Commonwealth Grand Prix Day One Morning Session Notables

A number of these teams enter smaller tournaments like this trying to claw their way to the levels of clubs at the Open levels. A total of 152 teams wound up playing in this event. Some of the clubs have been around for years while others started in the last couple years.   The BRAVO 17 Black team, Shelby Valley Volleyball Club 17 teams and West Virginia Galaxy 17 teams that feature players from Kentucky finished 3-0 in pool play in the 17/18s Division. There were plenty of good showings at the Central Bank Center.    Whittinghill plays in a 6-2 set for the BRAVO 17 Black team while setting things up in a 5-1 for Greenwood. The 6-2 lets her show off her diversity as Whittinghill throws off defenders with her lefthanded swings. Whittinghill continuously finds ways to put hitters in position to put balls down. She said her swings give the team another good offensive option.     Austin made a number of quality first touches for BAMVC 18 Pink. She also provided good net coverage. Glasgow head coach Faith Cleary said Austin's grit and determination set her apart as well as the energy she brings to the court, hence the reason Austin set the school's career digs record. She had four pancake digs across one tournament this season and keyed a serving run of 10 to 12 straight points in one match.     Vest runs the offense with precision. Vest has a sound jump set and an effective back set. Vest is coachable and has quicly gotten to know her teammates at Bluegrass Blitz.     Travis executes a variety of short and long sets across the net. Travis played all six positions on Saturday for SKEVA East. Travis continues to find different ways to better balls. She reacted quickly putting up one arm to dig up balls throughout the day.     Reed (pictured) said she is working on getting used to EKJV 17 National setter [player_tooltip player_id='890171' first='Addison' last='Helton'], but she'll be really effective for the team once that happens. Reed is a six-rotation player that is focused on improving her hitting accuracy. She makes sound crosses and cuts balls to the sides of blockers. Reed formed sound blockers with teammates which included some blocks on solid hitters.     Smith (pictured) is well-connected with her hitters. She executes a number of short and long sets. Smith can even execute tandems to throw wrenches at defenses. On defense, Smith steps back and nails the simple passes to jumpstart the offense. Smith said she's been communicating more with her hitters to put them in position to succeed and has been working on her footwork to get to more balls in addition to trying to be more aggressive.     Jones is a six-rotation player that produces both offensively and defensively. Jones has a nice jump serve and tips over blocks to open parts of the court. She takes solid swings and uses her off (left) hand to surprise defenses. Jones said her coaches help her find open spots on the floor since she can't do that all on her own. Jones added her teammates also help with that.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky rankings, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.

A number of these teams enter smaller tournaments like this trying to claw their way to the levels of clubs at the Open levels. A total of 152 teams wound up playing in this event. Some of the clubs have been around for years while others started in the last couple years.