1. Munciana “Green Gables” (Indiana)
Pre-season ranking: 6

The AAU National champs finished 66-2 on the year, including a perfect 12-0 against a very strong field in Orlando. Junior setter Morgan Bergren was named AAU MVP, but it could as easily have gone to OH Jeme Obeime, MB Kiki Jones or libero Taylor Morey, all of whom were sensational. Every year, coach Mike Lingenfelter seems to attract the best talent from Indiana to his gym (and Ohioan Alyssa Winner this year) and every year his team is in the thick of the national championship discussion. This is the second time in three years we have tabbed Munciana as our year-end No. 1.


2. Sports “Love” Shack (California)
Pre-season ranking: 3

It was tough to leave the two-time USAV 18 Open champs out of the top spot, but Muncie was much more dominant in winning AAUs and had a more impressive regular season record. Sports Shack lost twice in Atlanta, including to a Sky High team that Muncie destroyed early in the club season, before winning eight straight elimination matches behind setter Rebecca Strehlow, libero Skylar Dykstra and hitters Jane Croson, Katherine Workman and Christina Higgins.


3. Tampa Bay “City Rollers” (Florida)
Pre-season ranking: 12

No team put together a better dual year-end run than Tampa, which lost only to 1st Alliance Silver at AAUs, and dropped two 17-15 in the third matches at USAV Nationals, one to Nebraska Elite after it had already clinched first in its pool, and the other to eventual champion Sports Shack in a Challenge match. OH Jordan Burgess was a deserving choice for the All Tournament team at both events. She played great and is one of the top five juniors in the country. But the team would have been nowhere without significant contributions as well from seniors Alex Johnson, Gabby Fernandez, Lauran Eschenroeder and libero Natasha Rowland and juniors Sarah Burrington and Mackenzie Dagostino, the straw that stirred the drink.

4. Synergy “Willickers” (Pennsylvania)
Pre-season ranking: 9

Runners up at USAV Nationals for the second straight year, this is an amazing team. EVERYONE seeing them warm up thinks they will kill them and virtually everyone went down to defeat, even at season’s end when Synergy was playing significantly short handed. Kudos to setter Shelbey Manthorpe for being a constant on this team and to coach Rich Johnson for inspiring his troops to always play hard and to the last point even with their OH hobbling or their standout libero on the sidelines. I’m not sure we’ll see another blue-collar team like this one achieve so much again, but this sure was a fun group to watch.


5. “X-ray” Vision (California)
Pre-season ranking: 10

Ah what might have been. Vision looked very much like a favorite to win Gold early on in Atlanta before OH Michelle Neumayr went down with a torn ACL. Even without their team leader, Vision managed to reach the Final Four before losing to Sports Shack and medaled in 18 Open for the fifth year in the past 10 (four other times, it finished one win out of a medal). OHs Allie Frappier and Brittany Howard were all-tourney picks at Nationals. Hanna Nielson also distinguished herself at setter.


6. Coast “to the Finish Line” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 4

Coast validated its At-Large selection to 18 Open by being the only team to go undefeated in the opening pools and the only 18 Open team to finish with fewer than two losses. This team had a ton of talent to start the year, perhaps too much talent for only six spots on the floor, but found the right formula at year end.


7. “Play it Again” Sports Performance (Illinois)
Pre-season ranking: 2

SPVB 18 Elite reached the 18 Open title tilt at AAUs for the third straight year in 2011. It won the crown last year, but fell to Munciana last month in Orlando. That was one of two losses at AAUs for Rick Butler’s team. The other, to KiVA, was avenged 19 hours later in a Gold quarterfinal. OH Aly Davis and MB Meghan Haggerty, two juniors on the squad, will be back to give it a go again next year.


8. Dallas Premier “to Ear” (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 1

Blessed with hitters that were the envy of all others, Dallas Premier stumbled early as the nation’s No. 1 team but pulled it together to win Northern Lights and Lone Star back to back and came to Atlanta with a 17-4 mark against the field. But all was not well for the Texans, who played Junior Nationals without their libero and one of their setters (bye-bye 6-2 offense!) and looked out of sync in cobbling together a 5-5 mark that included three losses in three sets.


9. Rancho Valley “of the Dolls” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 11

I had Rancho lower but was persuaded by my Club Rankings Team that their body of work over the season (winning Las Vegas, 1st at SCVA Regionals, 1st at SCVA Power League) trumped a shaky middle-of-the-pack finish in Atlanta. Congrats to OH Krista Vansant for a four-year career in 18 Club that rivals the best club careers of all time.

 
10. “Blow It All” Sky High (Illinois)
Pre-season ranking: 5

Sky High won the Great Lakes Power League (Sports Performance second, 1st Alliance fourth) and qualified for Nationals in Minneapolis in its only attempt. Led by OHs Ellen Chapman and Kelly Lamberti, the team started well in Atlanta, with wins over Rancho Valley and Sports Shack, but faltered late, losing its last three matches.


11. 1st Alliance “and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” (Illinois)
Pre-season ranking: 18


12. KiVA “Lee Under the Mat” (Kentucky)
Pre-season ranking: 19


13. “Fighting” Illini Elite (Illinois)
Pre-season ranking: HHM


14. Laguna “Matata” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 20


15. Mizuno Long Beach Babies (California)
Pre-season ranking: 7


16. “North By” Northwest Oregon Juniors (Oregon)
Pre-season ranking: 17


17. Nebraska “Tear” Elite (Nebraska)
Pre-season ranking: 13


18. Club West “Early Winds” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 24


19. “Bermuda” Triangle (North Carolina)
Pre-season ranking: 16


20. “God Bless” Texas Advantage (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 23


21. A5 “for Fighting” (Georgia)
Pre-season ranking: 15


22. City Beach “Blanket Bingo” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 14


23. Sports Performance “Anxiety” (Illinois)
Pre-season ranking: 28


24. “Paper” Milwaukee Sting (Wisconsin)
Pre-season ranking: 41


25. Wave “Goodbye” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 39


26. “Country” Club Utah (Utah)
Pre-season ranking: 36


27. “Grab a Piece of the” Rockwood Thunder (Missouri)
Pre-season ranking: 34


28. Sunshine “Cleaning” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 35


29. “A” Team Z (Ohio)
Pre-season ranking: 21


30. “Eminence” Front Range (Colorado)
Pre-season ranking: 38


31. TCA “Okay” (California)
Pre-season ranking: 29


32. Six Pack “Abs” (Iowa)
Pre-season ranking: 30


33. “Weeping” Willowbrook (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 32


34. “Take the” Metro American (Washington D.C.)
Pre-season ranking: HHM


35. “High in the” Saddleback Valley (California)
Pre-season ranking: HHM


36.  OVA “Lox” (Florida)
Pre-season ranking: 33


37. KC Power “to the People” (Kansas)
Pre-season ranking: 31


38. Skyline “Chili” (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 22


39. “On” Colorado Juniors (Colorado)
Pre-season ranking: 37


40. “Choppy” Surf City (California)
Pre-season ranking: HHM


Highest Honorable Mention

Alamo (Texas)

AVA of Texas (Texas)
Capital (Wisconsin)
DFFO (Michigan)
Force (California)
Imi Ike (Hawaii)
Kane County (Illinois)
MAVA (Kentucky)
Michigan Elite (Michigan)
Northern Lights (Minnesota)
Pinellas Heat (Florida)
Santa Barbara (California)
St. Louis CYC (Missouri)


Honorable Mention

951 (California)
Amarillo Juniors (Texas)
Bakersfield VBC (California)
Circle City Gold (Indiana)
Club Jamba (California)
Club One (Oklahoma)
Club Troy (California)
Club V (Utah)
Colorado Juniors 18 Beth (Colorado)
Corpus Christi Wave (Texas)
CVA (Ohio)
CVC (Ohio)
Dinamo (Arizona)
Eastside Cleveland (Ohio)
El Paso Wildfire (Texas)
Fond du Lac Fusion (Wisconsin)
Golden Bear (California)
Iowa Rockets 18R (Iowa)
Island Thunder (Washington)
KC Extreme (Kansas)
Legacy (Michigan)
Maverick (Ohio)
MAVS (Kansas)
M1 (Minnesota)
NIVB (Indiana)
Premier (Nebraska)
Rimrock (Florida)
Rolling Thunder (Illinois)
San Diego (California)
Sky High Red (Illinois)

Sports Performance Blue (Illinois)
Sports Performance White (Illinois)
TAV Blue (Texas)
Team Indiana (Indiana)
TCVB (Florida)


© 2011 PrepVolleyball.com. Do not reproduce without express written permission.

