Fireworks in April? Show Me 15 Open
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We were going back and forth over which division we were most excited to see this weekend. In 16 Open, KC Power is one of the most exciting teams we’ve seen this season. They are THE team to beat in…
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Continue ReadingWe were going back and forth over which division we were most excited to see this weekend. In 16 Open, KC Power is one of the most exciting teams we’ve seen this season. They are THE team to beat in 16 Open in our opinion. But the depth of talent and teams in 15 open should provide for some fireworks over the course of the weekend and we are here for it all!
KC Power 15-1 is your top seed after capturing titles at MEQ and the Presidents Day Challenge in Nebraska. Add a Heart of America Region Power League title and this team is on fire. They have a team full of weapons capable of stepping up at any moment. Setter Janelle Green Janelle Green 5'9" | S Blue Valley North | 2024 State #68 Nation KS has run the show all season and done so splendidly. She is aggressive with her sets and finds winnable matchups all match long. Middles Julia Headley Julia Headley 6'2" | MB St. James | 2024 State #103 Nation KS and Zoë McDonald Zoë McDonald 6'2" | MB Shawnee Mission East | 2024 State KS have been key at moments throughout the season both offensively and defensively. David Beach’s team has been in good hands on the pins with the play of Jillian Huckabey and Alea Goolsby. Last time out, Goolsby was sidelined so we don’t know her availability for this weekend but she is a powerful pin. Huckabey is a six rotation baller who can score anywhere on the front row. Mya Bolton Mya Bolton 5'3" | DS/L St. James Academy | 2024 State #134 Nation KS is following in the steps of her older sister and playing great in the back row. They had to run through the likes of Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite and Dynasty 15 Black to capture the title in Indianapolis. Will they be able to do it again?
Dynasty 15 Black has double qualified in this early qualifying season. They took 2nd to KC Power at MEQ. They recently finished 3rd in Atlanta at Big South. They are a team searching for this first gold ball of the season. This team has the pieces to get over the hump and earn the top prize this weekend. Offensively, Abigail Mullen and Skyler Pierce Skyler Pierce 6'3" | OH Olathe Northwest | 2024 State #4 Nation KS have been lights out. Mullen is playing up a division and I haven’t seen a better RS this season in this age group…and I’ve watched tons of film. Pierce is electric on the pin and continues to improve defensively. This team features a tandem of setters and they don’t lose a beat with either. Emma Christian and Ava Martin Ava Martin 5'10" | S Bishop Miege | 2024 State #77 Nation KS play their roles well. Both have tremendous floor awareness and don’t shy away from making the tough set. Libero Ryan McAleer is a gamer and will run through a brick wall for this team. Her passing is on target and she’s always there to cover her hitters. Is this the weekend 15 Black gets the top prize?
3rd Seed in this tournament is Nebraska Premier 15 Gold. We believe this is the first qualifier for Premier this spring since Colorado Crossroads is later than normal. We don’t know a great deal about this team and a few others we will highlight. We know enough about this team to know they are dangerous and capable of walking away with the title and a bid. Since we cover Power, we saw Premier Gold in a slugfest with KC Power during the Omaha Presidents Day Challenge. We also saw them defeat the 4th and 5th seeded teams in this tournament, NORCO 15 Black and Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite in Omaha. One player we know for sure from the matches we’ve watched is OH Lauren Medleck. She is a complete gamer and defenders better keep their heads on a swivel. Coach Shannon Smolinksi’s squad will also feature Reagan Hickey Reagan Hickey 5'8" | S Papillion-La Vista | 2024 State NE and Alivia Hausmann Alivia Hausmann 5'5" | DS/L Norris | 2024 State NE in the setter position. Prep Dig Nebraska Natalie Myers featured this team back in January and mentioned Lauren Jones Lauren Jones 5'9" | OH Millard West | 2024 State NE and Morgan Glaser Morgan Glaser 6'0" | OH Papillion-La Vista | 2024 State NE as pin contributors and Morgan Bode as a transplant from SCVC region in California as players expected to play a key role in the middle. Expect this team to walk away with one of the bids this weekend with or without the trickle-down.
We mentioned Premier taken down the 4th and 5th seeds back in February. The 4th seed in this loaded field is NORCO 15 Black from Colorado. They finished tied for 3rd at the Presidents Day Classic with their lone loss to Premier. This will also be their first attempt at qualifying in the open field. We don’t know much about this squad but expect them to be in the hunt.
The 5th team and one we’ve seen numerous times this season is Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite. This is another team full of weapons and looking to double qualify after a third-place finish at MEQ. They had to battle Lions 15-1 in a third-place match to capture their bid. They also have under their belts a fifth-place finish in the Omaha Presidents Day Challenge, losing to the before-mentioned Nebraska Premier 15 Gold team and Colorado Juniors 15 Sherri. Most previews start with hitters, not with this team. Libero Olivia Hasbrook Olivia Hasbrook 5'9" | DS/L Eureka | 2024 State #56 Nation MO has emerged as one of our favorite players to watch this club season. She is an elite defender and plays at an extremely high level. As we mentioned on social media, we are updating our Class of 2024 rankings for the first time, and two players you will see make a jump is Emma Parker Emma Parker 6'1" | MB Eureka | 2024 State MO and Maya Witherspoon. Parker holds down the middle for this team but could easily play on the pin on the next level. She can score with the best of them and gives a strong presence defensively with the block. Witherspoon, we didn’t know as much about…but we do now! She is still growing as a passer but she has no problems scoring points. She has a good selection of shots early in her career and will only get better. Pin Allison Risley Allison Risley 5'11" | OH Lafayette | 2024 State #187 Nation MO has been good all season. Alyssa Nelson Alyssa Nelson 5'8" | S Wildwood | 2024 State MO and Morgan Dumm have been smooth running the offense. Will this team double qualify and position themselves as one of the teams to beat in Las Vegas this summer?
Also, look for Skyline 15 Royal, HPSTL 15 Royal, and Mavs KC 15-1 to be in contention for one of the three bids in play due to three teams already holding open bids.