16 Open Pins Who Went Off At MEQ
At the 16 Open level, or any Open level, you can’t just hit the ball hard. There are a lot of hard hitters, the ones who look intimidating in hitting lines, the highlight videos look great. But what makes them…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAt the 16 Open level, or any Open level, you can’t just hit the ball hard. There are a lot of hard hitters, the ones who look intimidating in hitting lines, the highlight videos look great. But what makes them different? What makes them successful at a high level? What makes them “That Girl” sometimes where it seems like every time they the ball, it turns to gold. There were a few 16 Open athletes who had the moment on the pin where they were at their best and they are ones who make it happen. Here are a few that really stood out and rose to the top among some of the best in the country.
Kennedy Wagner and Jessica Horwath – 1st Alliance 16 Silver
What makes these two athletes different? Well, that’s a lot to unpack because they are many attributes that allows them to make significant contributions for them team who earned an Open bid to Vegas. One skill I have noticed with a lot of 1st Alliance and Lions (Lions 15-1) is how their outsides generate top spin with their swing, top spin with multiple angles and from the front and backrow. There are so many times where the opposing team is calling the ball out and it lands in the deep corner or on the line. The next time up they are going with a different arm angle or show where they are picking apart the defense. Wagner lights a fire within her team each time she scores points. She is also a solid serve and pass player where she transitions from pass to attack so smoothly. This team is going to be in the hunt in any event they play in.
Avery Bolles – MN Select 16-1
Smooth operator. Bolles is a six rotation outside who does it all. She can serve, pass, block, serve receive, and has all the shots in her bag of tricks. When she approaches to jump, it looks effortless, she’s a high flyer. MN Select came in as a 13 seed and finished just outside of the final four. With Paige Thibault as their fire in the backrow as a libero and setter, Ava Blascziek running the show, MN Select definitely earned the respect of the field. Blascziek runs a great offense, but when all else fails she knows where to find Bolles who knows how to make a positive touch for her squad out of the Twin Cities metro area.
Lauryn Hill – Drive Nation 16 Red
A ferocious approach, a killer instinct, Hill is another high flyer who shows no fear when attacking. A violent arm swing with the IQ to go high hands, a sharp angle, or just take a big rip and let the aggressiveness take care of itself. Hill is a six rotation outside who is also a threat out of the backrow. When she gets the opportunity to terminate and score, her teammates feed off that. The passion Drive Nation celebrates with is scary because they build momentum each time. If they are able to go on a run, watch out – they are tough to stop.
Brooke Rockwell of Ozark is doing some crazy things on pin. With her very she can score with any angle pic.twitter.com/u9IatMlTus
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) March 13, 2021
Brooke Rockwell – Ozark Juniors
We typically do not cover athletes out of Arkansas (no Prep Dig Arkansas yet), but watching Brooke Rockwell out of Fayetteville, Arkansas was a treat. Coming out of SEC country, Rockwell has to be on the radar of plenty of coaches in the South. At 5’10 and touching ten feet, she is able to see the whole court as she just hangs in the air. With her matches against Michigan Elite and Drive Nation she was a point scoring machine with angles that were near impossible. From her attack angle to where she actually scored was scary. She was a key piece to her squad coming in as a 27 seed and being in the Gold pools come Sunday finishing in the top ten.
Nayeli Gonzalez – Alamo 16 Premier
It sounds different when Gonzalez hits the ball. Her hand contact and power is just different. Gonzalez is a representation of her whole team with how she is so efficient on the court. She keeps the ball in play, knows when to score, when to give her team another chance and is a definite threat out of the back row as well. What is fun about Gonzalez is her ability to be creative with how she scores. She adjusts, adapts, takes what the defense gives her, and is always reliable in being able to put the ball away. This is a team where it doesn’t get old to watch with their passion, efficiency, and passion for the game.
Grace Egan – Fusion 16 Red
Heavy swing. Watching Egan take a rip from the front or backrow, you know its going to be aggressive and so tough for the backrow to put it in play. I think she might be tougher to defend out of middle back which gives her the opportunity to spot the whole court and the ball travels further from when she makes contact. She is fundamentally sound and so strong with being able to score points with a ton of velocity to go with her swing.
Gabriella Durham – Elite VBTC
Thunderous swing. Watching Durham for Elite which is just outside of Columbus is always one to respect in the Open level. Durham has a heavy swing, and she brings it. She might blast a few out, but when she is able to hit the high hands or rip a sharp cross court angle, it is fun to see what kind of highlights she can produce
.
Lauren Janosy – AVC Cleveland
Sneaky, effective. Janosy was a key piece to the puzzle for AVC Cleveland who finished tied for 5th just outside of the Gold Bracket. This team was possibly the most efficient team all weekend where they just don’t make a lot of mistakes. Their defense is well organized, they don’t give the other side many free balls and they take advantage of opportunities to score and Janosy was key for them. She could score from the right side in some rotations, out of serve receive, and from the pin was able to go with multiple angles or shots to find the floor.
Campbell Paris and Chelsea Williams – Sky High
Campbell Paris is probably standing at 6’2 or 6’3, touching ten feet and is a definite presence on the floor. Williams is around 5’10 and super efficient for this Sky High team where she just finds a way to split the block, use the block, or find the open spot on the court. A little bit of thunder and lightning for this group which continues to improve this season. Sky High teams are always well trained and disciplined and both of these athletes are making the right strides to have a fun recruiting process.