Celebrating Winners: 17 Club Blue division at Central Zones

Want a subscription to PrepDig! Use code Kyp30 for 30% off of your annual subscription! And don't forget to follow @KypPDIN on X for all of your Indiana high school and club volleyball news!   I cannot stress enough how great it was to see that the Central Zone Invitational persevered despite a generational storm that crippled the South and Midwest. It allowed a lot of teams the time and space to show what they've got coming into this club season, and gave a spotlight to players and teams that wouldn't normally see some publicity. Today's article does exactly that—-a highlight of a roster of players from Valkyries, a local/regional club that has enough solid players to defeat teams from three different states without dropping a set this past Saturday.    Lauren's innate ability to show relentlessness in every aspect of her volleyball persona is what places her in this medium. Miss Cook is more than capable of clearing out other passers and taking over serve receive for her squad in any situation and at any time. On defense, you can expect Lauren to crash into chairs, sacrifice her body regularly and still manage to keep the ball off of the floor. Her methods seem unorthodox, yet she is the reason the play continues. In short, you can do a LOT worse than Lauren for your first contact, in any setting.     Multiple outlets list Kelyn's height anywhere from 5'7” to 5'11”, so I'll stay on the conservative end for now. Kelyn's upper body strength and volleyball acuity allows her to keep balls in play on offense, all while minimizing errors for the long term. I'd like to see a little more lift from her attack jump, as the next level rewards aggression far more than consistency. No matter—-Miss Everling is learning quickly that she's useful on both pins for a high-and-heavy ball into the corners as well as a controlled roll shot to the “donut” to score points for her squad.     New to me, but not to volleyball, Miss Pass is the size-and-strength combination that is learning what works and what doesn't playing up an age group at the club level. Already with a well-trained small high school, she's learning to use her size to her advantage with a high attack point. Again, as with Kelyn previously, I'd like to see a little more lift in Lillian's attack jump. For now, however, her size is plenty good enough for winning at this level. A little jump training, and this kid could be the answer for a hybrid pin attacker for the next level.     Used as an explosive middle with the ability to hit all angles in a slower tempo offense, Savanna has the strength and athleticism to play any of the front row positions at a small school at the next level. Realistically, I'd like to see her hammer away at unsuspecting blocks on either pin, as her jumping ability and attacking shoulder strength allows her heavy contact to be hard to defend. No matter where she plays, Miss Plew is a new-to-me player that deserves a little more publicity because of her strength and ability.     Quick and unassuming, Nellie is more than capable of being a three-rotation defender at the next level. She does her job quietly—-no flash, no crashing into things, just quiet consistency and accuracy from the left back position. In a two-libero defensive system, Nellie is the “defending” libero, coming on when her team is serving. I haven't see as much on the serve receive from her because, frankly, she's hasn't had the opportunity to show out in that capacity at this point in her career. Nevertheless, she's yet another DS that I'm writing about because of her quickness, accuracy and willingness to do her job without fail.     When you're Rose's size, most recruiters might overlook you. A word to the wise, Miss Strabala is more than capable of running a 5-1 OR a 6-2 offense at the next level because of her high volleyball IQ, the ability to get to each and every pass and to make that rough pass hittable for all of her hitters. I think that her smallish size is an advantage for her; on more than one occasion, she'll take advantage of defenders overlooking her ability to score points on her own with an attack or two PER SET. Put the whole package together, and Rose is capable of doing the job well, while sprinkling in a few point-scoring opportunities for herself.     Springy and smart, Trynadee is an aggressive and athletic outside that can terminate in any tempo, with any set location and at any angle. She'll punish undisciplined blocks, find seams in the block that expose point-scoring opportunities, and hit unexpected angles because of her size. Yes, she's not exactly where a pin attacker should be height-wise. Yet if you're scoring points at the rate Trynadee is, does it matter?

Want a subscription to PrepDig! Use code Kyp30 for 30% off of your annual subscription! And don't forget to follow @KypPDIN on X for all of your Indiana high school and club volleyball news!