For those who are too anxious to read through this, everything breaks right for undersized but athletic Mizuno Long Beach to take the title. It faces one power foe after another, which feeds right into the speedy team’s hands. Better yet, it stays away from nemesis Rancho Valley for the entire tournament and gets big breaks when Sports Shack beats Rancho and Synergy beats Sports Shack.

In preparing this preview, we have come up with four pools of eight, following the format used last year at Junior Nationals in Reno, and tried to be faithful in the seeding process while also steering clear as much as possible from pooling teams from the same region.

I want to stress that these are NOT the actual pools you will see once you get to Junior Nationals, but are our unscientific guesses of what the pools MIGHT look like. We admit to no inside information and will go so far as to admit that the seedings committee probably doesn’t even look at this propaganda we put out.

Remember, THIS IS COMPLETELY MADE UP. The seedings are a guess, what might happen is a guess. I know it should be obvious but I guarantee I will still get panicked emails.

Moreover, given that half the teams haven’t responded to my requests for information, some of the nuggets I put forth as factual may be dead wrong. There may be injuries I do not know about, kids leaving early for college or players beating out other players for prime playing time that I know nothing about. Don’t take it personally. This is supposed to be for fun and to get everyone excited for Nationals. Nothing more.

Now we come to the caveats you may have seen over the last decade. First, I do not root for or against anyone. If I predict your team not to do well and you emerge with a medal around your neck, I’ll be thrilled. Second, neither these predictions nor your performance at Junior Nationals defines you as a team or as a player. With 32 teams in Open, very few will meet their own high expectations. That will not make your season any less successful, however. Players and coaches may not feel that way immediately after taking 27th place, but remember how many teams wanted to be where you were at Nationals, and how few made it to the Dance.

Third, volleyball is a game of inches, almosts and what should have happeneds. My predictions envision one particular scenario, conjured up in my mind on less than a few seconds’ thought -- but other, equally likely scenarios certainly exist. If you’re 4-3 in pool play and win tiebreakers, you could win it all. If you lose the same tiebreaker, you might find yourself finishing in the bottom half. I recognize that and know that teams I have in the 20s could just as easily finish top 10. The teams are that close.

That said, away we go…!

(Remember, these are not the actual pools…)


Pool 1

Synergy (1st Big South, 1st NEQ)
City Beach (1st SCVA, 6th Far Westerns, 9th Crossroads)
Front Range (1st Crossroads, 2nd Northern Lights; T-9 Big South)
Laguna Beach (4th Far Westerns, 4th SCVA)
KC Power (1st MEQ, 9th Lone Star)
Club West (T-5 Crossroads, T-5 SCVA)
Skyline (4th NEQ, 5th PNQ, 11th Lone Star)
OVA (5th Lone Star, 18th Crossroads)

The Scene: Synergy 18 Orange earns the top seed in the entire tournament by virtue of romps through Big South and NEQ. Based just outside of Philly, this physical group has lost just four times all season, on the heels of last year’s stellar 17 Open finishes at AAUs (second) and Nationals (second). The calling card for this team is a massive block, courtesy of 6-1 setter Shelbey Manthorpe, MB Alexa Swann and others. Manthorpe, the Pennsylvania Gatorade POY, runs the offense with precision, finding favorite targets Stacey Manthorpe and quick middle Emma Deininger often. Defensively, both libero Rebecca Bates and OH Mackenzie Kleespies will run through a wall for ya…A constant in the 18 Open field, City Beach 18 Black looked to be a good, but not great, team until it moved Taylor Formico from libero to setter, the position she played in leading St. Francis to the California Division II crown in the fall. The move paid off, as Formico connected well with her hitters and Christina Lee stepped into the libero jersey and excelled. The NorCal team surprised many by winning the SCVA qualifier and finished top six at Far Westerns as well. When this team is jelling, look for Formico to go to thunderbolt OH Caitlin DeWitt on the left, crafty Konomi Yokoyama on the right and high school teammate (and cousin) Savannah Paffen in the middle. One concern is the health of DeWitt, who severely sprained an ankle at Regionals. City Beach does have other formidable options on the left, including UCLA signee Priscilla Ezeji, so the drop off won’t be too bad if DeWitt can’t go all the time…Front Range 18 Black got a gift when junior MB Elizabeth Campbell dropped from heaven (or should I say North Carolina). It gave coach Jim Miret one more big, physical option on what already was an imposing team. Campbell, who has committed to Duke, Anna Faul and Janae Hall all stand 6-2 or higher and get the job done at the net for a team that has two fantastic setter/hitters, juniors Nicole Edelman and Nicole Dalton, the Colorado Gatorade winner. Key to this team will be ball control. If Laura Whalen, Catie Breaux and Emily Podschweit get the job done, as expected, the Rangers can play and beat anyone…Remember the Laguna Beach team that won Vegas last year and was ranked No. 1 nationally for much of the year in 17 Open. The bulk of that team makes up Laguna Beach 18 MS. Coach Michael Soylular’s team has had some injuries, but with a deep roster, they have managed to remain pretty consistent, to which two fourth-place qualifier finishes and a fifth in the SCVA regional would attest. Laguna relies on two strong attackers, top 100 Senior Aces Nora Tuioti-Mariner and, when healthy, 6-2 terminator Kaila Thomas. Libero Molly Yoder and three capable setters ensure that the first two contacts are sound for this squad.

Miami Beach seems like a long time ago, but don’t forget that it was KC Power wearing gold in 16 Open. Seven members of that team make up the bulk of KC Power 18-1, a team that relies on aggressive defense and quick offense to thrive. Dave Johnson’s squad won MEQ earlier in the year and will carry a 65-14 mark to Atlanta. Offensively, the team relies heavily on RS Shelby Workman, outsides Hanna Forst and Lauren Ford and MB Grace Whitley, the MVP in Miami Beach. Libero Taylor Migliazzo and setter Liz Powell are two others keys to this proud team…Enigmatic Club West 18-National is back this year, courtesy of an At-Large bid. I call Kurt Vlasich’s team puzzling because on paper they should be one of the scariest squads around. They just aren’t consistent. Key players for this team are sensational setter Ashley Maxfeldt, mashing RS Tirah Le’au, strong middle Amanda Brown and libero Natalie Bookout-Gonzalez, who anchors a strong defense. One bummer for Club West is the team will be without 6-5 MB Mercedes Binns for the second straight year due to personal reasons…Skyline Juniors 18 RoShamBo has the pieces to make a strong run in Atlanta, but are the players motivated? I ask that, because I’ve seen them play several times this year and they seem to play in fits and starts. When they are on, setter Caroline Weir is feeding the ball to OH Katie O’Brien and RS Stephanie Holland for thunderous spikes and Autumn Ellison is putting up a big block in the middle. OH Margeaux Mendenhall has been injured much of the spring. If she returns for Nationals, that will add a whole different dimension to Skyline’s attack…One of the best 17s in the country a year ago, Orlando Volleyball Academy 18 Asics still has the talent to be dangerous, especially on defense, where Gabby Shipe, Molly Winger and Madison Monserez comprise a back court that is as good as anyone in the field. Offensively, setter Carolina Rivas will have to feed OH Lauren Adkins often for this team to have any sustained success.



Predicted Pool Play Records:

Synergy 6-1
KC Power 5-2
Front Range 5-2
Laguna Beach 5-2
City Beach 3-4
Club West 3-4
OVA 1-6
Skyline 0-7

Notes: Synergy stumbles against Front Range but otherwise takes care of business to capture the pool. MB Lauren Longbine plays outstanding in wins over Front Range and City Beach to get KC Power into the top three. Front Range’s win over Synergy also propels it to the Challenge phase over a Laguna team that loses out on the three-way tiebreaker despite beating Front Range head to head.


