Liberos to Watch at the Tour of Texas – Stop 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first big tournament of the 2025-2026 club season is just around the corner, as this weekend, the top club teams from the Lone Star State will compete in the first stop of the popular Tour of Texas in the Austin area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the biggest events in the club calendar in the state every year, the Tour of Texas will this year begin at the Round Rock Sports Complex, where nearly 500 teams will be in action across 11 different divisions from Saturday to Monday, providing the first big test for many of them as the season starts to pick up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top players from Texas will be in Round Rock this weekend, and we're using the days leading up to the event's start to feature some of them. The liberos are next on the list:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["580677"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6966aa8f4af8b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Pham plays as a libero for the [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] 15 Royal team that will be in action in the 15 Invitational Division of the event. A highly technical and intelligent player on the court, she commands her team's back row with efficiency. Pham is very confident in serve-receive and often delivers jaw-dropping digs with her outstanding ball control. Also capable of playing as a setter, she has firm and accurate hands, keeping the team in system when the second contact goes her way. The libero also gets opponents under pressure from the service line with her aggressive serving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEwvQ46G-iA","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEwvQ46G-iA </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 Kutch","_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":"5'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Walnut Grove","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"Areté Athletics","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"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-6966aa8f4b056"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kutch is a libero for Areté 16 Navy Telos and will be with the team in the 16 Invitational Division. A new face with them after joining from TAV, she's an elite defensive player, who brings a lot of stability to the back row with her reliable game. Kutch does a great job of keeping her balance and body shape when she moves for the ball in serve-receive, ensuring accurate deliveries to her setter. She has excellent ball control when playing defense, does a great job of hand setting in transition plays, and also makes an impact from the service line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KS5rXq13jA","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KS5rXq13jA </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["575086"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6966aa8f4b0ae"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nesloney and her [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Black team will get to compete in the 16 Invitational Division in Round Rock. Very quick with her movement, she's very hard to score at because of how much ground she can cover, meaning tips and deflected shots aren't out of range for her. Nesloney has a great attitude in the back row, too, and will step up to handle the first contact every time she can. The libero has superior ball control and is very precise both when playing defense and in serve-receive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/27215767/690288c99632853ec7bb3a1d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6966aa8f4b249"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["482082"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6966aa8f4b297"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ash will be in action with the SA Juniors 17 Adidas team in the 17 Invitational Division. She joined them this season, coming from United VBA, and has the tools to make a positive impact in their game. An elite passer, the libero will keep them in system with her impressive ball control, allowing for their offense to work at full pace. Because of her quickness and hard work on the backcourt, Ash is the type of libero who will generate point-scoring opportunities for her team at a high volume.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17238791/6809a0dc567fcb0d674ad7ad' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6966aa8f4b2bc"} /-->