#PDBattleInTheValley Day 1 “Quick Hitters” and Top Performances
The 2021 Prep Dig Battle of the Valley is bringing nearly 100 teams to the Appleton/Fox Cities area with squads from Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The 17s/18s Division will feature representatives from each state as teams battle head to…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe 2021 Prep Dig Battle of the Valley is bringing nearly 100 teams to the Appleton/Fox Cities area with squads from Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The 17s/18s Division will feature representatives from each state as teams battle head to head in our 17/18s, 16s, 15s, and 13/14s on Sunday. Here are a few quick “hitters” from Saturday on what goes beyond the AES scores.
Top Performers, Pictures, Highlights
Prep Dig Facebook – Battle In The Valley Album
Prep Dig Instagram – Top Performer Graphics
Impact out of MN moving on to 17/18 Gold pic.twitter.com/hMzizd7E4m
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) May 1, 2021
Plenty of Impact – From Wisconsin and Minnesota
Impact 17 Black made plenty of waves in their pool going 3-0 against typical powers Madison United 18 Red and Midwest Penguins 17 Black. Top pin hitter, Estelle Harsh was a point-scoring machine. Long, athletic, and a loose arm where she creates quite a whip. She was able to score points from the outside as well as middle back. Middle blocker Violet Hackbarth was deadly on the slide as well which her swing ultimately sent them into gold play tomorrow.
Impact 17 National dropped a three-set heartbreaker to River City 18 Blue 17-15 in set three, but with their match, set, and point differential, earned a spot in the gold bracket where they will face #2 overall seed Wisconsin 17 Premier Teal. Impact 16 National is heading into the gold bracket for the 16s Division after holding off the crosstown rival club, FVP. The two battled back to a 16-14 win led by Isabella Grace, who was extremely powerful from the pin and on the rise among the Class of 2023 pin hitters.
Iowa Select and Premier Loading Up For Gold
Iowa Select 17 Mizuno and 18 Mizuno are heading for gold and Wisconsin Premier 17 Teal and 18 Teal are heading for gold. The 17 Mizuno squad was the Iowa Regional Runner-Up and have a National bid locked up for USAV. They are led by Northwest Missouri State commit Ella Caffery at setter and one of the top 2023 prospects out of Iowa in Ava Schubert at right side. One new name that popped up was Noel Smith, a physical 5’10/5/11 middle blocker from the Class of 2022. Premier’s 18 Teal squad has a dynamic lineup Evvie Kaczkowski on the pin, Maiana Stark, and right side lefty with a heavy swing in Alyssa Gaeth. Premier 17 Teal will be hungry for a title and were paced by setter Elise Gillen who makes her job look effortless getting a balanced attack running.
Top Performers
Throughout the day, we were able to take our “Top Performers” to the next level with graphics shared on our social media platforms. Here are a few names to note!
Estelle Harsh – Impact 17 Black (MN)
Harsh was one of the top players in the gym today, she came up huge for Impact 17 Black in key pool play matches.
Meredith Bock – I AM VBC 16 Red
So athletic, she really brings a dynamic style to the libero position and covers so much ground.
Hailey Litzau – Milwaukee Jrs. 16 Elite
So scrappy and a floor general as a setter. MKE Jrs. 16 Elite will be playing for gold along with their national team.
Magdalene Hartwig – Madison United 16 Red
So strong and physical out of the middle. Isn’t afraid to take a big swing and is a major presence with her block.
Nev Dukic – Milwaukee Jrs. 16 Elite
Dukic is a libero who anticipates extremely well, she looks the ball in, platform is under control angled to the target, this was a fun squad to watch.
Claudia Merizon – FVP 16 Blue
Merizon is crafty with a left handed swing. She can hit from either pin and has a high IQ for the game.
Alexis Jonas – 1W Point 16 Momentum
Another lefty as a setter. She may not be one of the tallest players at the net, but she has a nasty serve and can sneak one over on the second contact.
Halle Vandehey – FC Elite 15 Lightning Hawks
WOW. What an athlete. Vandehey is a multi-sport athlete out of Xavier Catholic in Appleton. She is going to be a force on the basketball and volleyball courts and is only a Freshman.
Berlin Troendle – V-Hawk 16 Adidas
So athletic out of the middle, she can just hang in the air and make so many positive adjustments and go with the set or put up a strong block
Grace Koets – Mission 15 JDI
Scrappy, well-rounded, she did a little bit of everything for Mission 15 JDI out of Illinois.
Natalia Furrugia – 262 Attack 15 Savage
This team is the top overall seed and they showed it Saturday going 3-0 in pool play. Furrugia is long, athletic and is a big time presence as a middle blocker.
Oak Creek K Force 15s going for Gold tomorrow! #PDBattleintheValley pic.twitter.com/WMS0fLTY3l
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) May 1, 2021
Oak Creek K-Force 15s
This team turned plenty of heads as they won some big three set matches to finish 3-0 in their pool to land in a spot in 15 Gold come Sunday.