Pool 2

Dallas Premier (1st Lone Star, 1st Northern Lights, T-5 Big South)
Long Beach Mizuno (1st Show Me, T-5 SCVA)
Sky High (3rd Northern Lights)
Club Utah (3rd Crossroads, T-5 SCVA, 7th Far Westerns)
Coast (8th Lone Star, T-9 SCVA, T-9 Crossroads)
Colorado Juniors (4th PNQ, 6th Lone Star, 17th Crossroads)
Wave (3rd PNQ, 20th SCVA)
Saddleback Valley (3rd Show Me, 21st SCVA)


The Scene: If Nationals were held immediately after qualifier season, Dallas Premier 18 Mizuno would be the hands down favorite, as it won its last two qualifiers in dominating fashion. But the Texas squad, which has a 59-4 record, may look more like the team that struggled somewhat in Vegas come Atlanta time. That’s because libero Emma Dridge is off early to the Air Force Academy and other college plans are taking chunks of practice time away from this squad. Oh Khat Bell, for instance, will miss the entire month of June as she reports for summer school to the University of Texas at Austin. Bell and OH Tiffany Baker, however, are two reasons DP might be able to overcome the rust to make a run at Nationals. Tall, athletic and ultra physical, they can score out of system against anyone. Middles Alesha Wilson and Alexis Mourning and RS Rachel Buckley are pretty good, too…I have said for years that there isn’t a more athletic, dynamic team in the country than Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar and I’m sticking by that. The Show Me champs are not tall, but they are faster than you are. Therein lies the secret to their success. Long Beach starts with setter Megan Moenoa, probably the best pure setter at Nationals, and a wave of fast-paced attacks, including Bria Russ flying on the left, Tyler Jackson soaring on the right and Halli Amaro blazing behind the setter. Marisa Bubica and Allison Lee are other options to keep an eye on for this versatile and multi-cultural team…Sky High 18 Black has been toiling in the JVA system for several years now and will be known to but a few at Nationals. But the team, which took second at Northern Lights in its only qualifier appearance, will bring a 71-9 mark to Atlanta and has eschewed going to AAUs to focus exclusively on Nationals. The team has great defense with Dena Ott, Kelsey Nobilio and Delaney Clesen and strong offense led by setter Colleen Smith and hitters Ellen Chapman, Kelly Lamberti and Hannah Burkle. Club Utah 18 Black is a very together team that doesn’t do a lot of eye-popping stuff, but what they do they do very well indeed. The team relies heavily on outsides Chelsea Schofield and Kimberly Dahl, who are strong six-rotation players, as well as terrific libero McKenna Tait. Junior Sam Staker, at 6-2, is a tall, athletic setter who also is a big block. MB Kaitlyn Vanhoff is undersized but fast and very effective.

Coast 18-1 Ozhan finished second in the Southern California region but needed an At-Large bid to break into the Open in Atlanta after no qualifier finish better than eighth. That’s surprising for a 13-player squad that features five of the top 100 recruits in the 2011 class. A blessing (or a curse – you pick) has been the presence of two premier setters, Chloe Mathis and Haley Crone. Coast has alternated both all year and, despite two talents that suggest a 6-2 offense might be appropriate, coach Ozhan Bahrambeygui has eschewed the notion. Offensively, Coast, which is 16-9 versus the field, features a strong middle attack led by three big talents, Sam Cash, Gillian Howard and Rachel Rhoades. Red-headed Lacey Fuller is the leader of the back court…Very physical, Colorado Juniors 18 Sherri can match up with anyone with a full roster. But that’s not what they’ll be bringing to Atlanta. Defender Ashley Peak is out due to injuries suffered in an auto accident. Setter Skylar Johnson is recovering from surgery and MB Elsa Krieg, who has missed most of the year because of a knee injury, is back but still working her way back into shape. Add to that the fact that superstar Taylor Simpson will miss a ton of practice time because of early enrollment at Nebraska and you do not have a formula for a great result at Nationals…Look for Wave 18 Krystal to do better, relatively speaking, at Nationals than they did either at the SCVA qualifier (20th) or the SCVA Power League (22nd). This team tends to do much better against opponents that are not as familiar with it. Offensively, the team is undersized and pretty limited. Only 6-3 lefty Karsta Lowe is a big time terminator. The defense, led by libero Mackenzie Gilbert and OH Maddie Rudnick, is very strong and could certainly help Wave beat its seed. I haven’t seen much of Saddleback 18 Kelli but I have liked what I have seen from a squad that finished a dozen spots ahead of Wave in the final regional rankings. The team boasts a very physical setter, Chelsea Heier, a strong libero, Katherine Kolodziej, and a capable offense led by athletic pin attackers Shaq Torres and Taylor Arizobal.


Predicted Pool Play Records:

Long Beach 7-0
Dallas Premier 6-1
Sky High 5-2
Coast 4-3
Club Utah 3-4
Saddleback 2-5
Colorado Juniors 1-6
Wave 0-7

Notes: In a pool loaded with power teams, Long Beach’s athleticism prevails. Only Coast seriously threatens them. Speaking of Coast, Ozhan’s team goes to three sets six times but wins only thrice, including a heartbreaker to Sky High in overtime that keeps the San Diegans from the Challenge phase. Not even a plea to his team to supply a wonderful wedding gift – Ozh and the lovely Stacy are to be married July 30 – saves Coast from going down.


Pool 3

Rancho Valley (3rd Far Westerns, T-5 SCVA)
Nebraska Elite (2nd MEQ, 2nd Show Me, T-5 Crossroads)
Willowbrook (2nd Big South, 2nd Lone Star)
TAV (1st PNQ, 3rd Lone Star
Sunshine (2nd PNQ, T-9 SCVA)
Rockwood Thunder (4th MEQ, 13th Big South)
Capital (4th Northern Lights)
Force (5th Far Westerns, 26th Crossroads)


The Scene: Opportunities aplenty abound in this pool, which looks to be the weakest of the four. Rancho Valley 18 Premier, which won the SCVA region and is 5-3 versus defending 18 Open champion Sports Shack in the year since the Shack beat Rancho in the final in Reno, is the No. 1 seed here and is a formidable foe, having lost just six times on the year. Danny Scott’s squad is led by all-everything OH Krista Vansant, the No. 1 recruit in the class and Gatorade’s National POY. Vansant and five scrubs might be enough to get Rancho through this pool, but the Inland Empire squad is just more than the ultra intense sniper. The team has two strong middles in quick Jasmine Eatmon and big blocking Alyssa Mason and OH Mackenzie Roddy also does a nice job for setter Ciara Richards, the “fingertips from Palm Springs.” At all three qualifiers it participated in, there were long stretches where Nebraska Elite 18 Who Dat looked like the best team in the gym. This is a big, physical group led by 6-2 setter Michelle Sicner, 6-3 OH Emily Wilson, 6-1 middle Lillian Schonewise, a great athlete who played for KC Power last year; and 6-1 utility player Katie Brand. Libero Katie Elman also is a strong part of Who Dat nation…Asics Willowbrook 18 Red has a big time player in 6-4 OH Katie Messing. She can and will score a lot of points for this team, which lacks other natural power players but makes up for it with character kids who will fight to the end, like hitters Katzy Randall and Stacey Difrancesco and libero Keelie Arneson. Defending national champion Texas Advantage 18 VB Rags Black may have lost two strong hitters to Skyline and its entire backcourt to retirement, but the Texans showed they still had some fight when they went out to Spokane and won PNQ. TAV has a terrific setter in Caylin Mahoney, a difference maker in the middle in Whitney Little, athletic pin players Lizzie Theesfeld and Cassidy Wahlin and Defensive Dandy Rachel Brummitt, who has done a terrific job in the contrasting jersey.

Sunshine 18 Westside is a dangerous team. They have a terrific young coach in Heather Cullen and a roster filled with kids who just know how to play, like OH Emma White, who isn’t the tallest or most athletic but is so loaded with intangibles that you have to game plan for her or suffer the consequences. Setter Kellie Barnum and libero Zbone are two more “get ‘er done” kind of players. Sunshine also has three athletes who stack up against the best of them, MB Toni Alugbue, a top 100 Senior Aces heading to Notre Dame, lithe senior Holland Seymour and 6-1 junior sensation Sydney Wright…Rockwood Thunder 181 Mizuno needed an At-Large bid to see the Open field in Atlanta, but will be ready after winning the Battle for the Arch last weekend. Coach Gretchen Moser’s squad is a veteran one and a team used to battling the best teams in the country despite a considerable size deficit. OH Helen Boyle is the headliner, a six-rotation Senior Aces headed to LSU, but the team also relies on quick libero Abby Moser, strong setter Aubree Smith, big blocking middle Taylor Masterson and heavy hitting OH Emily Keaton…Capital 18 Navy, a traditional JVA team, played only in one qualifier and got it done in Minneapolis, scoring a fourth-place finish at Northern Lights. Coach Dave Bayer said that his team, which finished fifth in the Great Lakes 18s Power League and owns a 50-21 record to date is a team filled with character players with great fighting spirit. Players to keep your eye on include powerful lefty Lindsey Gosh, stout middle Libby Bresser, versatile attacker Kaitlyn McIntyre and strong libero Jillian Bauer…Force 18-1 got healthy in Reno and showed how formidable it can be with a full lineup. MB Zoe Nightingale and OH Katie Vaughn, both top 100 Senior Aces, are constants for this big hitting squad. Setter Vanessa Edwards and OH Belle Obert are two others to watch.

