Hopkins Invite: Players to Watch

<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58018" first="Skylar" last="Gray"]</strong> - 2021 | Maple Grove<br /> Committed to the University of Minnesota early in her career. Just a junior, Gray is a big contributor to all that Maple Grove does. She has great mechanics and a broad skill set. It is in her ’all-business’ effort and work ethic that helps her sustain a high level of play. One of the best parts of her game is in her transition as her footwork is fluid and she gives herself plenty of time to develop good momentum in her approach. She terminates through various locations with great vision and has ball control that helps keep the Crimson in system well. She has fantastic experience behind her through high level club play and as part of the USA Volleyball pipeline.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57482" first="Chudear" last="Tut"]</strong> - 2020 | Hopkins<br /> At 6’1, Tut is a big and physical presence in the middle for the Royals. Her footwork has an effortless quality as she is fluid in her lateral pursuit of the ball when blocking and her transition and patience when attacking. She gets off the floor very all, which creates a high contact point and allows her to fill up space well when defending at the net. She is the #19 ranked athlete in Prep Digs’ 2020 class and is committed to play her college volleyball at the Division I level at Coppin State.</p> <p><strong>Olivia Swenson &amp; Stella Swenson</strong> - 2024 | Hopkins<br /> This Swenson duo has volleyball in their blood as the younger sisters of former Minnesota Golden Gophers star setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson. As regular starters for the Royals, they are establishing the foundation for their own legacy to blossom on the volleyball court. Stella is the primary setter for the Royals with a good base of skills. Her footwork to the ball gets her there on balance and to utilize her good hand position and extension through both pins. One of her favorite targets is sister Olivia, a primary outside hitter in Hopkins rotation. She is developing explosiveness from the momentum she builds in her approach patterns with good elevation and control of her arm swing. They play beyond their years with a competitiveness that is difficult to teach, which creates great anticipation for the future of Hopkins volleyball as these two youngsters continue to improve.</p> <p><strong><br /> Ashley Hofstad</strong> - 2020 | Bemidji<br /> Hofstad is among the Lumberjacks’ leaders in kills and blocks for the season. She is active in making herself available to swing and in tracking down balls at the net to defend. She has good control of her arm at the top of her jump to be able to hit multiple locations effectively. Look for her to terminate often through Bemidji’s offense.</p> <p><strong>Emily Wade</strong> - 2021 | Bemidji<br /> The primary setter for the Lumberjacks, she has good athleticism. She is quick off of her base position in preparation to deliver the ball. Wade has good touch from pin to pin with good overhead location at a moderate tempo and gets all of her hitters involved well. She also displays good deception when making a play over the net on the second touch. </p>