Pins that Moved the Needle at NIT. OH's and Oppos that made Impacts

Again… lots of great players making incredible plays at the NIT last weekend. Our team had our eyes on the usuals but we also had a few that caught our eyes. The general trend for outside hitters in the 16 open division is seeming to be that these players are go to swings. The teams need their OH to do well in order to win matches. Most of the teams are running middles on perfect passes on first balls and then setting their OH every other time. This isn't necessarily an issue especially if you have an OH that can take over, but what I'm finding is the teams that set their right sides in transition and out of system are the teams that are REALLY strong at this level. So here are some outside hitters and opposites that were setting their teams apart last weekend in Kansas City.

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Jordan Morrow- OH, Houston Skyline, PPV 198: This is an outside hitter that really has a high volleyball IQ. She knows when to tip and when to go in hard. It's easy to swing away at every ball and hope it scores, but Jordan Morrow is really using strategy to try to beat her opponents.

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Aspen Brown- OPPO, Houston Skyline, PPV 268: Really strong opposite that connects really well with her setter. It's no wonder, since the two of them have been playing together for as long as they can remember. But, that is no sight to her game. She is a strong rightside that attacks at a high contact point from the FRONT and BACK row. That's something that makes her really unique is her abilities from the back court. Cant wait to keep watching the Welker-Brown to Brown connection:)

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Oluwatoni Odujebe- OH, A5 16 Gabe, PPV 172: This outside stood out to me defensively. Our team even took note of how strong of a blocker she was. I feel like blocking is such an under taught skill at this level, but not for Odujebe. She looks to have been taught how to line up really well and picks great spots against her opponents. Dont get me wrong she is also a very offensive OH and took some big rips in some crazy out of system situations. I love her courage to go make big swings in tough situations.

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Lucy Holmes- OPPO, Dallas Skyline, PPV 209: really long opposite with a ton of length. Her length definitely helps her, but she does a great job not getting too high on the block. She is very low and over which is a huge asset to her team. I would call her a blocking and defense right side over an offensive right side for right now but her long arm swing has improved and I will continue to watch to see how much quicker she can get with it. I was impressed with the couple of bounces I saw her with on the offensive side!

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Natalie Norton- OH, Drive Nation, PPV 221: Natalie improved since the last time we watched her play. Her footwork looks faster, her contact point higher and she seems to be even more aggressive. She got a lot of out of system balls that varied in location, but that wasn't a challenge for her. She still took high swings avoiding the block and challenging the defenders on the other side. I am impressed by her improvement as she was already a TOP outside hitter.

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Samantha Karjala- OPPO, OT 16 T JT, PPV 179: I love how long her armswing is. She does such a good job getting the ball to her right shoulder and swinging hard and fast that its very difficult to block her balls. I was impressed with her because she was not a player that was on my board originally. I think she is really an opposite that can do a lot for this team because they need more powerful swings. I loved her athleticism on her block and I will definitely be following her this season.

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Ella Olson- OH, T-street, PPV 191: Another player that made some serious strides this past weekend. I loved how well she played the whole time. She seems to be a very consistent player for this team and was able to take over matches when she needed to but was also able to sit back and be a really solid passer or an impressive defender when her team needed her to. I love her back row attack game as well. She stood out on her team all weekend. I am really excited about her growth as a player and can't wait to follow!

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Makenna Barnes- OH, Mizuno Long Beach, PPV 204: An outside hitter with a really long and fluid approach. She has some size to her which helps a ton but Barnes is able to hit over top of a lot of blockers at this level. She does a good job overpowering as well. She can break through blocks like a bulldozer. I really like her fluid transition from passing to attacking as well. Overall a really strong OH for a really strong team that relies on her quite a bit.

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Shewa Adefemiwa- OPPO, Mizuno Long Beach, PPV 114: A very powerful right side attacker. She is what I would call terminal; if the ball goes to her the play is over. She is powering through blocks and bouncing balls. I think when she gets a little more control of her arm swing she will increase her PPV by quite a bit. I love her strength and how her team uses her. I was really impressed with her overall game in the front row offensively and defensively. 

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Ryan Spencer, OH, Dallas Skyline, PPV 223: She is really strong up at the net. She thinks really quickly and is able to make adjustments on the fly. I loved her calmness on blocking and her ability to wait to see where the hitter is going to be before jumping and floating out to them. I also really like her ball control. Ball control for an OH is one of the biggest skills and its clear that she has put the time and effort into making hers great. 

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Isabel O'Brien, OH, Tri State Elite, PPV 168: A bit of an undersized outside hitter, but she makes up for it in speed. She had some really quick and flashy kills for her Tri State elite team last weekend that definitely caught my eye! She plays really hard and really fast all 6 rotations. It seems like she's a player that could go for hours without stopping.

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Jenny Glushakov, OPP, Top Select, PPV 145: I think she may be an OH by trade that this team has moved to the right side, but let me tell you she did well over here. It was also an awesome other option for this team to be able to pull her back in serve receive because that is another skill set of hers. I loved watching her up in the front because is so balanced at the net. She looks prepared for anything to come to her and she is very comfortable in rotation 1 swinging on the OH. I don't know if this is a permanent switch or a one time thing but I loved it and Glushakov stood out to me!

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Ellyson Randolph, OH, NC Academy (17s), PPV 190: Randolph is that diamond in the rough partially because she's playing with the 17s group.  She plays high and already has a variety of shots.  Her serve gave opponents difficult and she has the back row game to go with her attacking skills.  Then you realize that she is a year younger and playing 17 Open.  She would be an athlete college coaches would definitely point out as a "high-ceiling.  That being said having 2026s best Setter in Genevieve Harris feeding you the ball isn't a bad way to learn the ropes either.