Katy United Pre-Nationals: 15s – Outside Hitters

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship is quickly approaching as the best teams in the country are currently preparing to make the trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they will compete in one of the several age groups and divisions from July 3-11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At this time of the year, warm-up tournaments abound in the state of Texas and last weekend one of them, the [program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] Pre-Nationals, took place in the Katy area, with 55 teams from the 11s to the 16s age groups getting to test themselves on Saturday and Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] Pre-Nationals: 15s - <a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/06/katy-united-pre-nationals-15s-photos/?itm_source=parsely-api">Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig was in attendance on Sunday, when the nine teams of the 15s division competed, and we'll now take the week to highlight the prospects that stood out during the day. Today, we'll focus on the outside hitters:</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":"[player_tooltip player_id='781248' first='Reagan' last='Young']","_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":"5'10u0022","_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":"Brazos Christian","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] BCS","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66677f9c189f2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Young was one of the main contributors in her H Skyline BCS 15 Royal team that finished first with three wins and just one set lost. She was their go-to scorer, combining and precision in her swings, especially from the left. Young displayed tremendous resources to put the ball down and also excellent decision-making to pick between them, scoring with consistency and making very few errors. Also a solid blocker, she was particularly efficient when hitting a quicker set at the pin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":548906,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/IMG_5478.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-548906" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">BCS Skyline 15 Royal vs. MoCo Jrs 15 Adidas</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- 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":"[player_tooltip player_id='549643' first='Hayden' last='Bauer']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_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":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Absolute Volleyball Academy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66677f9c18a9d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Bauer's excellent all-around game helped her team AVA TX 14 Adidas have plenty of success despite playing one group up, getting three wins and one loss to finish second. A very technical player, she played a major role for the team in serve-receive, covering a huge area of the court and consistently delivering good passes. Bauer was also a strong offensive weapon for them, getting off the floor well and taking a good look at the opposing blockers before finding a way to beat them and put the ball down. The outside hitter looked very calm on the court at all times and that probably helped her make good decisions every time she made contact with the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1799813051304272339","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1799813051304272339 </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":"Madison Johnson","_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":"5'10u0022","_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":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Absolute Volleyball Academy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66677f9c18b1f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Johnson and her AVA TX 15 Attack team ranked third in the tournament, with one win and two losses. Very long and technical, she was very consistent offensively and got the ball in critical moments and out-of-system plays. Johnson used her length very well and did a very good job of finding gaps in the block or ways to hit around it, but also showed to have the power needed to tool it when out of better options. Despite her major offensive role, she also did well in serve-receive, passing well when she was targeted by opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- 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":"Cami Hoyle","_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":"5'5u0022","_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":"Iola","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"MoCo Jrs","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66677f9c18b98"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hoyle helped her team MoCo Jrs 15 Adidas secure a fifth-place finish at [program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] Pre-Nationals, getting two wins and two losses. She was easily the team's most-used offensive option and was set quite often, even when in the middle back position. A state champion with Iola, Hoyle was incredibly confident every time she went up to swing and, even not being very tall or physical, she found ways to put the ball down more often than not, in part thanks to her impressive precision. The outside hitter also delivered in serve-receive, helping keep her team in system.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19744472/66669d90bc7637de21d43f4a' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66677f9c18d25"} /--> <!-- 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":"Militsa Pecikozic","_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":"null","_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":"","_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66677f9c18dc4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Pecikozic was one of the standouts in her [program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados'] 15 National team that ranked seventh with one win and two losses. She was huge for them in serve-receive, using her superior technique to deliver excellent passes to her setters and facilitate the team's offense. Pecikozic was also very active on defense, getting a lot of touches and generating transition plays. The outside hitter used her high volleyball IQ and her skills to perform at the net too, doing a good job of tooling the block and getting creative to find solutions to difficult plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":548862,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/IMG_5294.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-548862" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">BCS Skyline 15 Royal vs. [program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados'] 15 National</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->