   
Predicted Pool Play Records:

Rockwood Thunder 5-2
Rancho 5-2
Nebraska Elite 4-3
TAV 4-3
Sunshine 4-3
Willowbrook 3-4
Capital 2-5
Force 1-6

Notes: A Day 1 matchup between Rancho and Rockwood ends up deciding the fate for many teams. Rockwood takes that one, getting strong work from Morgan Beil, and it turns out that win is enough
for the entire pool. Rancho refocuses and loses only to Who Dat the rest of the way. Nebraska Elite also gets a clutch win over Sunshine, thanks to inspired play from Kendall Kritenbrink, to edge out TAV and the Rays for third place. Capital, a team that has endured three broken bones among 17 recorded injuries this spring, adds a broken heart after a 2-5 run.


Pool 4

Sports Shack (1st Far Westerns, 2nd SCVA)
Vision (2nd Far Westerns, 3rd SCVA, T-9 Crossroads)
Triangle (3rd Big South)
Tampa Bay (4th Lone Star, 4th Crossroads, T-9 Big South)
A5 (4th Big South, 6th NEQ, 21st Crossroads)
TCA (3rd NEQ, 4th Crossroads, 9th SCVA)
AVA of Texas (4th Show Me, 13th Crossroads)
Metro American (2nd NEQ, 33rd Crossroads)


The Scene: A tough, tough pool, the defending champs from Sports Shack 18 Asics are asking “Why us?” after seeing an octet that features six teams capable of making the top three. One of those teams certainly is The Shack, winners at Far Westerns. The squad features perhaps the best junior setter in America in the creative and dynamic Rebecca Strehlow and two incredible terminators, OH Jane Croson and RS Christina Higgins. MB Litara Keil, a newcomer from Cal Jrs, is an effort player in the middle, while libero Skylar Dykstra add a ray of sunshine to the team…Vision 18 Gold has the pin players to challenge Sports Shack. Michelle Neumayr, Brittany Howard and Allie Frappier are all capable of getting hot and staying hot for four days in Hot-lanta. Setter Hanna Nielson and MB Mary Alice O’Reilly are two underrated talents for Jay Mansfield’s team, which won the NCVA Power League for the ninth year in a row and currently boasts a 65-7 mark…Triangle 18 Black suffered a huge blow when quick middle Caroline Douglas suffered a torn ACL to the same knee exactly one year later (same day, same date) at Big South. The kids from Tobacco Road can still compete – they have a fantastic setter in junior Madison Bugg, hitters Kris Harris, Ashleigh Crutcher and Karson Ratliff and libero Alston Kearns – but the injuries to Douglas and Cameron Spade means there is much less margin for error…Three top notch juniors, OH Jordan Burgess, MB Sarah Burrington and setter Mackenzie Dagostino, pace Tampa Bay 18 Black, which also has outstanding senior pin players Lexi Weldon and Alex Johnson and another terrific middle in senior Lauren Eschenroeder. Tampa may not have quite enough to win it all, but they will give it all they’ve got, which is quite good indeed.

Despite being an At-Large team, A5 Mizuno 181 Bob has all the ingredients to make a medal run in its hometown. Libero Dani Thompson and DS Ariel Shonk are terrific back row mates who initiate a fast offense that runs through setter Kaylee Kehoe. Ali McAlvany, Lauren Teknipp, Mary Hoey and the dynamic Delaina Sarden are the main threats on a team that looks to establish the middle first…TCA HB 18 Black lacks the size and physicality to compete for long stretches against the nation’s elite 18s teams, but they have heart and scrap in spades. Cassie Strickland and Courtney Castle are the chief scrappers for Steve Aird’s team, which will look for offense from Stanford-bound Morgan Boukather and athletic but undersized Sa Iosia. AVA of Texas 18 Team Rox is a different team with OH Yewande Akanbi in the lineup. She missed a lot of time with a leg injury but with her threatening on the pin along with Nicole Bardaji, more space is created for superb setter Malorie Pardo to get the ball to the likes of Jillian Humphrey in the middle and Marissa Maas on the right side. Metro American 18 Travel, a D.C. squad which surprised many by qualifying at NEQ, rounds out the field. Setter Tori Janowski, a Senior Ace bound for Virginia, leads a high-powered offense that features Sara Rishell, Darian Dozier, Kathryn Caine and Brooke Kelly.


Predicted Pool Play Records:

Sports Shack 5-2
Vision 5-2
AVA of Texas 5-2
Tampa Bay 4-3
A5 3-4
Triangle 3-4
TCA 2-5
Metro American 1-6

Notes:  What a dogfight! AVA comes from a low seed to get into the top three, powered by libero Shelbee Berringer’s take no prisoners defense, which sparks the Texans to wins over Vision and Tampa Bay, the latter which knocks the young Floridians from contention. A5 has its chances but crushes losses to TCA and Metro American keep it out of the Challenge phase.


Gold Challenge Matches

The top 12 teams after pool play all remain alive for the national championship. They play in groups of three on Day 3 to determine the Final Four that will battle on the last day.

In Challenge A, Dallas Premier has just enough to outlast AVA of Texas as Chandler Hatton gets hot, but they can’t do the same to Synergy, which gets just enough touches at the net and a virtuoso performance from Bates to win a three-set overtime battle.

In Challenge B, Nebraska Elite gets revenge on KC Power for a loss in the finals at MEQ, but a familiar and difficult foe is waiting in the form of Mizuno Long Beach. The result is the same as in the Show Me finals and Long Beach advances to the Final Four.

Challenge C is worth the price of admission alone. Sky High outduels Vision in three sets, winning because Vision cannot stop 6-5 OH Ellen Chapman. Chapman and Lamberti then get by Rockwood Thunder in straights to nab a coveted spot in the semis.

Front Range smashes Rancho Valley in Game 1 to open Challenge D, but Rancho regroups and Vansant shows why she’s the best player in the country in the three-set win. That sets up…you guessed it…Rancho versus Sports Shack, a reprise of last year’s final, which Sports Shack won. The Shack wins again in a match every bit as good as its billing. Katherine Workman crushes the line at 14-13 in Game 3 to clinch the win.


Semifinals

Synergy d. Sports Shack 2-1 – Devon Maugle takes a shot to the mouth late in Game 1, a Sports Shack win, misses all of Game 2 to staunch the bleeding and returns in Game 3 to take some clutch swings that leave Sports Shack stunned and stupefied.

Long Beach d. Sky High 2-0 – What was THAT!? Sky High gets a taste of California it hasn’t seen rooted in the Midwest.


Finals

Long Beach d. Synergy 2-0 -- A classic matchup of size versus speed, both games are close but at the end of the day Synergy has no answer for Amaro’s slide attacks. Moenoa, who goes to it time and again, wins the MVP award two years after an injury prevented her from playing in Long Beach’s 17 Open title run.


Final Standings:

1. Long Beach
2. Synergy
3. Sports Shack
3. Sky High
5. Rancho Valley
6. Nebraska Elite
7. Dallas Premier
7. Rockwood Thunder
9. KC Power
10. Front Range
11. Vision
11. AVA of Texas
13. Tampa Bay
14. Coast
15. Club Utah
15. A5
17. TAV
18. Laguna
19. Sunshine
19. City Beach
21. Willowbrook
22. Club West
23. Triangle
23. Saddleback
25. TCA
26. Capital
27. OVA
27. Colorado Juniors
29. Metro American
30. Wave
31. Force
31. Skyline Juniors

This is Part II of our Defensive Dandies recognition. The players known as “Gym Dandies” are full time back row players, both high school and club, who work their butts off during practice and play to help the team at all costs.

The Gym Dandies list is presented in nine teams of 13 (because everyone wants to be on a team), with everyone else receiving honorable mention recognition. The designation is largely subjective, I’ll admit, because it’s much more difficult to determine who is the absolute best in the back row than, say, an outside hitter, whose height, jumping ability and power provide discriminating measuring sticks. I gave deference to seniors and to those players whom college coaches have determined are the best of the best in the backcourt.

High school coaches and club directors were asked to nominate players for this list. The only limitation was the player had to be generally considered among the best 10 defensive players in her state regardless of class year or school classification. That is obviously a subjective standard. Some coaches tried to abide by our “marching orders” strictly and did not nominate excellent players. Others nominated more freely.

For the record, I did not cut anyone nominated who logged significant varsity minutes in 2010. If a coach thought enough of a player to nominate her, who am I to say she doesn’t deserve recognition? That’s why every player on this list has a narrative attached to her. These are real players who love the game and play their guts out. They are deserving of the recognition they’re getting here and more.

