Top Gateway and Heart of America Players and Teams Heading To USAV Open
The Heartland and Gateway Region will be represented among some of the top clubs and athletes in country when they head to Indianapolis for the USAV National Championships. Perennial powers from the Kansas City and St. Louis area will find…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Heartland and Gateway Region will be represented among some of the top clubs and athletes in country when they head to Indianapolis for the USAV National Championships. Perennial powers from the Kansas City and St. Louis area will find familiar ground on the big stage. Here is a quick breakdown of the teams who qualified in the open field and some top players to keep an eye on.
17 Open
KC Power 17-1
MAVS KC 17-1
Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite
KC Power and MAVS will be leading the Kansas City area heading into 17 Open at USAV and Rockwood Thunder will represent the other side of the state and maintain their powerful tradition. In fact all of these programs have made their marks on a national level. KC Power got their bid at Colorado Crossroads and are lead by some of the top players in the country. The athletes from St. James Academy are Ellie Bolton (Creighton), Lauren Kropf, and Anna Feldkamp (South Dakota). They will also have Kaiti Parks staying close to home, committing to KU. MAVS qualified at MEQ in Indy late March and have been building momentum all season since Triple Crown. Kendra Wait and Caroline Bien are some of the top athletes in the area and are playing up from the Class of 2021, with Wait heading to Creighton and Bien to KU. Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite qualified at the Northeast Qualifier in Boston and are led by Abby Lynn who is the type of setter who can just do it all to lead her team. She will be heading to Louisiana for her collegiate career.
16 Open
Dynasty 16 Black
MAVS KC 16-1
Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite
Dynasty will rely on speed, tempo, and ball control with no one on their roster that is above 6’1 (which if you look at other open rosters, they are some 6’3 or 6’4 athletes). They have three Bishop Miege athletes in Leilani Elder, Ella Martin, and Erin Garr that will carry their experience from club into their Junior year of high school. MAVS was one of the final teams to qualify in a power packed open field at the Northern Lights Qualifier in Minneapolis at Northern Lights to get their bid. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite got their bid at Colorado Crossroads and have a team full of offensive weapons, especially at the pin. Jordan Iliff is committed to Mizzou, so is teammate Addison Lyon.
15 Open
Dynasty 15 Black
Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite
Madison Scheer of Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite.Dynasty qualified early by finishing second at Colorado Crossroads behind Triple Crown Champs, Nebraska Premier. This gritty and athletic team will use a strong and athletic game out of the middle to speed the game up for the opposing side. Rockwood Thunder qualified at MEQ, but were champions of the Northern Lights Qualifier, defeating other open opponents such as Northern Lights, CIS, and COAST. Vanessa Polk is a force in the middle with her ability to control the net and on the pin is Madison Scheer who brings such a high contact point along with the ability to pinpoint her shot.
14 Open
Dynasty 14 Black
KC Power 14-1
MAVS 14-1
PVA 14 Elite
Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite
Topeka Impact 14-1
The Heart of America and Gateway Region are strongly represented in the 14 Open Age Division. At Prep Dig we typically don’t cover 14s, but wanted to give recognition for the depth on the region with six teams representing.