Sneaky Good 17s-Jingle Bell Jam Pt.2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We were at the Jingle Bell Jam in Tulsa this past weekend. The oldest age was the 17s. Let's take a look at how they finished and some of the players who may be flying under the radar now but will definitely will be key to their teams success later in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gold Bracket Finish: TPV 17-2, Charge South 17-1, Virago 16-1 and Ignite 17-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TPV 17-2 Outside Hitter #8, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='285744' first='Alia' last='DeBerry']</strong>. Alia did a great job this past school season. She took big steps to become a much more consistent hitter. She has added more range to her arsenal, especially her line shot. She also does a great job with out of system balls, she will work to the deep cross corner and make defenders cross each to make the dig. Her consistent float combined with solid accuracy caused all sorts of issues from the service line. Watch for her having a HUGE senior season next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Charge South 17-1 Outside Hitter #5, <strong>Kelsey Foster</strong>. WHAT A PLAYER. She was really good in the front row and equally good in the back row. She had a ton of leadership and energy just pouring out of her while she played. The control she has with her swings is next level. The set would be left inside and she would still find a way to get it deep down the line to send the defense scrambling. You didn't just have to worry about her getting a kill from just the front row, she would also take a big approach and rip it from the back row. She was instrumental in getting her team the gold bracket championship match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ignite 17-1 Libero #10, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746623' first='Bailey' last='West']</strong>. Bailey could be described as calm, cool and collected. She never looked flustered or out of control. She helped her team go undefeated in pool play as the 4 seed. The offense flowed so smoothly for Ignite due to being in system so often, a lot of that had to do with miss West. She does a great job of timing her split step and making an efficient 1st step. This allows her to cover a large area and not have negative steps. I will be definitely keeping my eye on her and this team, they will be making waves in our region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br>Virago 16-1 Setter #18, <strong>Makenna Layton</strong>. Much like everyone else on this list, Kenna is 6 rotations worth of good volleyball. She sets in the back row, hits outside for two rotations and hits the right side for one rotation. Her setting is fun to watch as she does a really good job of staying neutral. This makes it tough for blockers to know where she is going, this opens up options for her hitters. Her setting is not the only value in the back row, her serving accuracy and quick feet while digging were massive upsides to her game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a great first tournament of the season. Plenty of players/teams in action and lots of great matches. Just in the 17s division alone, there were 8 matches that went the distance and were decided in the 3rd and final set. We look forward to covering a ton more players this club season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->