DS’s I Liked At The Kentucky Stock Up Showcase, Part 2

Want a subscription to PrepDig? Use code Kyp30 for 30% off of your annual subscription! And don't forget to follow @KypPDIN on X for all of your Indiana high school and club volleyball news!   Admittedly, nearly HALF of the attendees at the Kentucky Stock Up Showcase this past Saturday were defensive specialists from all four graduating classes. So much passing talent in such a close-knit environment that allowed all levels, experiences and sizes of DS's and future collegiate liberi to showcase what makes them unique. Here are five more defensive specialists that I saw do their thing that should earn more recruiting eyes as their careers continue.    Playing club at Bluegrass Reign, Carmen is a quick and efficient defensive specialist from Bryan Station that showed out from the get-go. In both serve receive and on defense, Miss Epps showed a consistent accuracy to her passing, regardless of where the ball was in relation to her platform. When taking the second ball, out-of-system turned into in-system quickly, and the pin attackers she set were the recipients of not only hittable balls, but point-scoring opportunities. Despite her 5'4” stature, she also showed off her length, and was on her feet more often than most to get a touch on balls that some others would have given up on.     Easily one of the smallest at the Stock Up Showcase at NKYVC, Lyla's go-for-it mentality in each and every drill and scrimmage opportunity brought me back to her court multiple times throughout play. Although mild and quiet, she had an internal fire and relentlessness that made up for some of her fellow passers being a bit timid. The Lexington United training shone through, however, in the scrimmage portion of play. Looking natural in multiple back row positions, her platform was calm with her feet active, and she got to a TON of balls bigger DS's either couldn't or wouldn't get to.     To be honest, each and every defensive specialist that showed up on Saturday could pass and had the basics for defensive positioning. In order for me to write about you, there's going to have to be something “extra”. Insert Kylee, whose BOMB of a serve unnerved multiple passers and scored points at will throughout the day. When not acing opponents, Miss Shultz put those teams out-of-system, leaving her squad with multiple point-scoring opportunities on free balls. If you're going to come to a showcase, Kylee gave the blueprint on how to get scouts to notice you—-ace EVERYONE.     Yes, you read that correctly. The lone eighth grader at our showcase clearly played more mature than her years, which led me to label her as one of our top performers at the showcase. Miss Booth fit right in for every pass, serve, drill and scrimmage session, and was comfortable dealing with some of the increased speed that older kids can bring. To know that she's got a full year's head start on this position and our showcase circuit has me convinced that Lilah will be one of the better defenders in this class for the state of Kentucky when their rankings list goes public.     The lone walk-up to the showcase looked ready for action from the start. Her ability to jump right in, make plays immediately and never be a drill killer showed her mental capacity to jump into the deep end and show out. From the start of play to the last whistle, Miss Raisor was a solid defender and serve receive artist got to more balls than most, despite her stature. In short, I liked this kid from the moment I met her, and she'll be a nice addition to Shelby County's DS stable for this fall and beyond.

Want a subscription to PrepDig? Use code Kyp30 for 30% off of your annual subscription! And don't forget to follow @KypPDIN on X for all of your Indiana high school and club volleyball news!