That being said, you must understand one final thing before we get to the list: I did not want to make any assumptions about players who SHOULD be on this list. Thus, with very few exceptions (players I knew to be standouts), only nominated players were considered. Also, if you were injured most of the season, you did not make this list. Moreover, making the list last year did not guarantee your inclusion in 2011 unless someone took the time to nominate you. I have no doubt that there are dozens of players out there with the stats, skills and accolades to have a place on this list. Alas, given that more than 3,000 high school coaches and the same number of club directors received my request for input for this list and it was also posted on the girls’ volleyball message board, one can only do so much.

Congratulations to everyone for making the Gym Dandies!


FIRST TEAM


Patti Abshire, Sr., Catholic Memorial (Waukesha WI) -- A two-time PrepVolleyball.com All American and four-year starter for the state champion Crusaders, Abshire had 428 digs and 71 aces in 2010. Named Classic 8 Conference POY in 2010, the Duquesne recruit is a strong passer and intense defender with an innate competitive drive that proves inspirational in both matches and practice settings. 

Catherine Brusie, Sr., North Branch (MI) – The defensive backbone for the Broncos for four years, Brusie averaged 6.0 digs per set (923 total) for the Class B runners up in 2010. Named First Team All Area and First Team All State for the second straight season, the Winthrop-bound Brusie has been on teams that went 285-20-3 over her four years.

MacKenzie Gilbert, Sr., Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach CA) – Selected to the Under Armour All America team, Gilbert started all four years for the Eagles and graduates as the school’s career record holder in all defensive categories. The First Team All San Diego Section pick had 682 digs and received 748 serves for a 25-13 team in 2010. Stanford bound, she is equal parts solid and spectacular. In other words, you only notice her when she’s doing something amazing.

Tessa Hunt, Sr., Westlake (Austin TX) – As a sophomore, Hunt established the school standard for digs in a season. The three-year starter broke her own record in 2009 and again last year, when she amassed 696 digs, averaging 5.9 per game for a 44-3 team. First Team All State and District 15-5A MVP, Hunt also passed a 2.2 and added 44 aces. “Tessa Hunt plays defense with an attitude,” says coach Al Bennett. “The best libero in Westlake history has completely redefined how this position is played.”

Tiffany Morales, Jr., Redondo Union (Redondo Beach CA) – Three times the Bay League’s Libero of the Year, Morales had 541 digs and passed a 2.43 for the Sea Hawks in 2010. Committed to Michigan, Morales represented the USA in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last summer. Said Redondo coach Tommy Chaffins: “While I am always impressed with her athleticism and determination, I have always been equally impressed with her demeanor and focus when the ball is not in play.  She brings such great enthusiasm, helps teammates with insights on how to be successful, reassures, and celebrates in the way I would hope all players would.  She also brings that kind of effort mentally and physically every day in practice.”

Kori Moster, Sr., Ursuline (Cincinnati OH) – Considered one of the very best defenders in the senior class, Moster had a remarkable 2010 season. The glue of the fantastic Ursuline teams the past three years, the Michigan State signee had 584 digs (6.9 per game) and 46 aces in 2010 for the Lions, whose only loss came in five sets in the state Division I semifinals. She was named GGCL Player of the Year, Cincinnati Enquirer Player of the Year, First Team All State and an Under Armour All America. “Kori is the BEST defensive player that I have ever coached,” said Ursuline’s Jeni Case. “She has unbelievable instincts and reactions.  She has a great work ethic and the effort is always there. What I like most about Kori is the fact that she is humble about being that good.”

Jackie Napper, Sr., Assumption (Louisville KY) – No. 76 in the Senior Aces, the Kentucky-bound Napper is an elite defender nationally and only a handful compare to her in the Midwest. First Team All State for the Kentucky single-class champs, Napper makes passing and defense look easy with her graceful instincts.  A fierce competitor and one of the hardest workers in the gym, Napper was a digging machine for the Rockets in 2010. She is a constant in serve-receive and can wow defensively with both the effort and the result. Napper also got a taste of offense at the World Challenge. With many of her KiVA teammates injured, she moved to the outside, a position she NEVER played in high school. Her team took second!

Caroline Niedospial, Sr., Marist (Chicago IL) – No libero dominated a match the way “Carks” did in 2010 for nationally-ranked Marist. First Team All State and named Player of the Year by the Southtown Star, Niedospial passed serve flawlessly and wracked up 728 digs, many rally crushing, for the Redhawks. “She has panther-like reflexes on defense and will dig balls that most athletes can't even get to and keep them in system,” said Marist coach Natalie Holder.  “She completed a stellar career at Marist that will unlikely be matched by another in her position. Her awards are almost too numerous to be able to list individually.  What is impressive about Carks is that she is not motivated by awards or individual success, but rather the overall success of her team.  When she competes, she is intense and laser focused.  ” She will play at Northwestern.

Caitlin Nolan, Jr., Carroll (Southlake TX) – One of the best defenders in the country regardless of class, Nolan may be classified as a back row player, but she plays the ENTIRE court. A joy to watch, Nolan is a pinpoint passer and instinctive defender but is so much more than that. She sets from the back row, controls the action around her and is the ultimate leader. Said TAV director L.J. Sariego: “Caitlin is the strongest kid on the ball that I have ever seen. She sets from out of system better than any libero out there, high school or college. Caitlin is a total gym rat, and has been since she was 13. Hands down, the best libero we have ever had at TAV.” Nolan has committed to Iowa State.

Erika Rojas, Sr., King (Corpus Christi TX) – Named Texas’ Defensive Player of the Year by LoneStarVolleyball.com, Rojas led King to a 45-4 mark in 2010 and a spot in the 5A Final Four.
"Erika may have been the spark that ignited our team this season," said coach Glenn Jacobs. "She made all of the key defensive plays and passed the ball with laser like accuracy.” Rojas, who also was named Defensive Player of the Year in Corpus Christi, finished the 2010 campaign with 781 digs and 54 aces.

Danielle Thompson, Sr., Pope (Marietta GA) – Thompson has been described as a “linebacker playing libero. She is strong, solid, and scary good in the back row. Her 385 digs in 2010 led Pope to back to back state championships.  On a high school team with six Division I athletes, she is a game changer, as most teams will not serve her.  The 2009 Class AAAAA Player of the Year and First Team All State again in 2010, Thompson, who has committed to Wake Forest, is one of the best liberos ever to come out of Georgia.

Haley Wandrey, Sr., Ankeny (IA) – Wandrey was selected to the Des Moines Register Elite All State team and to the IGCA 4A all state team after a school-record 427 digs for the state 4A runners up in 2010. Committed to Northern Iowa, she was a key part of two Iowa 4A state championship teams in 2008 and 2009.  Over those three years, Ankeny High School's record was an amazing 114-6 in matches and 272-32 in sets while being ranked 1st or 2nd in the state during that entire span.  Wandrey is a fierce competitor who made not only the routine digs and passes but also made plays on balls that would have hit the floor against most teams.

Caroline Workman, Sr., Marymount (Los Angeles CA) – The first libero ever named MVP of the Sunshine League, Workman, who will play at Wisconsin, is a consistent, hard-working, do whatever it takes type of defender. She was named First Team All CIF Southern Section as well as team MVP for the state qualifiers.


SECOND TEAM


Rebecca Bates, Jr., Villa Maria (Malvern PA) – Committed to Air Force, Bates is the libero for top national club team Synergy and a main reason the team has lost fewer than five times all season. Fast and feisty, she sets the tone for the offense with her play in the contrasting jersey. Bates also was a First Team All State pick in Pennsylvania’s Class AAA last fall.

Shelbee Berringer, Sr., Dickinson (TX) – First Team All State in Class 5A, Berringer is amazing defensively and in serve receive. She had 848 digs and 72 aces in 2010.

Nikki Brice, Sr., Troy (Fullerton CA) – The anchor for the Warriors, Brice amassed 602 digs, 53 aces and received 448 serves as Troy went 35-3 and reached the state Division II championship match. Fantastic in the final, the Tennessee recruit set a state finals record with 38 digs in the four-set loss to St. Francis. She was named First Team All CI Suthern Section II-AA and Third Team All County by the Orange County Register.

Rachel Brummitt, Sr., Plano West (Plano TX) – A relentless defender, Brummitt also has a nice passing touch with good tempo. Committed to Radford, Brummitt was 2010 District 8-5A Defensive Player of the Year after amassing 606 digs. The three-year starter also owns the school career digs mark.

