Missouri’s 16U Club Teams Poised to Have Breakout Seasons
15U teams in Missouri had an excellent 2019 club season, with a number of teams reaching the Super Bowl for club volleyball – the USAV Girls Junior National Volleyball tournament. The class of 2022 in Missouri is a strong group.…
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Continue Reading15U teams in Missouri had an excellent 2019 club season, with a number of teams reaching the Super Bowl for club volleyball – the USAV Girls Junior National Volleyball tournament. The class of 2022 in Missouri is a strong group. As most of those players move up in age group, we will find out if the result is the same for the Missouri 16U teams in 2020. Here are five teams with a great shot to punch a ticket to Florida for nationals in July. We will preview five more 16U teams this coming week.
HPSTL Royal, Orange
High Performance St. Louis sent a pair of U15 teams to nationals in 2019, Royal and Orange. The U16 Royal team this season features Kennedy Lane, who plays her high school volleyball at St. Pius X in Festus. The outside hitter was stellar in 2019 for the Lancers, with 333 kills, 140 digs and 31 aces. Her efforts did not go unnoticed – grabbing her Class 2 All-State honors. Anna Sommer joins Lane on the Royals; the middle blocker earned all-conference honors in 2019 for Parkway South. The middle blocker was second on the team in kills with 165, while hitting .330. She led the Patriots in blocks with 54. Look for the Royal team to be a force in area tournaments in 2020.
Isabella LimbackKC Invasion 16-1
The KC Invasion 15-1 team had an incredible 2019, where they finished 18th in the USA division at nationals. Many of those players move on up to Invasion 16-1 and hope to improve on that 18th place finish in 2020. They certainly have the talent to do it, including Class 1 all-state selection Isabella Limback. The sophomore helped Santa Fe reach the Class 1 state finals, where they dropped a heart breaker to Advance. The middle hitter was fantastic for the Chiefs – she had 382 kills in 80 sets played, good enough for 4.8 kills per set.
KC Power 16-1
The majority of players on KC Power’s 16-1 team comprised the KC Power 15-1 team that earned a top 20 finish in the National Division of the USAV Girls Volleyball Championships in 2019. That includes Sydney Handel, the outside from Lee’s Summit West. Handel led the Titans in kills with 208 last season. The sophomore also had 75 digs and 15 aces in 2019.
MOVA 16 Gold
The Missouri Volleyball Academy 15 Gold team reached nationals last season and some of the faces from that team go on to play with 16 Gold in 2020. That includes Rimiri Gardner, who had a nice sophomore campaign for Fort Zumwalt South High School. The middle hitter had 51 blocks, 81 kills while hitting .317 on the year. The team also features Fort Zumwalt West’s Gwen Marino, who was second on the team in kills in 2019 with 132. The sophomore also had 69 blocks.
Performance Volleyball 16-1
Kenna Wise – courtesy Clever volleyballSeveral players on the Performance 16-1 roster had breakout seasons with their prep teams in 2019. It will be interesting to see whether this team can gel and make a huge splash in the club season in 2020. Kenna Wise was especially dynamic in 2019 for Clever. The sophomore captain averaged 5.6 assists per set; but her all-around game should be noted – she was third on the team in kills with 142 and led the Blue Jays in digs with 298. The 16-1 team also has Abbey Swearingen & Arden Below on the roster. An outside from Pleasant Hope, Swearingen had 127 kills, 101 digs and 47 aces for the Pirates. Finally, Landry Parnell from Cassville will play defense for Performance. The sophomore averaged 5.5 digs per set and racked up 409 serve receptions for the Wildcats – good enough to earn her all-conference honors.