NIT Standouts (14's-15's edition)

Lot's of catching up to do as we are running a bit behind in our articles being put out! Don't worry, we will have plenty of content coming out over the next few days! Let's start our coverage by first saying... man did we see a lot of amazing action, top end talent, and a tournament that put the best on the best. It was so much fun watching AZ's best on display against some of the top talent from the nation! Now over the course of the those 3 days I had the opportunity to see a lot of top end AZ talent across all the age groups. I wanted to take a chance to highlight some of the talent I saw throughout that weekend! We will be positing multiple articles (probably 2 parts from each) from this tournament so be on the lookout as you could be in some others!   Without further ado here is our first edition from NIT just for the 14's and 15's division!    AZ Storm 15 Thunder won the 15's division so no better way to start off our standouts by putting one of the best from their team on this list. Now this team got a ton of contributions from multiple players but the cog running the show is Sophia. Throughout the matches she did an excellent job controlling the tempo of the offense, making smart decisions under pressure, and distributing the ball effectively to all attacking options. One thing was her elite footwork allowed her to maintain quality ball location whether the ball was in system or out of system as she was always able to get her feet and hands to the ball.   Sophia also stood out with her defense and leadership, she was very vocal and provided a great calming presence during her matches as her teammates could rely on her in big moments. She was smart with who got the ball and was able to also contribute some big time digs and blocks at the net with showcased her overall ability to play. She was easily one of the best players at this tournament (regardless of state) and was a great pick to be one of our standouts!     What is there to say about Charlotte that we haven't already talked about. She is the best player in the class of 2030 and that was on full display this weekend with how well she was playing. Her offense was next level and most teams did not have the ability to slow her down. She was the top scorer in almost every set for AZ Sky this weekend and was able to do so with a number of different shots. She has the physical ability to go through the block but is able to also take what is open and hit around the block and hit those more advanced shots when the block is set. She didn't seem to notice when the block was there and would even tool the block more times then not.   She was also on fire with her passing and defense as well, really demonstrating the 6 rotations that she is able to play at to a high level. She covered ground well and showed strong anticipation whether it be in defense or serve receive. She played with a ton of confidence that I think made her teammates play up a level as well. She just always wanted the ball, and any time she touched it she did well with it. She was easily the best player anytime we can to watch Sky play on that court, and was a great pick for a standout from Summer NIT weekend!     Kendall had a great showing at Summer NIT for her Omni 15N1 team. She was routinely standing out as one of the best players on the floor (on both sides of the net) and someone whose game was outstanding throughout the weekend. For her setting the one thing about Kendall is she makes all the tough sets look easy. She can very easily jump and take a tight ball that should only have one option and make it hittable for all her hitters. She also has a ton of strength in her hands and is able to push the ball from pin to pin regardless of where she is standing on the floor. A lot of that is her excellent technique as well, but her strength is also on display with that as well.   She was also a threat on offense, and would very often get her hitters a one on one by jumping for balls at the net and freezing the defense since they had to be honest with her. She also contributed with her defense and has seem to grow a ton in that department over this season, she seems like a high level defender now who sees the game at a high level. Her game was on during Summer NIT, and was an easy pick as one of our standouts from that weekend!     Julia is hard to miss when she is playing for her 14's team, or any 14's team in general. She is every bit of 6'6 and is someone who draws/mandates attention when she plays. Julia is coming along at a fast rate with both her defense and offense as a middle blocker and really stood out with both areas when we got to see her. She is a contacting the ball high on offense and is putting balls away through, over, and around blocks when they are up. She scores at a very high efficient rate and is scoring a ton of points when she touches the ball.   On the other side of the net on defense, she demonstrated solid timing and effective hand positioning, frequently taking away attacking angles and forcing opponents to adjust their shots. She takes up a lot of space and was able to force hitters to hit a ton of high shots, or shots they weren't used to hitting because of her length and timing at the net. She was a force even when she wasn't touching the ball just by causing the hitters to overthink where to put the ball. She helped make the life of her defenders easy when she was at the net. She was easily one of the best players on the floor when we got to watch her and a big time standout from the tournament.     Kennedy is a player that stands out for this Club One team as she is easily one of the best physical presence they have on that team. She will routinely shut down opposing teams hitters and gets touches on a ton of players swings, making life significantly easier for her defense on the other side. She is just someone other teams try to avoid at the net but her length makes it tough to get around and tough for her not to get a ton of touches on. Forget it if the ball is tight as she terminates over passes with ease and take one on one battles as a challenge and wins most of those.   