Badger Region: 15 Open Top Players and Pool Breakdown
Weekend #2 is ready to roll at the Badger Region Championships, with Prep Dig taking focus on the 15 Open Championship. Milwaukee Sting will have their top three teams there, with Sting 15 Gold being the heavy favorite as one…
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Continue ReadingWeekend #2 is ready to roll at the Badger Region Championships, with Prep Dig taking focus on the 15 Open Championship. Milwaukee Sting will have their top three teams there, with Sting 15 Gold being the heavy favorite as one of the top teams in the nation. However, FC Elite has been playing well as of late and also has some close ties to the Milwaukee Sting Program. WVA, Capital, and Motion have been gaining momentum and will look to make a push to the Gold Bracket with the championship taking place Sunday night. One team missing from the party is Midwest Penguins. They have had quite the schedule the past three weeks with the Mizuno Showcase (3 days), Badger Region Qualifer (which they won the tournament earning a National bid), and the MidEast Qualifier in Indy. Here is a breakdown of some of the top players and teams in pool play which starts Saturday at 1:30.
Pool A
Milwaukee Sting 15 Gold
Wisconsin Juniors 15-1
15 Royal
Eclipse 15 Solar
Milwaukee Sting 15 Gold will be the clear cut favorite in this pool. They have power and are so deep at every position. With high powered Division 1 recruits for each contact it will be entertaining to watch. Sam Naber of Burlington is the top libero out of the Class of 2021 passing to Brooke Mosher of Waterloo, the future University of Illinois recruit who is the top ranked prospect in Wisconsin as a setter. Sting Gold also has a cupboard full of high powered hitters in Mckenna Wucherer who is a 2022 commit to the University of Minnesota along with Lizzie Binder, Camryn Lukenbill, and Mariah Grunze. Wisconsin Juniors 15-1 did have a solid weekend at the Showcase a few weeks ago beating Sting 15 Black, however a match up with Gold will be a completely different ball game. Juniors are the highest Wisconsin team at the Great Lakes Power League PM Shift, being in the B Bracket which would put them in the top 16 of the division.
Pool B
FC Elite 15 Navy
Capital 15 Adidas
Wisconsin Premier 15 Teal
Adversity 15-1
This pool has some interesting matchups with some underlying storylines that will be enticing to watch. FC Elite 15 Navy is power packed team with outside hitter Cora Behnke, the second ranked prospect for the Class of 2021, but also have some players who are in the Class of 2022 and even 2023 who have experience playing for Sting. Coach Brett Damrow was the Coach of the Milwaukee Sting 14 Gold team last year (with much of the same group being Sting 15 Gold this year). However, FC Elite does have two early season losses to Milwaukee Sting 15 Black they will be hoping to avenge. Emma Mans out of the middle and Brooke Bolwerk at setter will be looking for solid connections to keep the pins open on the outside. Capital 15 Adidas has won the past five matches at GLPL including their most recent against Wisconsin Premier 16 Teal. Payton Addink and Josie Halbleib, both from Sun Prairie, are the two big point scorers for Capital. Addink is a high flyer on the outside, while Halbleib is a heavy swing, left hander with a lot of power and is also very dynamic as well. Wisconsin Premier had a solid weekend at the MidEast Qualifier in Indy, finishing in the top 20 of the American Division.
Pool C
Milwaukee Sting 15 Black
Motion 15 Blue
Wisconsin Ice 15 Purple
I AM VBC 15
Milwaukee Sting 15 Black has put together a really solid season with championships at the Big City Luau and Sports Performance Presidents Day Tourney. They did have a little slip up to Wisconsin Juniors at the Mizuno Showcase, but after a couple weeks off they will be gearing up for a solid weekend. Middle Kaitlyn Riley is a dual threat on offense and defense with lots of athleticism along with two solid leftys on the right side in Natalie Tesch and Katie Winkler. Mackenzie Leach is also a pin that is just as solid in the backrow as well. This pool is absolutely no slouch. Motion 15 Blue has wins over Capital from the Winter Classic in January and have rattled off nine straight wins in the Great Lakes Power League. Motion 15 Blue is much like the other teams in the Motion program with lots of balance and athleticism such as pin hitter Kallisa Jaeger. Wisconsin Ice 15 Purple had moments of greatness at the Mizuno Showcase going 4-3 with solid defense and the swings from outside hitter, Abby Duffrin of DC Everest.
Pool D
WVA 15 Black
Milwaukee Sting 15 White
Revolution 15 Navy
FDL Fusion 15 Purple
WVA 15 Black will be the favorite in this pool, but Milwaukee Sting White will pose some matchup problems for the middles of WVA in Hattie Bray and Natalie Johanknecht. Bray of Wautoma and Johanknecht of Oshkosh West are the twin towers of WVA in the middle, but are extremely dynamic and athletic. Milwaukee Sting 15 White took WVA to three sets at the JVA Jamboree in early February. Sting White has some height that is continuing to make some large gains throughout this club season with three athletes at six feet or taller in Elsa Sheperd of Pewaukee, Monica LaFleur of Arrowhead, and Lindsay Kznarich of Arrowhead as well. Revolution is a club that is one the rise and FDL Fusion 15 Purple has a pair of aggressive pins and Amalia Fox in the middle.