Amy Dion, Jr., Huntley (IL) – Committed to Maryland, the fleet-footed libero led Huntley with 414 digs in 2010. A strong leader who gets to everything, she added 46 aces and again was named First Team All Fox Valley and Second Team All State

Leslie Hendricks, Sr., Brooks (Killen AL) – Named First Team All State and the 2010 TimesDaily 1A-6A Player of the Year, Hendricks graduates as Brooks’ single-season and career record holder in digs, aces and service receptions. Hendricks had more than 1,000 digs last fall in leading Brooks to its first state finals appearance in school history. “Every coach we came across this season talked about how well Leslie was at reading the hitters and how not only did she read them well, but she got the ball to the target better than they had seen in
recent years,” said coach Ryan Roberson. “Leslie is going to be very hard to replace as her work ethic, desire to win, leadership, and constant encouraging of her teammates will be greatly missed on the court.”

Alston Kearns, Sr., Apex (NC) – Considered the e most accomplished junior defensive player from North Carolina, Kearns is absolutely tenacious in the back court and makes a simple game of ‘keep away’ incredibly difficult because she truly is everywhere. Kearns posted 437 digs (5.0 dpg) and 82 aces in the 2010 campaign and helped lead Apex to the NC 4A State Championship. She will play for North Carolina State.

Chelsey Keoho, Jr., Kamehameha (Honolulu HI) – Committed to Colorado, Keoho anchored the defense that brought another in a long line of state titles to Kamehameha last fall. A knowledgeable and versatile defensive player, Keoho, who averaged 4.01 digs per game, runs the show from the back row. Ever improving, Keoho has tremendous range and is a very effective tactical server. She was First Team All ILH as well as one of the state’s Fab 15 players.

Mackenzie Mayo, Jr., Lake Travis (Austin TX) – First Team All State in Class 4A, Mayo was part of a Lake Travis team that won the state 4A title in 2010. Mayo is a fantastic passer who has committed to Baylor. She averaged almost five digs per game in 2010.

Taylor Migliazzo, Jr., St. Teresa’s Academy (St. Louis MO) – Migliazzo was named First Team All District, First Team All Region and First Team All State in 2010 after averaging 5.3 digs per set and passing a 2.6. “Taylor is a force in the back row,” said high school coach Amy Carlson.  “She has the best reaction time of any player I have coached.  Teams fear Taylor and do anything to stay away from her area. Taylor leads through actions and is a great role model for STA.  There is no doubt we would not be one of the top teams in Missouri without her.”

Haley Smith, Sr., Chalmette (LA) – Smith, a five-year starter for the Owls, garnered a ton of awards in 2010, including First Team All Metro, First Team All State and Miss Volleyball, the first libero so recognized. Smith is a cat quick, smart back row player with great reading ability.

Jordan Smith, Sr., Cactus Shadows (Cave Creek AZ) – An exciting player to watch, Smith recorded 614 digs and more than 100 aces in 2010 en route to earning First Team All State
honors in Class 4A as well as First Team All Arizona recognition. The highly competitive libero also was her Region co-Player of the Year.

Stephanie Zampini, Sr., St. Mark’s (Wilmington DE) – Voted Delaware State Player of the Year, Zampini anchored a defense that was key to the Spartans’ state championship run in 2010. In 68 games in 2010, Zampini amassed a team-leading 334 digs (4.9 per game). She also led the team in aces and received twice as many serves as anyone else on the team. Zampini is a four year starter and three year First Team All State pick. “Steph is very athletic and has a great ability to read plays but what makes her so good is her commitment and dedication to the sport she loves,” said coach Nancy Griskowitz. “Steph was never satisfied with her play and constantly worked hard to perfect her skills and become the best player possible. She is without a doubt the best libero to play high school volleyball in the state of Delaware. She has left a standard against which all other liberos will be measured.”

With Michelle Sicner setting, Nebraska Elite Who Dat has the goods to contend for a national title in Atlanta

1. Synergy “Willickers” (Pennsylvania)
March ranking: 21

They got killed by Vision and lost a nail biter to Club West at the Las Vegas Classic in February. But that’s it in terms of losses for this big blocking, blue-collar team from just east of Philly, which won 10 matches without a loss at both Big South and NEQ to claim qualifier wins in both attempts. And lest you think that this team, which is led by setter Shelbey Manthorpe and libero Rebecca Bates, doesn’t have the pedigree to sit atop these rankings, don’t forget that this team finished second last year in 17 Open at BOTH AAU Nationals and USAV Nationals.


2. Munciana “Green Gables” (Indiana)
March ranking: 2

According to the Munciana website, the team known as “Samurai” sits at 47-2 on the season after tying for third recently at the JVA World Challenge in Louisville. Muncie lost in the semifinals in straight sets to Northwest Oregon Juniors 18 Air Elite, but not before earning the praises of Air Elite’s coaches, which called Samurai “the best ball pursuit defense we have seen in years.” With lots of juniors on the roster, Munciana took second in 18 Open at AAUs last year. The competition will be stiff in 2011, but there’s no reason Samurai can’t finish on top in Orlando next month.


3. Sports “Love” Shack (California)
March ranking: 5

The defending 18 Open USAV national champs are stalking a repeat after winning Far Westerns. Led by hitters Jane Croson and Christina Higgins, amazing setter Rebecca Strehlow and sophomore libero Skylar Dykstra, Sports Shack has all the weapons necessary for a podium finish in Atlanta.


4. Dallas Premier “to Ear” (Texas)
March ranking: 19

Ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason, Premier started slowly but has caught fire as of late, sweeping to titles at both Northern Lights and Lone Star. Outsides Khat Bell and Tiffany Baker get a lot of the press on this team, and deservedly so, but the play in the middle from Alexis Mourning and Alesha Wilson and in the back row from the likes of Emma Dridge and Addason Lamb has also been critical to its success.


5. Mizuno Long Beach Babies (California)
March ranking: 3

Long Beach was awfully impressive in winning Show Me a few weeks ago and also went 7-1 at the SCVA qualifier, losing only to Sports Shack. This team is small but is without doubt the most athletic in the country. Led by setter Megan Moenoa and MB Halli Amaro, this group has been in the thick of the national championship discussion the past three years. They will be once again come July.


6. “Blow It All” Sky High (Illinois)
March ranking: 6

This Chicagoland team went to its first national qualifier in several years in 2011 and took third at Northern Lights to earn a bid to Atlanta. But Sky High doesn’t earn this high ranking for what it did in Minneapolis. Led by Kelly Lamberti and Ellen Chapman, Sky High went an astounding 22-2 and won the Great Lakes 18s Power League over the likes of Sports Performance Elite, Illini Elite and Milwaukee Sting, and took second behind Munciana at the GLC President’s Day event. This team will contend at both AAUs and Junior Nationals and could win them both.


7. “X-ray” Vision (California)
March ranking: 14

Do you know that, as a club, Vision has NEVER won an Open national championship? That is so hard to believe, given that Vision clubs routinely win qualifiers and contend at Nationals at the highest levels. Is this the year? Coach Jay Mansfield has three phenomenal pins players in Michelle Neumayr, Brittany Howard and Allie Frappier and a great back court anchored by Ronnie Lewis and Katy Schatzman, so winning it all would be no surprise.


8. Nebraska “Tear” Elite (Nebraska)
March ranking: 7

After winning Omaha in February with an 8-1 record, Nebraska Elite went 24-3 in three national qualifiers. That’s right: 8-1 in each, including second-place finishes at MEQ and Show Me. Nick Schuster’s team simply does not have a bad tournament. They are physical and experienced and have been bolstered by newcomers Lillian Schonewise and Katie Brand. Brand this team a medal contender in Atlanta.


9. “North By” Northwest Oregon Juniors (Oregon)
March ranking: 9

Northwest Oregon Juniors did not practice before PNQ and, as a result, got bounced from contention on Day 2. But they never intended to go to USAV Nationals and showed what they can do when playing well by taking the World Challenge in Louisville, defeating Illini Elite, Munciana and KiVA on the last day behind power hitters Liz Brenner, Martenne Bettendorf and Cheyne Corrado.


10. “Play it Again” Sports Performance (Illinois)
March ranking: 13

Led by Courtney Thomas and Emily Young, SPVB 18 Elite has had a fine year. But with a loaded roster of future D-I players and the expectations that come with playing for 18 Elite, there is great pressure to win rather than to merely do well. Ninth on President’s Day, second at the Showcase and third at the World Challenge isn’t good enough for this team, which will get three more chances for Gold at NJC, Pre-Nationals and AAUs.


11. Rancho Valley “of the Dolls” (California)
March ranking: 1

Jasmine Eatmon and Alyssa Mason are nice middles, but this team, which finished second in 18 Open at USAV Nationals last year, will go as far as National POY Krista Vansant will take them. Two top five finishes at qualifiers (14-4 record overall) suggest this team will contend for a medal, but may not have enough to wear Gold.


