Boys Club Volleyball Preseason Kickoff: Xzone Boys
Xzone Volleyball Club is a small, faith-based club, housed at the Guardian Sports Complex in Chesterfield, Virginia. The club is in season two of boys and modified their activities this season because of the limitations created by the Corona Virus.…
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Continue ReadingXzone Volleyball Club is a small, faith-based club, housed at the Guardian Sports Complex in Chesterfield, Virginia. The club is in season two of boys and modified their activities this season because of the limitations created by the Corona Virus. Last year, the boys started with 33 athletes for the program and sorted them into three teams, 18 White, 16 Red, and 16 White. The Red teams are the travel designation level teams for Xzone, similar to National or Zonal teams or a club’s 1st or second teams. The Red teams will play in overnight, multi-day events. The White Team designation is for the teams that will play only single-day events. This season, for the Fall/Winter segment, Xzone Boys only had a development program that trained weekly to help players get ready for the February high school season. The players range in class from sophomores to seniors. They are considering having a short Summer season if players are interested and playing in a couple of events, culminating in the AAU National Championships in Orlando, Florida in June 2021, depending on the pandemic. The AAU was the only national volleyball event that happened during the summer last year with both USA Volleyball and the JVA canceling their events.
Here are some of the top players from Xzone for the 2020 season.
Jacob Couch is a pin hitter/utility player for Xzone. He has played every position on the court over his two years with the program. At a still growing 5’10, Jacob is athletic and a constant learner of the game. The improvement he showed since stepping into the program in October 2019 has been incredible. He is one of the leaders on the team. He has a strong arm and is a good passer with greatly improving footwork and tracking. He is learning to read the game at a high level and with continued growth, could be a solid college prospect depending on when he stops growing.
Evan Holzmacher is forgoing this season because of the pandemic but still a tremendous prospect for the next level. Evan is extremely dynamic and explosive with a great vertical and exceptional torque. He should grow into one of the top players in the region over the next two seasons. He is above average height and is very fluid in his movements on the court. He has great instincts and is reading the game well.
Brennan Clark is new to setting this past season, taking over the setting duties in January of 2020 had the season cut short in March just as he began to “get it” with his contacts and fundamentals. He is advancing well as a setter and has the potential for a point-scoring jump serve. He is very long and athletic. A converted basketball point guard, Brennan has great court vision which is a great attribute of a setter. He has big hands and a strong core which allows him to control out of system passes and still run quicker tempos with subpar passing. He is a good blocker and improving greatly as a defender. He is a great leader on the court as well, keeping his team in the game, regardless of the score.
Zach DeGrauwe, the senior pin hitter from Prince George High is a dual-sport athlete (he plays goalie for the soccer team). Zach is a 6 foot Outside Hitter who’s dynamic with a good arm. He has a ton of potential and could be a great fit at many D3 and NAIA programs. He lacks ideal size for NCAA Division 1 or 2 with their sub limitations. He is a greatly improved passer and a relentless defender. He’s strong academically and wants to student engineering.
Daniel Mathes, the sophomore is a Home School student and the best athlete in the program. Despite his modest size (5’9) he has a tremendous vertical and fast arm swing. He is an ideal OH2 or libero. He is very coachable and has the potential to be an elite defender with his reading and platform control. He could be a higher level defender as he develops.
Ian Wynn is a sophomore cerebral setter who is sneaky athletic. He works hard at his fundamentals and learning every component of the game and is constantly working to improve. He has a good release and location which will improve as he refines his fundamentals and footwork. Ian would be a great fit for a small NAIA school or mid-level D3 programs. He is a great student as well.
Nathan Spinner is a utility player for the team with a good arm and calm demeanor. He has a greatly improving jump spin and a solid jump float. He’s a good blocker and above-average athletically. He has a great platform and is working on his footwork on serve receive and reading defensively. Nathan would be a great mid-level D3 player and is strong academically.
Jacob Munson is a sophomore libero who reads the game at a good level and is making huge strides in that component. He has a good jump float serve and is consistent and accurate. He has good platform awareness and is fearless defensively. He would be a good fit at D3 or beginning programs for NAIA.
Justin Porta hit his first growth spurt and has surpassed 6’2 in height. He is a raw prospect as a sophomore but has huge potential and could play almost any position. He’s still adapting to the change in height and needs to improve his explosiveness. He has the potential to be a solid setter but could play any other front row position as he continues to develop his power and fundamentals. He’s extremely coachable and hard working and loves the game in a way that’s infectious to others.
Logan Heflin is a junior at Prince George High. He plays middle but projects at opposite with a stronger left-handed swing or could be a switch between middle and right side. He’s a raw prospect who came to the game late and is greatly improving in all facets of the game. He’s another great culture kid who would add a lot with his work ethic and positive attitude.