Impressive talent from the 4A State Tournament

A long, hard-fought journey for the state title was battled for. The Thunder from Desert Hills took home the title and trophy; however, there were also a few players who stood out regardless of the result. Versatility, poise, and power helped these athletes become pivotal pieces to their teams' systems.    A 6'1 outside for the Green Canyon Wolves is their leader [player_tooltip player_id='532736' first='Audrey' last='White']. She is dynamic, with a strong arm and solid range that helps her score at will. Not only is she an efficient attacker, but also a strong passer that helps her stay steady in serve receive.     A lefty right side who swings hard with purpose and has the range to score in different areas of the court. Not only is she an efficient attacker, but she can also pass in serve receive and play good defense. Her eye work and mechanics make her a solid blocker that frustrates a lot of attackers and shuts down outsides and middles. She has a strong float serve that gets opponents out of system and frustrates passers.     [player_tooltip player_id='897596' first='Lusi' last='Damuni'] has clean hands with good location and tempo. She is a dynamic, fast setter who finds her middles in transition often to keep her offense dynamic. She puts up hittable balls off of tough passes and knows who she needs to get the ball to. She has good footwork that gets squared to her target and helps her reverse flow to her rightside. Damuni has efficient eye work to read her hitters on defense to release for a tip or drop to play the hard-driven ball down the line.     A new face to the UHSAA volleyball scene this year was [player_tooltip player_id='500061' first='Annie' last='Gilmore']. A 6'1 outside for the Thunder who can pass, play defense, and be their primary attacker. She loves to crank down the line, but will find high hands or cross to score. She is a level-headed player who doesn't get overly hyped or excited, but remains engaged no matter the score or situation.     [player_tooltip player_id='836097' first='Meliana' last='Chrisman'] is a middle by training, but can hit on the outside, right, and set for a couple rotations if she needs to. She is extremely versatile and makes great plays from all areas of the court. As a middle, she has a quick first step to help her close blocks and get a lot of touches on balls. She has good power with pace and can unload on a ball when she gets on top of it. Chrisman also knows when she needs to place it in an open spot or push to a corner to find a kill.     One of the leaders for the Thunder this year was 5'7 [player_tooltip player_id='826546' first='Jessica' last='Openshaw']. Despite her size, she elevates extremely well and has good power and range to score. She hustles on defense and has solid passing mechanics that helped the Thunder stay in system. Openshaw is energetic, engaged, and present for every point of the game.     [player_tooltip player_id='897138' first='Elly' last='Giordano'] has good hands and footwork that help her keep a consistent tempo and location for all her hitters. She plays solid defense, whether it's picking up an off- speed shot or digging a hard ball down the line or cross. Regardless of how difficult a pass may be, she demonstrates the potential to make the set happen anyway. It could be using one hand to flip the ball back or to her middle; her confidence to make those plays happen continues to grow.     She is an athlete. [player_tooltip player_id='892967' first='Neveah' last='Magalei'] excels in competition and makes her presence known wherever she is on the court. As an outside, she has an explosive last two steps that help get off the ground and put good power behind the ball. She has a solid toolbox that helps her find different ways to score against a bigger block: throwing or swinging off the hands, a high shot to the corner, or a deep 5/6 corner kill. As a libero, Magalei is fast and gets under a lot of tough balls easily. She has solid range that helps her dig out of reach balls and pick up any tip or roll that comes her way. Her movements are fast, but simple and controlled.     I've already written about her, but she seems to impress me every time I watch her. [player_tooltip player_id='894182' first='Tali' last='Tupe'] attracts a lot of eyes for her size and for good reason. Despite her height, she will find a way to score no matter who is in front of her. It could be a closed double block, but she will tool or power through blocks like it does not matter. Tupe's last two steps are explosive and help her get to the ball quickly and elevate off the ground. She has solid ball control and good eye work that helps her set up on defense to make great plays. She plays fearless and composed from the first whistle to the last.

A long, hard-fought journey for the state title was battled for. The Thunder from Desert Hills took home the title and trophy; however, there were also a few players who stood out regardless of the result. Versatility, poise, and power helped these athletes become pivotal pieces to their teams' systems.