season for Class 5A Claremore's 8^th grade team, and has taken her talents to OK Elevate for club this year- a popular choice for players on the North side of the metro.&nbsp; Smith is the definition of big things coming in small packages.&nbsp; She is quick and transitions well, and has a lot of punch in her sets- giving her the ability to reverse the flow on offense, and get the ball to any hitter regardless of the location of the pass.&nbsp; She is a tough defender, and has spent time as a DS during her career as well.&nbsp; She generated a lot of points and positive situations for her team from the service line this weekend with her tough float serve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->