12. KiVA “Lee Under the Mat” (Kentucky)
March ranking: 15

KiVA’s second-place finish at the World Challenge earns the Louisville club this ranking, but season-ending injuries to Claire Gerwig and Taylor Allgeier suggest that the year may not end as well.


13. City Beach “Blanket Bingo” (California)
March ranking: 26

The move of libero Taylor Formico to setter has been a golden one for City Beach, which won the SCVA qualifier. Now if athletic attacker Priscilla Ezeji can find success on the court, this team, which already boasts Caitlin Dewitt, Savannah Paffen and Konomi Yokoyama on the front line, could be ready to make the jump into the upper echelon.


14. “A” Team Z (Ohio)
March ranking: 22

We rank teams based on how they perform year to date, not how they will do going forward. That’s a good thing for this Z team, which, when healthy, may be one of the top 2-3 teams in the land in this age group. But, alas, the team is not healthy and is rumored to be hanging up the sneaks any day now.


15. “God Bless” Texas Advantage (Texas)
March ranking: 27

Last year’s age group national champion is rallying despite major defections from last year’s team. The team finished first at PNQ and third at Lone Star behind setter Caylin Mahoney, RS Cassidy Wahlin and MB Whitney Little. A repeat national title isn’t likely, but a strong finish in Atlanta certainly is.


16. “Weeping” Willowbrook (Texas)
March ranking: HM

A seventh-place finish at the last Tour of Texas stop in March tarnished this team’s image somewhat, but with Katie Messing and Katzy Randall leading the offense and a ridiculously good defense headed by Keelie Arneson, this Houston-area team has impressed with two second-place finishes at Big South and Lone Star.


17. “Bermuda” Triangle (North Carolina)
March ranking: 24

The North Carolina club had a heroic run to a bid at Big South, but with two gone to season-ending ACL injuries, including a re-tear for fast middle Caroline Douglas, Triangle will be hard-pressed to maintain this ranking through the end of the season.


18. Tampa Bay “City Rollers” (Florida)
March ranking: 8

Juniors Jordan Burgess, Sarah Burrington and Mackenzie Dagostino are standouts on this team. Sustained excellence from the talented seniors, like Pepperdine-bound Lexi Weldon, could put this squad over the top in its push for a podium finish in Orlando or Atlanta.


19. “Eminence” Front Range (Colorado)
March ranking: 30

They’ve been inconsistent – 20-9 over three qualifiers – but there isn’t a scarier team than this Front Range side, which has strong setting, massive blocking and intimidating heat on attack. If they pass the rock, coach Jim Miret might be looking at a USAV medal that has eluded him the past several years.


20. “Fighting” Illini Elite (Illinois)
March ranking: 10

Count me as one who thought the early college enrollment of Senior Ace Val Nichol would relegate this team to above average, rather than elite, status. Boy was I wrong, as this team, with Morganne Criswell, Morgan Leach and others, has played well beyond expectations, even winning the Showcase event in the Wisconsin Dells.


21. “Country” Club Utah (Utah)
March ranking: 33

One of only two teams in the USA to defeat both Vision and Sports Shack, Club Utah is a tight-knit, high energy squad that knows what it needs to do to win and does those things very well.


22. Coast “to the Finish Line” (California)
March ranking: 4

I was SO bullish on this team at the start of the year. Having seen them in Vegas, at Crossroads and at Lone Star, however, I just don’t have that great feeling anymore. This team is good, no doubt; good enough to be second in the SCVA regional rankings. But I just don’t see the terminators necessary for this group to make a national title run.


23. Laguna “Matata” (California)
March ranking: 23

Ranked three spots lower than Coast regionally, Laguna is a team I think could fare better in Atlanta. To my untrained eye, the teams look similar in many facets, but Laguna has a great libero in Molly Yoder and I would also give Michael Soylular’s team an edge, however slight, on the pins.


24. KC Power “to the People” (Kansas)
March ranking: 31

Six remain on this team from the group that won a national championship as 16s. They still know how to win – witness their title at MEQ – but the formula that worked so well two years ago doesn’t work as well at 18s, where everyone is taller and more physical. From my perspective, for Power to contend, it will need MB Grace Whitley to reprise her MVP turn in Miami. Because it seems to be relying too heavily on Shelby Workman these days.


25. AVA of Texas “Toast” (Texas)
March ranking: 32

AVA played well at Crossroads without standout attacker Yewande Akanbi, but didn’t play all that much better with her in the lineup at Show Me. That puts me on the fence about this team, which has the talent to challenge for a medal in Atlanta but could also fade to the bottom half.


26. Club West “Early Winds” (California)
March ranking: 20

Got an At-Large. Has the talent to turn the opportunity into lifelong memories.


27. “Grab a Piece of the” Rockwood Thunder (Missouri)
March ranking: 12

Veteran team not flashy; just knows who to win and isn’t afraid to tangle with anyone.


28. Sunshine “Cleaning” (California)
March ranking: 18

Needs Toni Alugbue and Sydney Wright to come up big to make noise at Junior Nationals.


29. A5 “for Fighting” (Georgia)
March ranking: 16

Many great wins, but as many curious losses leave me wondering who will show up in June and July.


30. Saddleback “to Basics” (California)
March ranking: not ranked

Attackers impressive in qualifying run at Show Me.


31. Sports Performance “Anxiety” (Illinois)*

*The Red team


32. 1st Alliance “and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” (Illinois)


33. “Paper” Milwaukee Sting (Wisconsin)


34. TCA “Okay” (California)


35. Wave “Goodbye” (California)


36. “On” Colorado Juniors (Colorado)


37. Maverick “Springfield” (Ohio)


38. Capital “Improvements” (Wisconsin)


39.  Pinellas Heat “Of My Pants” (Florida)


40.  OVA “Lox” (Florida)



High Honorable Mention

Columbus Volleyball Academy (Ohio)
Force (California)
M1 (Minnesota)
Metro American (Washington, D.C.)
Nebraska Juniors (Nebraska)
Six Pack (Iowa)
Skyline Juniors (Texas)
SPVB White (Illinois)
St. Louis CYC (Missouri)
Surf City (California)
Texas Pride (Texas)
Top Select (Florida)


Honorable Mention

951 (California)
1st Alliance Black (Illinois)
ACE (Texas)
Amarillo Juniors (Texas)
Asics Rainbows (Hawaii)
Club Troy (California)
Colorado Juniors Beth (Colorado)
Eastside Cleveland (Ohio)
El Paso Wildfire (Texas)
Front Range Gold (Colorado)
Golden Bear (California)
Imi Ike (Hawaii)
Iowa Rockets (Iowa)
IPVA (Iowa)
Island Thunder (Washington)
Jamba (California)
Kane County (Illinois)
KC Extreme (Missouri)
MAVS (Kansas)
MI Elite (Michigan)
Munciana Skyhawks (Indiana)
NorCal (California)
Northern Lights (Minnesota)
San Diego (California)
Santa Barbara (California)
Spiral (Arizona)
Team Indiana (Indiana)
Topeka Impact (Kansas)
Treasure Coast (Florida)
Vision Blue (California)
Wisconsin Power Sauk County (Wisconsin)
Young Guns (Texas)

© 2011 PrepVolleyball.com. Do not reproduce without permission.

Shelby Workman, who committed this week to Kentucky, will try to lead KC Power to Nationals tomorrow in 18 Open

INDIANAPOLIS. At some point in our formidable school years, the dreaded phrase “Go the principal’s office,” has likely been either uttered at us or to one of our classmates.

For a combined five teams in the 18 and 17 Open divisions at Saturday’s Mideast Qualifier here, the principal’s office was Court 40 at the Indiana Convention Center.

That’s where three separate challenge matches played out in mid-afternoon with berths in Sunday’s Gold Division and the continued pursuit of Open qualification going to the winners.

A three-way logjam in 18 Open Pool 1, forced KC Power 18-1 to face IPVA 18 Black with the winner immediately facing 1st Alliance 18 Black for a Gold ticket. All three teams had gone 1-2 earlier in the day. IPVA beat KC Power in three during pool play Saturday, while Alliance swept IPVA earlier in the day. All three teams lost to pool champion Nebraska Elite 18 Who Dat!

In the challenge round, KC Power blew through IPVA, 25-11. An explosive kill by Lauren Ford and a block by southpaw Shelby Workman put the final two nails in the victory box.

