Prep Dig All Tournament Team From Mizuno Northern Lights 15 Open
Some of the top players in the country were able to compete this past weekend for the Northern Lights Qualifier. 15 Open featured athletes who have already made plans for after college such as Karissa Kaminski FC Elite heading to…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingSome of the top players in the country were able to compete this past weekend for the Northern Lights Qualifier. 15 Open featured athletes who have already made plans for after college such as Karissa Kaminski FC Elite heading to Dayton and Lauren Carter of CIS who will be heading to Denver. This past weekend the AVCA also passed recruiting rule changes that go into effect on May 1, which essentially means no recruiting communication can happen until after the athletes completion of their Sophomore year. With many 2022 athletes competing this past weekend it will pause plenty of conversations another year with college coaches. Here are plenty of names that will be high on the radar in the Prep Dig All Tournament of the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier.
Middle Blockers
Vanessa Polk of Rockwood ThunderVanessa Polk – Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite
Polk brings such a physicality and intensity to the net when she comes in. She has the speed, the power, and positioning to really take the opposing side out of their game. Her quickness allows her to get to the pin to block and the athleticism allows her to do some special things. Polk is also a standout in basketball as well.
Amanda Loschen – Nebraska Elite 15 Koa
Loschen came up big with some thunderous blocks for Koa, especially in a key three set victory over MN Select. Much like Polk its her quickness and long reach where she can close very quickly turning the ball back inbounds. She is also deadly in transitioning which allows her to be a scoring threat.
I had to trim down this 34 second rally…@NebraskaElite takes the match 20-18 in the third pic.twitter.com/fWS9QGt5sw
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 20, 2019
Emma Goerger – MN Select 15-1
Goerger is one of three six foot plus athletes on MN Select which overall had a tough weekend, but had four three set losses which could have gone either way. Georger doesn’t need much time to take a swing and really put the hammer down.
Setters
Kora Ruff of Iowa RocketsKora Ruff – Iowa Rockets 15-1
Ruff can do a little bit of everything and can even swing on the right side as well. This weekend she ran the show, a 5-1 for Rockets and was able to show off her offensive skills on the second contact. She even had some big blocks to contribute as well. Ruff finds a way to get her feet to the ball and always puts her hitters in position to terminate.
Abby Schomers – Nebraska Elite 15 Koa
Schomers make something extremely difficult look relatively easy. She doesn’t try and do too much, she just plays really solid in all six rotations and knows when to feed the hitter with the hot hand. She runs a really good middle route and is a defensive threat at the net as well.
Lauren Carter – CIS 15M
Committed To Denver
CIS has had a bit of a rollercoaster of a season with a few key injuries for lows, but also major highs with a third place finish at Triple Crown NIT, Iowa Region Champions, and plenty of high quality wins along the way such as OT, Coast, AVC Cleveland, Northern Lights, and Skyline. One of the steady and consistent players behind that run is setter, Lauren Carter. Cool, calm, and collected she gets all of her hitters involved and knows exactly when to attack on the second contact.
Outside Hitters
Julia Hansen of Northern LightsJulia Hansen – Northern Lights 15-1
Hansen is such a high flyer with a very high contact point. She is always an outlet where she can score from the pin or pose a threat in the backrow as well to score. This past weekend she was connecting well with her setters running a shoot in the gap which makes it so tough to keep on her when she can score down the line which allows for a wide open shot in the gap.
Brianna Cantrell – FC Elite 15 Navy
Cantrell has a style very similar to Hansen where she is a high flyer that spot shots the defense with a hard cross or deep tip to the corner, a tough hitter to defend. Cantrell is also a bit threat from the backrow and has a nasty serve which adds to an already full tool box of different ways to score points.
Macy Daufeldt of Iowa RocketsMacy Daufeldt – Iowa Rockets 15R
Daufeldt might have been one of the best overall athletes in the 15 Open Division. When things get chaotic and she is available to send it across the net, it will no doubt be with authority. Daufeldt is able to get up extremely high without even an approach which allows her to be really athletic when she attacks. Whether its adjusting in midair, saving a set, or going for a backrow attack, defenses have to know where she is.
Madison Scheer – Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite
Scheer’s game and how she attacks is much like a rhyme for a little kid to tie their shoe. She was hitting over, around, and through the block. With an aggressive approach, high contact, and pure power she is so tough to defend as a blocker and backrow defender. Rockwood just has a such a well balanced attack where they are never out of system it seems. They are one of the top 15s teams I’ve seen all season.
Right Side/Opposites
Sienna Ifill with authority. Big time plays by the lefty in crunch time. @nlightsvball #PrepDigNLQ pic.twitter.com/nyZGcwAcYt
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 19, 2019
Sienna Ifill – Northern Lights 15-1
Northern Lights had two three setters on Day 1 with FC Elite and Nebraska Elite that went into extra points in the third set. Ifill was coming up huge with swings that were aggressive and almost impossible to get a hand on. Touching over ten feet, left handed, and coming out of the middle for a few swings she is a tough matchup for anyone defending.
Madilyn Siebler – Nebraska Elite 15 Koa
Siebler is so effective from the right side which much of the success is attributed to her athletic ability to play well above the net. A major scoring threat that has a variety of shots, Siebler is a shut down defender that makes a great blocking combo with her middles which definitely made things difficult for their opponents.
Libero
Karissa Kaminski of FC Elite 15 NavyKarissa Kaminski – FC Elite 15 Navy
Committed To Dayton
Kaminski had been playing on the pin, but was the libero the majority of the weekend. She changes the game, she not only is solid at taking pace off the first contact, but with a setting background as well, can read the platform of others on her team that results on her getting a solid read on the second contact. Even on a free ball she looks through the net and knows where to get the defense out of position with a down ball or a deep push to the corner.