Spike Sport #1: Liberos – 17s

<p>The club volleyball season is underway in Texas and during the next several months the Lone Star State will be packed with exciting tournaments, where the region’s most interesting prospects will have opportunities to showcase their games.</p> <p>The Spike Sport #1 was one of the first of those to take place. Played on December 4 in Missouri City, the event featured eight teams from the Houston area in the 17 Division and ten in the 18. The event was dominated by the traditional Houston Skyline club, which advanced two teams for the final of the gold bracket in both divisions.</p> <p>PrepDig.com attended the tournament and we’ll use the next few days to highlight some of the most interesting players we spotted there – some are very popular and well-known names, while others are prospects who perhaps were flying under-the-radar.</p> <p>These are some of the liberos who did outstanding backcourt work in the 17 Division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="142199" first="Macy" last="McPartland"] – Skyline 16 Royal – HS: Bridgeland – 2024</strong></p> <p>One of the best liberos of the state in the class of 2024, [player_tooltip player_id="142199" first="Macy" last="McPartland"] did a great job in doing what she does best last weekend – keeping the ball up in the air. Playing for a scrappy Skyline 16 Royal that won the 17 Division, the 5’5” libero used all her technique and hard work to control her team’s backcourt. McPartland’s reading of the game is what sets her apart from competition as she’s able to anticipate plays and always put herself in position to make a clean play on the ball. Also extremely solid and reliable on serve receiving, she’s currently ranked 18^th in our 2024 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16334414/60cbea318cd3bc0cb48b6d3e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Valeri Brown – Asics Willowbrook 17 Red – 2023</strong></p> <p>Passing is probably Valeri Brown’s main skill as a volleyball player and she makes a great job in using it to the benefit of her team. She plays a prominent role in Asics Willowbrook 17 Red’s serve-receiving system and takes up a good chunk of the court herself, freeing the hitters up to focus on siding out. Brown does a very good job in handling the serves that do go her way and is also a very good defender, using her positioning and explosiveness to get to balls, and a dangerous server.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Jesil Brarucha – Texas Legacy 17 Adidas – HS: Klein Collins – 2023</strong></p> <p>Jesil Brarucha’s ball control is way above average and allows her to dig balls not many other players would. The 5’3” prospect was a defensive specialist for Texas Legacy 17 Adidas in the tournament and managed to make great impact in the game with her impressive quickness on the backcourt. Brarucha does a great job in taking responsibility for free balls and was passing dimes all day for the day. She’s also capable of firing a nasty floater with left hand.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tu-d6ox9wZQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>