Thiele demonstrated great maturity and understanding of the game to implement her distribution strategy according to what the game required. The freshman did a good job of keeping all hitters involved when Taylor’s game was flowing, but became more pragmatic and turned to Simoncic more often when the team went through difficult moments. Thiele was very creative and aggressive with her setter dumps and found different ways to put the ball down, including a powerful left-handed swing. She ended the match with 27 assists, six kills, ten digs, one block and one ace.

Thiele helped Katy Taylor produce a positive 5-3 win record over the weekend. Despite her young age, she’s very mature with her distribution and makes the most of her hitters and doesn’t overload any of them. Thiele stands out for her ability to move players around and diversify her offense when in system, creating difficult scenarios for opponents to anticipate. The freshman also contributes with her length when blocking at the net and is very determined and reliable on defense.

Thiele is a Class of 2030 setter/right side hitter who’s about to have her first high school season with Katy Taylor and represents Houston Skyline at the club level. She has excellent size and uses it very well when setting, easily getting to tight passes at the net and making the most of her high contact point to deliver quick, accurate sets at the pin. A lefty, Thiele thrives as a hitter, too, showing solid firepower and great decision-making to beat blockers and defenders and score points. She’s also very good with her setter dumps, doing a great job of diversifying how she plays them and where she sends the ball to catch opponents off guard.

Highlights