Saturday Shoutouts From Indy and Orlando
Everyone got the day 1 jitters out of their systems! After a year with no qualifier opportunities for many of these athletes, getting to the second day still in the hunt is what all are fighting towards. Day 2 in…
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Continue ReadingEveryone got the day 1 jitters out of their systems! After a year with no qualifier opportunities for many of these athletes, getting to the second day still in the hunt is what all are fighting towards. Day 2 in Indianapolis and Orlando was good for many Missouri(sh) teams. I shared on Twitter earlier why I’m using Missouri(sh). My main responsibilities are covering teams and athletes from the state of Missouri. Some of these athletes play for teams just across the state line in Kansas, so it makes sense to add limited coverage of Kansas teams. By my count, there are 18 teams in contention for bids on Championship Sunday. As a reminder, in the Open and USA Divisions, 3 bids typically go out. For the American Division, teams are battling for one available slot. We were able to get our eyes on tons of volleyball today. HPSTL 15 Royal…please camp out tonight and try to get on the camera side! We want to watch your young athletes!
15 Open
In Indianapolis, KC Power 15-1 is still holding on to the top seed. We have noticed they are playing without a couple of players, but the train is still moving along full steam. S Janelle Green Janelle Green 5'9" | S Blue Valley North | 2024 State #68 Nation KS has been excellent all weekend. We really loved seeing the connection on the slide with Middle Julia Headley Julia Headley 6'2" | MB St. James | 2024 State #103 Nation KS . OH Jillian Huckabey has been consistent all weekend. Dynasty 15 Black has looked strong through the first two days. The glimpse of matches we checked out today, Libero Claire Jones was on her game. Her passing was to target and she made some tough plays defensively. Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite is the third Missouri(sh) team heading into the gold pools after another undefeated day. OH Maya Witherspoon was key today in a third-set win over Maverick 15 Elite. She scored three early kills in the decisive set from both pins and the middle. Libero Olivia Hasbrook Olivia Hasbrook 5'9" | DS/L Eureka | 2024 State #56 Nation MO continued to show why she’s ranked highly in the class of 2024. OH Allison Risley Allison Risley 5'11" | OH Lafayette | 2024 State #187 Nation MO had timely kills against Maverick. The final team we cover looking to earn a bid in 15 open tomorrow is HPSTL 15 Royal. As noted above, we are having difficulty identifying players due to distance from the camera and uniform/number visibility. In one match we watched, RS Shae Pearson had a couple of key kills.
15 USA
HPSTL 15 Orange is going to fight through the gold bracket tomorrow in hopes of earning a trip to Las Vegas later this summer. They are 5-1 over the two days, owning a 10-3 set advantage. We watched portions of their match versus JJVA and couldn’t identify players. We thought they had strong net play defensively, turning back and touching numerous balls. Their setter stayed in control and had a strong showing.
16 Open
We spent some time today watching some of the open teams we typically don’t track. We wanted to get an idea of what Sunday would look like and we still feel KC Power 16-1 is the team to beat. They have a lot of weapons. It was important to see a strong showing from OH Reagan Fox Reagan Fox 6'2" | OH St. Teresa's Academy | 2023 State #104 Nation MO in the match we peeked in on this morning. They will be pooled with Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold and AVC Clev 16 Red. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite also advances to Day 3 Gold Pools after a 2-1 second day. MB Mia Berg Mia Berg 6'1" | OH Eureka | 2023 State MO continues to see her stock rise in this class. She is displaying the total package, including the ability to play defense in middle back after serving. Both Caitlyn Little Caitlyn Little 5'10" | OH Lafayette | 2023 State MO and Layne Witherspoon Layne Witherspoon 6'0" | MB Lafayette | 2023 State MO provided sparks in a key battle against Mintonette.
16 USA
In Indianapolis, Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy is looking to grab one of the 3 bids on Sunday. They finished atop their pool today. Libero Dana Grib played well along the back row in the two matches we checked out. Setter Taylor Dumm was excellent on placement and decision-making. 417 Juniors 16-1 will join 16 Navy in the gold bracket on the final day after a 3-0 day. We really liked the leadership and energy from setter Lauren Tyler. She keeps the offense flowing and uses her ability to jump set to her advantage. OH Regan Baade had a strong showing and mixes up her shots well.
16 American
Three teams from our coverage area will battle out for the lone bid in the American division on Sunday. HPSTL 16 Orange and Rockwood Thunder 16 White will represent the east side of the state. Mavs KC 16-3 will be the Kansas representative.
17 Open
In Florida, three teams kept their bid hopes alive after day 2. Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite had to battle through a challenge match but earn their spot in the gold pools to join Dynasty 17 Black and PVA 17 Elite. We did watch the complete Dynasty 17 match against A5 Mizuno 17 Jing. It was a competitive battle where passing was the key. Taylor Roberts was strong throughout the match, taking huge swings against the height of A5. Morgan DeBow was a force at the net in the blocking department. PVA advances and had a marathon match of their own, finished by an Ava Martin Ava Martin 5'10" | S Bishop Miege | 2024 State #77 Nation KS rocket shot. Libero Ella Bunde Ella Bunde 5'6" | DS/L Shawnee Mission East | 2022 State KS did a good job of keeping her team in system. We didn’t catch any of Rockwood’s matches today but will check in on them tomorrow.
17 USA
We spent some time checking out Dynasty 17 Blue today and they took care of business to stay in contention for a USA bid in Florida. They dropped one match today and will face Texas Pistols in the gold bracket. Setter Sydney Flatte was sharp in her performance and connected well with middle Caitlyn Burns Caitlyn Burns 5'10" | MB Liberty North | 2022 State MO and RS Emma Bilhimer. Rockwood Thunder 17 Navy will also work to get a USA bid in the 17s division. They were perfect on the day and unfortunately couldn’t identify players in the matches we attempted to check out.
17 American
Rockwood Thunder 17 White is 6-0 heading into the gold bracket on Sunday.
Other Standouts on Day 2
OH – Makya Clayton Makya Clayton 5'6" | S Lee's Summit | 2023 State MO – PVA 16 Elite
MB – Mia Scanlon Mia Scanlon 5'10" | OH Marquette | 2024 State MO – Rockwood 15 Elite
S – Ella Swindle Ella Swindle 6'2" | S Rock Bridge | 2023 State #6 Nation MO – KC Power 16-1
OH – Isabel Day Isabel Day 5'9" | DS/L Park Hill South | 2023 State MO – KC Power 15-1
OH – Carlie Cisneros Carlie Cisneros 6'0" | OH Liberty North | 2024 State #7 Nation MO – Dynasty 15 Black
RS – Alexandria Bishop – Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy
OH – Abigail Siess Abigail Siess 5'11" | OH Westminster Christian | 2023 State MO – Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy
RS – Grace O’Reilly Grace O’Reilly 6'0" | RS Springfield Catholic | 2023 State MO – 417 Juniors 16-1
L – Emma Conrad Emma Conrad 5'0" | DS/L Nixa | 2023 State MO – 417 Juniors 16-1
MB – Rachel Ziesman – PVA 17 Elite
OH – Sarah Pyle – PVA 17 Elite
OH – Kate Brown Kate Brown 5'11" | MB Platte County | 2022 State MO – Dynasty 17 Blue
S – Addison Beagle Addison Beagle 5'9" | S Liberty North | 2022 State MO – Dynasty 17 Black
MB – Iyanna Jackson – Dynasty 17 Black
OH – Mikayla Benanti – Dynasty 17 Black
OH – Brylee Peterson – Dynasty 17 Black