More impressively is her offense game really stood out through the tournament when we got to watch her as she would score a ton of points, and big time points anytime Club One needed a side out. She was super effective on quick-tempo sets (she ran sets all along the net) and displayed the ability to score efficiently when given opportunities. One of the best things was she showed a willingness to stay engaged offensively throughout long rallies and be an option even in those situations that some middles might get lost in. A lot of great stuff came from Kennedy during NIT, and easily made her one of the top standouts from that weekend!     Naomi is a fearless libero who will go after any hitter one on one in defense. She does a wonderful job taking up space in defense and getting touches on balls from all angles on the floor. She is smooth and composed with her footwork/platform and gets high quality touches on almost every down ball. She also is very similar in serve receive as she takes up a lot of the seams and takes a ton of pressure off her hitters in passing. Always seems to keep her team in system with her high level game play each and every set.   She also adds more to her game over just defense and serve receive, another element to the game is being good out of system in a few areas. First she is comfortable using her hands when the time calls for it and delivering in system balls to her pin hitters. She also covers extremely well when her own team is hitting and gets a lot of great touches on funky balls at the net. It seems she understand where the ball is going before it does and her high level IQ stands out with her ability to always be in the right spot. Overall she was able to help Revolution to a high finish at NIT and was easily one of the best players on the floor throughout the matches!    Our intern Madison Sherby was at NIT and able to scout and write about some of the 14's division girls and her evaluations as to what she saw! You can follow her on Instagram at @madison.sherby, here was her analysis!    A very important part of Storm's offense, Farnes showcased her high vertical, explosive approach, and quick arm swing this entire weekend. Her crosscourt swing and ability to see holes in the block set her apart from many of the other hitters at the tournament. She remained aggressive and was not afraid of using the block if it was in front of her.   -Madison Sherby     Aspire 14 Alpha competed at a very high level this weekend, definitely with the help of Jade. As a young setter, she showcased a high-level jump set and was able to accurately push the ball to her hitters, even from across the court. She also went on many runs from the service line, with her aggressive jump float serve.   -Madison Sherby     Glasser is a key component of Livewire's offense. She played right side for part of this weekend, but is also very versatile on the outside as well. Her athleticism and high vertical allow her to adapt well from any position and to any set. When she was hitting, her deep cross swings scored numerous times. She was a leader on the court this weekend and brought great energy for her team.   -Madison Sherby     Murray and her Arizona Storm team took 3rd place this weekend. On the court she was always covering her hitters and moved very well on the court. She set her hitters up for success in out of system plays with a well developed handset. In serve receive and defense she had a very calm and controlled platform and was never afraid to be scrappy on defense.   -Madison Sherby     Peterson helped lead her Livewire 14 Prime team to a 9th place finish. As an outside hitter, not only did she have some very aggressive swings, but she also showcased elite level ball control. In serve receive she had a solid platform and was able to get the ball to her setter wherever she was on the court. While attacking, she had some amazing swings down the line and had numerous shots in her toolbox.   -Madison Sherby     Cameron helped lead her team to a 3rd place finish as one of their setters. She kept the tempo of the offense fast and efficient for her hitters. She was consistent the entire weekend and a solid leader for her team on the court. Even with her height, she was very quick on defense and made some great saves to keep the ball in play.   -Madison Sherby    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   We have a lot more content coming from this incredible event! If you missed this one, be sure to tag us in your schedules for NIT, Nationals, and Festival! If you want more exposure, be sure to attend one of the Prep Dig AZ showcases in August! Use code MarissaMorah10 or AnthonyJones10 for a discount.   <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> <a href="https://prepdig.com/all-events/">All Events</a> </blockquote>

Lot's of catching up to do as we are running a bit behind in our articles being put out! Don't worry, we will have plenty of content coming out over the next few days! Let's start our coverage by first saying... man did we see a lot of amazing action, top end talent, and a tournament that put the best on the best. It was so much fun watching AZ's best on display against some of the top talent from the nation! Now over the course of the those 3 days I had the opportunity to see a lot of top end AZ talent across all the age groups. I wanted to take a chance to highlight some of the talent I saw throughout that weekend! We will be positing multiple articles (probably 2 parts from each) from this tournament so be on the lookout as you could be in some others!