USA Volleyball GJNC Preview – Teams to Watch Vol 7

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most difficult aspects of the club volleyball season is to earn the elusive bid to USA Volleyball's Girls Junior National Championship.&nbsp; This year, the prestigious event will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas from June 25^th til July 3^rd.&nbsp; Prep Dig will be covering the event from start to finish.&nbsp; This article series will be highlighting those awesome squads who have earned their place for the chance to be crowned a national champion.&nbsp; Let's take a deep look at some of the individual stars for each of these teams.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sunshine 17 LA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southern Cali Region is stacked with squads who will be looking to show their skills this summer.&nbsp; Sunshine 17 LA is headed to USAV Nationals in the National Division since they won their bid at the Southern California Regional tourney.&nbsp; We have seen them in action a few times this club season and they always put on a show.&nbsp; Lengthy opposite [player_tooltip player_id='772628' first='Kapri' last='Garnett'] is hard to miss whens he steps on the court and will be a big time contributor on both the offensive and defensive end of the net.&nbsp; Setter [player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Jordyn' last='Scannell'] is super feisty as she scrambles around the court to be involved in every play.&nbsp; I love how she fights for everything and is always in a good position to run the offense.&nbsp; Pin [player_tooltip player_id='544254' first='Sadie' last='Kocur'] contacts the ball at the true peak of her reach and has a lot of power to score the ball.&nbsp; Setter [player_tooltip player_id='391119' first='Olivia' last='Penske'] also has no fear as she battles at the net when setting from the front row.&nbsp; They also have another tough baller in libero [player_tooltip player_id='391110' first='Declan' last='Eastman'] who is able to cover so much space during both defense and serve receive.&nbsp; She can easily occupy twenty feet by herself and still be able to beat the ball to its spot in order to start the offense.&nbsp; Another solid swinger is left side [player_tooltip player_id='391114' first='Stella' last='Kennedy'] who helps to provide more firepower to this squad's offense.&nbsp; If they can continue their hot streak, they will be a tough out for anyone in the division.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more on them as we cover the tourney.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='745880' first='Houston' last='Stellar'] 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Lone Star Region squad from south east Houston earned their National division bid by winning the championship at the Lone Star Regional tourney a few weeks ago.&nbsp; Setter [player_tooltip player_id='518983' first='Caryme' last='Molina'] has the exact attitude that you want in a floor general as she knows how to move the ball around and find her hot hitters.&nbsp; I love how she understands how important it is to run her middle early and often to establish an aggressive tone.&nbsp; She communicates very well to each of her hitters on route assignments prior to the serve.&nbsp; High-flying and powerful attacker Navaeh English is strong on the opposite position and is not scared of anyone.&nbsp; Although she may be slightly undersized at the position, she plays very well above the net and has impeccable timing on the block.&nbsp; Libero [player_tooltip player_id='453167' first='Haley' last='Patton'] has all of the emergency techniques on full display at all times to keep the ball in play for this scrappy squad.&nbsp; We have seen her save many balls from landing due to sheer effort and super fast reactions.&nbsp; Uber-talented six-rotation pin [player_tooltip player_id='254073' first='Avery' last='Koonsen'] is one of the main weapons for 17 Elite.&nbsp; She can score from anywhere on the court and they routinely look for her while she is in the back row because of how lethal she is with the ball in her hands.&nbsp; She can flat out score the rock.&nbsp; Middle [player_tooltip player_id='318191' first='Keaton' last='Points'] and left side Shirley Pingel are two other stars that shine bright for this squad.&nbsp; I have known their coach Jerry Aldrich for quite some time and there is no doubt that he will have his squad ready for battle as he has ample experience taking teams to nationals over the years.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are very proud of their efforts and are so elated that they accomplished one huge goal of theirs to earn the elusive bid to USA Nationals.&nbsp; There are many more amazing teams and players that will be written about.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; You can also DM me on Instagram or X by searching @CoachMikeDZ.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply reposting on X, Instagram or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->