Stars at the Commonwealth Grand Prix, Lexington, KY

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were a lot of shining starts despite the rain in Lexington Kentucky at the Commonwealth Grand Prix this past weekend, proving to be a hotbed of young talent as club play rolls into February and teams are competing across the mid west. We turned our focus on the younger players for this article, here are a few stars we uncovered from the class of '26, '27, and '28 that shined brightly!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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":"Taylor Thiery","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Seton High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Tri State Elite Volleyball","_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":"Taylor is not only a future star, she is one to recon with right now! Her athleticism and talents were on full display by the numerous consistent kills she made with excellent height and explosive power with her fast, precise, cutting lethal swing, that looks to come easy to her. Thiery produces excellent height and technique on her approach with proper impulsion from footwork and arm swing to produce these kills, very perfected for her age, and on more than one occasion, proved she didn't need the perfect set to use it effectively, adjusting herself well for the kill. Combined with a strong, net skimming serve she consistently placed down the line, equally impressive blocking with perfect timing and excellent height, playing in the back row committing to digs and passing up precisely, she proved there are many layers to her as a player. Her game play is strong, she reads the court well, has the confidence and skills to back up her teammates when needed, but showed us she loves to step up and produce and that she did repeatedly! Taylor was our top pick for the class of 2026 and this tournament, she already is a star that shines brightly, with an exciting future!","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Avery Rehmel","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Turpin High School","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431563' first='Cincy' last='East VBC']","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Avery was a standout every time she stepped on the court, with excellent fundamentals all around, a super strong impressive swing, excellent ball control and fastmoving feet continuously, she makes her presence felt. A very athletic player on the court with a deceptively strong consistent serve, with amazing trajectory that is textbook, is something she showed off repeatedly. She moves well up and down the net achieving good height with solid blocking skills and knows where to be reading the play well. She projects confidence on the court for a young age, communicating well on the play with her teammates. She can tip accurately and finds the open spot where the opposition can't cover playing smartly and effectively. Rehmel handles the back row playing defensively well and easily moves the ball up with accurate passing. A very intuitive, smart, enthusiastic player who contributes hugely to her team producing all around on the court. We look forward to seeing more of her, one of our stars for the class of '27.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='768460' first='Madeline' last='Sisk']","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Lexington Catholic ","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"Lexington United","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Madeline brings a lot to the table, our youngest shining star. With a consistent accurate net skimming serve, we saw the opposition struggle to return her serve more than a handful of occasions during this tournament. She is fast on the court and can deliver a nice deep ball from a good swing with good connection to the ball and a very good correct lofty approach with good height. Her footwork and timing at the net is good, with easy movement down the net with a good block with and a sneaky sly tip when needed, not afraid to dig and go after any ball she knows how to get the ball up and playable with solid technique, passing up to the front with accuracy. Sisk hones her skills playing for Lexington Catholic H.S on the Freshmen team as well as club at the 14's National level for Lexington United. An enthusiastic player that shows her passion on the court and one we will be keeping track of, our star for the class of '28","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","fullHeight":false,"anchor":"acf-block-65cba023662ac"} /--> <!-- 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":"Brooklyn Closson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'6u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32561","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Coldwater High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Team Pineapple Volleyball Club","_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":"Brooklyn makes her job look easy, we all know setters get little accolades when it comes to game play, but this setter is very much deserving of them, and was the glue of her team. With a back set that is remarkably accurate and easily playable, Closson has this any many other tools in her game. Bringing a great energy and a wonderful relationship with the pins to the court makes her a super asset to her team, every set was precise and easy for her hitters to connect with. Getting under the ball across the court with speed and efficiency to create those dream sets seems like nothing out of the ordinary for Brooklyn. Good blocking and excellent dumping skills leaving the opposition fooled more than once was displayed throughout game sets. To round out this highly skilled player she presented a killer serve and a confidence that never seem to waiver. We were thoroughly impressed by this setter, her enthusiasm and her team leadership. Another star gaining momentum with little doubt of great things to come for this setter, our top star for our class of '27","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65cbbae1f14b6"} /-->