FAST Pre Nationals – 17s – Liberos/DS
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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. Home of the popular Houston…
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Continue ReadingTeams 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.
Home of the popular Houston 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.
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 liberos and defensive specialists were difference-makers on the backcourt for their teams:
A setter with her high school team Grand Oaks, Terry was used as a libero for TAV Houston 17 Adidas and helped the team have a positive day on Saturday, with two wins and one loss. Her excellent technical skills and ball control really stood out during the day as she was able to do some great work on the backcourt, passing with great consistency and precision and making several digs from the left back position. Terry always looked very calm on the court and was also very efficient when reading the game, often getting one step ahead of everyone else. Her setting backcourt was also of great help when she had to make the second contact.
Highlights
White split her libero duties with Cameron Steger Cameron Steger 5’4″ | DS/L Katy | 2024 TX and the two did a great job with Texas Tornados 17 Adidas, pushing the team to secure two victories in three matches on Saturday. White stood out on the most past because of her exceptional ability on defense as she was able to make some truly impressive digs on the left back position. Her positioning and ball control made her produce on a large scale and give her team another opportunity to score several times during the day. White was also extremely reliable with her passing, covering a lot of ground and making very few errors. She did a goot job when she had to set in transition too, keeping things simple and feeding the pins with hittable sets.
Highlights
Although her Impact – 171 team had a difficult day with three losses, Souza got the job done on the backcourt for them. Her defensive efforts generated several transition opportunities for her team and besides displaying great efficiency, Souza also showcased versatility, playing defense on the middle back and left back positions. She was very solid with her passing when teams went after her too, giving some offensive stability to the team. Souza had good moments from the service line as well, getting opponents out of system, and worked hard on the backcourt, recovering shanked passes and digs that went backwards.
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HJV 16 Elite had a perfect day on Saturday, going home undefeated with three wins, and McKay’s positive impact coming off the bench shouldn’t go unnoticed. She played the defensive specialist role to perfection, coming in for one of the team’s outside hitters on the backcourt and providing great stability and volume. McKay used her long frame to get to balls at the middle back position and her excellent ball control to keep them in play, generating counterattacks for her team. She was extremely productive with her passing too, often covering half of the court, and often caused a positive impact from the service line, getting opponents out of system.
Highlights
Julia Palmer
Julia Palmer
Palmer was used in the defensive specialist role with Roots 171 Green and, although the team won just one of three matches on Saturday, she did a fine job on it. She would replace one of the outside hitters and her presence in the middle back position lifted the team up defensively as Palmer used her excellent reading to cover gaps in the block and also to track balls that would deflect on it. She got several touches on the backcourt every time she came in and elevated the team’s defensive production with her play. She was also very stable with her passing and did a good job in stepping up to handle free balls.