Club Team Spotlight: NPJ 18-1 Forefront & NPJ 17-1 National
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North Pacific Juniors 18-1 Forefront The NPJ 18-1 Forefront team has risen to prominence in the 18U Division, always one of the top competitors in the CEVA region. Led by club director Adam Ellis and assisted by Mike Gee, the…
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Continue ReadingNorth Pacific Juniors 18-1 Forefront
The NPJ 18-1 Forefront team has risen to prominence in the 18U Division, always one of the top competitors in the CEVA region. Led by club director Adam Ellis and assisted by Mike Gee, the team continues to produce top athletes for Oregon and Washington. The roster this season is no different, stacked with lots of talent.
SETTING
The only underclassman on the team is sophomore standout Alexis Haury Alexis Haury 5'10" | S Silverton | 2024 State #9 Nation OR , the #1 2024 recruit in Oregon, and #3 nationally for 2024. She was just awarded the prestigious honor of being named Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, impressive for any athlete, but almost unheard of for a sophomore to be named this. Sydney Harrington Sydney Harrington 5'10" | S West Albany | 2022 State OR {pictured} (Virginia Commonwealth commit) is also on the roster as a setter, so she could be splitting time with Haury, running a 6-2. Harrington was recently nominated for Oregon Player of Year and was a Mid-Willamette First Team All-League selection and 5A First Team All-State honoree, after running a 5-1 for 5A State champions West Albany.
FRONT ROW
Expect a lot of the sets to be fed to powerhouse outside hitters Hailey Heider Hailey Heider 5'9" | OH West Albany | 2022 State OR {pictured} and Ashli Edmiston Ashli Edmiston 5'8" | OH Wilsonville | 2022 State OR , who were named co-5A Player of the Year. Heider returns to this team, playing for Forefront as a junior. However, you can expect her to take on a much bigger offensive and defensive role for the team this season. Edmiston is new to NPJ this season, having previously played for Athena Volleyball Academy. Also on the pins, but more likely on the right side, will be Jamie Seward Jamie Seward 5'11" | RS Sweet Home | 2022 State OR (Austin Peay commit) and Emmi Marks Emmi Marks 5'10" | OH West Salem | 2022 State OR (Corban commit). In the middle, they will have powerhouses Ella Nordquist Ella Nordquist 6'0" | MB West Linn | 2022 State OR (Western Oregon commit), Isabella Snyder Isabella Snyder 5'11" | MB North Salem | 2022 State OR , and Gracie Boeder Gracie Boeder 6'0" | MB West Albany | 2022 State OR .
BACK ROW
Shealyn Cecil Shealyn Cecil 5'5" | S West Linn | 2022 State OR {pictured} was a Three Rivers First Team All-League and 6A Second Team All-State selection as the primary setter for the West Linn High School Lions, 6A State champions. However, when she decided to make the move from OJVA to NPJ this season, they will look to Cecil to fulfill a new role: as the designated libero. Also on the roster as a defensive specialist is Washington athlete Emily Wood.
North Pacific Juniors 17-1 National
The NPJ 17-1 National squad, practicing out of Salem, OR, is led by head coach Traci Stephens and assisted by AJ Francis. With a decent number of returners from the NPJ 16-1 National team from last season, plus a few studly newbies, this team is definitely one to watch.
SETTING
Running the offense since 12s, Madison Corpe Madison Corpe 5'10" | S McNary | 2023 State OR {pictured}, from McNary High School, is back for her junior season. However, usually with this group running a 6-2 alongside Corpe is Hayden Hamilton Hayden Hamilton 5'11" | S Ridgeview | 2023 State OR , who ended up moving to Bend in 2021. This being said the team needed another setter to fill that hole in the roster. The team has added Hayden Pinard, a Southwest Conference Second Team All-League selection, from Roseburg High School.
FRONT ROW
The team is not short on offensive power with lots of it at their disposal. Another returner to this group for many seasons will be
Kayleigh Carpenter
Kayleigh
Carpenter
5'9" | OH
South Salem | 2023
State
#146
Nation
OR
, a six-rotation outside hitter, and recent Boise State commit. With
Kendyl Arnett
Kendyl
Arnett
5'10" | OH
West Albany | 2024
State
#81
Nation
OR
staying in 16U to play with her grade level, on the 16-1 National team, the team has added pin hitter
Amyah Semau
Amyah
Semau
5'10" | OH
West Linn | 2023
State
OR
{pictured}. Semau saw significant playing time on the outside for State champions West Linn High School. They will also have bouncy Brooksie Isham, explosive
Emily Blagg
Emily
Blagg
5'8" | MB
McNary | 2023
State
OR
, athletic
Ella Smith
Ella
Smith
6'2" | MB
Corvallis | 2023
State
OR
and powerhouse
Tessa Zimmerman
Tessa
Zimmerman
6'1" | RS
West Albany | 2023
State
OR
. All four of these athletes can play anywhere across the front row, so it will be exciting to see who plays middle and who plays elsewhere!
BACK ROW
The back row is in good hands for this NPJ team, with returner Sarah Jones Sarah Jones 5'2" | DS/L Sprague | 2023 State OR {pictured}, the starting libero for the Sprague High School Olympians. Also added to the roster is newbie Kennedy Cheung Kennedy Cheung 5'2" | DS/L Westview | 2023 State OR who has spent her club career at OJVA until this season. Cheung is the starting libero for the Westview High School Wildcats. Now the question is, who will be sporting the libero jersey? Or will they continue to run two liberos, as they have done for the first tournament? Only time will tell.