FAST Pre Nationals – 17s – Middles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams from the Houston, San Antonio and Austin areas had a great warm-up for the upcoming 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship, which will take place in Chicago, from June 28-July 6, this past weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Home of the popular [program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors'] Volleyball Club, the FAST Complex hosted the traditional FAST Pre Nationals tournament, which typically serves as the last step of preparation for teams that will make the trip to compete for the national title in just a few weeks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/06/fast-pre-nationals-17s-photo-gallery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Check out the best photos of the FAST Pre Nationals</strong></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig was following the action on Saturday, paying close attention to the 13 teams that competed in the power pools of 17s divisions and will now bring reports on the players that stood out and seem to be peaking in the most important moment of the season. These middles were valuable assets to their teams:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["124154"],"_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":"Murray had a flawless day with HJV 17 Elite, helping her team win all three matches they played with her strong game in the middle. The six-footer was particularly important on offense as her tremendous efficiency kept opposing middles on their toes, having to make sure she wouldn't get the ball before they could head to the pins. Murray hit all sorts of different sets at a very high level and used her explosive approach to add a little bit of extra power to her jumps and swings. She also did a very good job with her blocking, using her excellent footwork to move across the net and get to the pins on time.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c3075a4"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15090638/6485f7b1d4684a0c3cba59a0' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307625"} /--> <!-- 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":"Emily Killam","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_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":"Cinco Ranch","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados']","_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":"Killam's impressive energy at the net stood out as it played a big role in her team [program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados'] 17 Adidas winning two of their three matches on Saturday. Although she battled taller middles during the entire day, she was very successful with all of her actions in a big part thanks to the high intensity level she displayed. Killam was very good offensively and her footwork was truly impressive, helping her overcome opponents, especially when hitting the slide set - she was also available in transition. The middle also did some solid defensive work at the net, putting all her energy to get stops or at least get touches that would keep the ball in play for defense with her blocking.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307740"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15451984/6487ffce8cd5b50b6cb9aa85' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307772"} /--> <!-- 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":"Madeline O'Gorman","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_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":"New Braunfels","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"United VBA","_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":"O'Gorman and her United VBA 17 Purple team had mixed feelings on Saturday, winning one match and losing another, but the middle did well enough to emerge as a very interesting prospect. Her offense was certainly the are of her game that got the most attention as she displayed not only great efficiency, but also interesting versatility at the net. O'Gorman used her length well to beat opposing blockers and also made a very explosive approach. She was very successful hitting all sorts of set in the middle, but also played on the left in one rotation and scored at a very high rate. O'Gorman's blocking was also a factor as she often surprised opposing hitters with her ability to quickly get above the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307868"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15735528/6486b6dc688ea609ecb2dfc6' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307897"} /--> <!-- 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":"Grace Ellis","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_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":"Montgomery","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Texas Legacy","_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":"Ellis was a force in the middle for TX Legacy 17 Elite and helped her team have a solid day, with two wins and one loss. She was particularly active and effective with her blocking, making excellent reads at the net and using her long arms to get in the way of opposing hitters and get stops. Even when Ellis didn't get a stuff, it was very evident how much her presence above the net affected her opponents, who often make mistakes trying to go around her block. She was also very efficient with her offense and had good serving runs on most of the occasions she was at the service line, getting a few aces during the day too.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307984"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["199664"],"_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":"Beaty was one of the reasons why her team HJV 17 Premier had a perfect first day, winning all three matches they played. She was on fire in the middle, impacting the game on both sides of the ball and bringing a lot of energy to the court. She was excellent at finding ways to affect the game with her athleticism and intensity and used her incredible jumping and long arms to battle taller middles. Beaty's blocking was extremely effective, generating stops and transition opportunities to her team, but she was also brilliant offensively. She was set quite often in the middle, hitting several different sets, and also scored at a good rate when set at the left.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307a0f"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15378591/64858df6688ea609ecb19815' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648875c307a3c"} /-->