2023 GJNC Preview: 18 Open – Excel 18 National Red

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The club volleyball season is coming to an end for the players competing in the 18s age group and the final stop in this stage of their careers will take place at the 2022 USA Volleyball Girls 18s Junior National Championship, which will be held in Columbus, Ohio, from April 28-30.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Texas will have a huge representation in Ohio, with as many as 44 teams entered to compete across six different divisions and many of them will be real contenders at the National Championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've already posted our Texas Previews for each of the 18 American, 18 Freedom, 18 Liberty, 18 National and 18 USA divisions and now we'll do things a little bit differently for the prestigious 18 Open division, presenting individual previews for the eight teams from the Lone Star State that will fight for the title in Columbus.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Excel 18 National Red</em></strong> - [program_tooltip program_id='431142' first='Excel' last='Volleyball'] Club (Dallas)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Season Record (on AES):</strong> 32-12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CqbYmuLuhVp/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/CqbYmuLuhVp/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["87577"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Good setters can be difference-maker for their teams and that's certainly the case with Polivka at Excel 18 National Red. A playmaker with excellent technical skills and a very high volleyball IQ, she keeps the team ticking offensively with her consistent locations and intelligent distribution. Polivka is one of those players from who coaches always know what they're going to get and, in her case, it's an excellent production and strong leadership. She also makes some impact with her blocking and plays excellent defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbd35"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13485127/633b6d4ada52850e74d69400' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbd89"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["195835"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The explosive LaMendola will be a force at the pins for Excel 18 National Red. Extremely efficient from the left and the right, she fluctuates between the two positions according to what her team needs, delivering some strong offensive production. One of the things that make of her such a productive scorer is the fact that, unlike most pin hitters, she's equally efficient when hitting quicker sets or higher ones. LaMendola is also a well-rounded player and also contributes with her passing and defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbde9"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-woQhVE5H9I","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-woQhVE5H9I </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kyanna Creecy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"McKinney","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Excel","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Creecy play an important role for Excel 18 National Red at the net, offering them a strong blocking presence. Shh has very long arms and is very quick to get off the floor, reacting in no time to quick sets down the middle or setter dumps. Creecy also moves very well at the net and gets a lot of touches on balls hit from either pin. A Stephen F. Austin commit, she's a very productive hitter too, making contact with the ball at a very high point and swinging with power.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbe9e"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15096360/6363609aab9d170ae0f17822' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbecb"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["87554"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A middle turned-into-pin hitter, Chaney brings a lot of firepower to Excel 18 National Red at the pin. Because of her size and heavy arm, she's fairly more efficient than the average outside hitter in transition because she doesn't need to make a full approach in order to be able to unleash a great deal of power. Chaney is also a very good blocker, who can single-handedly shut down some of the toughest right side hitters out there and has also developed her all-around game in a nice way over the years, growing into a solid passer as well.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbf24"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13059634/6366242e9676cd0beca0c04c' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbf43"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["87530"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A middle with excellent size and physicality, Button pairs with Creecy at the net for Excel 18 National Red. She's a formidable offensive player, who can get very difficult to stop when she gets into a rhythm because of her high contact point and her power. Despite her size, Button has excellent footwork and is one of the best at hitting the slide set. Her blocking is also a factor at the net as she gets to take up a lot of space at the net with her arms.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64405d69dbf97"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOxWPlBgBXs","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOxWPlBgBXs </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->