Minutes later, the Kansas-based squad returned to action and fought off a persistent 1st Alliance Black team to secure a spot in Sunday’s top six. KC Power led only 19-17, but rattled off the final six points of the 25-point single match. Outside hitter-middle blocker Hanna Forst came out of the middle back for a kill to put Power up 23-17 and after an Alliance hitting error, Workman’s ace sealed the deal for Power.

“We put ourselves in quite the position,” laughed KC Power middle blocker-outside Grace Whitley. “We like to keep it entertaining. It was fun to play a little more volleyball.”

Whitley’s tone turned a bit more serious when talking about the team’s struggles hours earlier.

“We didn’t come ready to compete,” she said. “We are a lot better team than the team that played in the morning. I’m happy we were able to prove it in those last two games.”

The thought of having to play two challenges matches back-to-back didn’t seem to phase Whitley and her teammates.

“We just got a little more playing time than anyone else,” she noted. “We realized it was a blessing in disguise that we got another chance. We could have very easily said we’ll take third and go to the Silver round.”

Ford, who skipped her high school’s prom to play this weekend, felt conditioning played a key role in the team pulling through.

“Our team is really composed in long rallies and long matches,” she said. “We condition like crazy. We can wear everybody else out and keep going.”

Ford recalled this group frequently trailing in matches two years ago.

“They called us the comeback team,” she said. “We would get down in the beginning of games and always end up pulling it out. It’s good to see that it’s back.”

Power coach Dave Johnson’s noted his team has been besieged with injuries, but has still managed to persevere.

“It seems like everybody has been in a (walking) boot,” he said. “We won our power league with a libero as an outside hitter. We’re looking to knock the rust off here. These kids have good chemistry. They’ve been together since they were 12 and 13. They have good mojo. They are hard workers.”

17 Open Challenge Match

One of the more compelling storylines of the day was the early performance of Legacy 17-1 in Saturday’s pool play.

Legacy, the No. 8 seed, knocked off top-seeded Austin Juniors 17 Mizuno in a back-and-forth three-set filibuster (more on this doozey below). Legacy then upended 1st Alliance 17 Black in two, but stumbled against Alliance 17 Mizuno in its pool finale (Alliance won 25-23, 25-18). That loss put both Legacy and Alliance at 2-1, which forced a challenge match to see who would dig for gold on Sunday.

Alliance held a slim 18-17 advantage before turning the tide for good. Chelsea Ross’ kill on an out-of-system save made it 23-19. Legacy’s Paige Neuenfeldt cut it to 23-20 with a kill before Ross took over with a pulverizing smash for the 24th point and a spirited block to close things out.

“I’m so happy,” a smiling Ross said moments afterward. “We didn’t get started this morning. We didn’t play our best. Maybe we were still tired from yesterday? We didn’t wake up. In this game, we played as a team and we had good energy. Energy is our best thing.”

Alliance coach Jay Golsteyn, whose team also has been fighting through injury and sickness, got right to the point in summing up Ross’ performance in the challenge match and throughout Saturday’s pool play.

“She was all-world,” he said.

Ross knew exactly why her play picked up Saturday.

“I was trying for everything. I didn’t want anything to drop,” she said. “I was swinging away out there, none of this tipping.”

18 Open Pool Play

We’ll start in Pool 1 where Nebraska Elite 18 left no doubt who the top team in the pool was. Only KC Power got close—losing 30-28 in their first set.

Nebraska Elite, a junior-dominated squad, was coming off a tough outing at Crossroads where a loss to Tampa Bay Juniors left it looking in from the outside in terms of Open qualification.

“We were definitely upset about that,” setter Katie Brand said. “The last match against Tampa Bay we were up 14-12 in the third set and we had beaten them earlier at President’s Day. We got right back to practice and came back and started competing harder. Before we might have been coasting a little bit, but here we want to go out and shut down people right away.”

Nebraska Elite will be joined in Sunday’s Gold Pool 1 by Maverick 18 Elite (No. 4 seed) and the returning-to-USA Volleyball-sanctioned qualifier competition Team Z 18 Orange (No. 5 seed). Maverick went 2-1 in Pool 3 to advance, while Team Z, led by 6-foot-5-inch middle Elizabeth McMahon (other team’s fortunes seemed to go south when she served Saturday), started out strong with two wins by a combined margin of 46 points. But Team Z fell to pool-champion Rockwood Thunder in the pool finale (25-17, 25-23).

Gold Pool 2 will be comprised of No. 2 seed Rockwood, No. 3 seed Kane County 18 Gold and the battle-tested KC Power 18 Gold (No. 6 seed).

Rockwood was coming off a Big South showing where it logged losses to Open qualifiers Willowbrook and Triangle.

“We weren’t playing our best volleyball there,” Rockwood coach Gretchen Moser stated. “Between spring break and senior trips we were off for three weeks. We’re back in the groove now and playing well. Our passing and offense were good. We served extremely aggressive as well, and picked each other up. Our energy level has increased. We were able to run a fast-tempo attack. These girls want to win. They have a great competitiveness. We’re in a good place now.”

Rockwood setter Aubree Smith had plenty of options to choose from Saturday.

“Our hitters and I connected,” she said. “Our hitters know where I’m going to put the ball. We had a lot of movement out there and our defense was very good.”

Smith felt the Big South showing turned the light on for the team.

“That was a rude-awakening,” she said. “A lot of us had won an Open bid every year since we were 13. That taught us that you just can’t walk through and expect to qualify. You have to work hard. This is our last chance. We have to give it our all. At Big South we were flat. This weekend we’re making cheers. We’re cheering every point. A point is a point no matter how you get it. Momentum takes you through a game.”

Smith admitted there was an added excitement in the Team Z match.

“Team Z was ranked No. 1 in the pool and we wanted to have that spot,” she said.

Kane County Juniors coach Dan Pawlikowski said his team typically starts heating up at this time of the year. Kane County went 3-0 in Pool 3 Saturday, only being stretched once in a three-setter against Maverick 18 Elite.

“We have some girls that play basketball and softball. We haven’t had a whole lot of time to play together as a team,” he said. “It seems we always do well at this time of the year. We ended up fifth here last year. We have some girls back from last year and we have seniors in the right spots. We’re starting to gel as a team.”

Kane County setter Jessica Lubic noted felt the team came into its first qualifier of the year prepared after facing a slew of top competition in Chicago’s western suburbs.

“It helps to play really good teams,” she said. “When you play tough competition and you get to tournaments like this, it’s not like, ‘Wow.’”

17 Open Pool Play

We promised more on that Legacy win against Austin Juniors. There is an old episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants where three bells ring out and a chorus of young children tell Patchy the Pirate three bells means free ice cream (of course, they were wrong).

On Court 17 Saturday morning, three bells could have stood for free volleyball. After what would later seem like a pedestrian 25-20 score in Legacy’s opening set win, Austin tied the match thanks to a prolonged 32-30 showing in the second set.

That, folks, was just the start of the free volleyball.

The third set was deadlocked from 14-14 all the way through 23-23. An Austin hitting error gave Legacy a 24-23 lead and Neuenfeldt’s kill was returned out-of-bounds to give Legacy a well-earned victory.

“We’ve been really close all year,” Legacy coach Jennifer Cottrill stated. “This is our first qualifier. It was nice to see where we stack up against good teams. Last year we had kids coming from 10 different schools so they didn’t really get to know each other. This year we’ve switched to a 5-1 and that’s made our offense a lot smoother.”

Beating the pool’s No. 1 seed was not lost on Legacy libero Lindsey Lerg.

“Coach told us that we are just as good as teams here and that we can beat any team here,” Lerg said. “If we play our game, we can go out there and beat teams. We’ve been really consistent this year. We were a little up and down last year. We’re at the same level now. We’re getting kills and keeping our same energy throughout the whole game.”

Austin Juniors got the first nod out of the pool thanks to winning five sets in its three contests. Alliance 17 Mizuno snared the second berth based on the previously mentioned challenge match with Legacy.

In Pool 2, Sky High 17 Black, seeded second in Saturday pool play, had little trouble going 3-0. Sky High allowed 20 points or less in all six of its sets.

TESL 17 Red, a 10-seed, will join Sky High in the Gold pool Sunday after going 2-1. TESL downed No. 9 Iowa Rockets 17R in convincing fashion to secure second place in the pool and a Gold invitation. Both teams came into the match 1-1—having each lost to Sky High.

“What a great day,” TESL coach Todd Gober said. “We played our hometown rival (Rockwood) in the first match and there is always extra emotion there. We had some breaks go our way today and that’s a sign of working hard. We beat Rockwood (No. 5 seed) and that set the tone the rest of the day. We had the right attitude today. Everything helps. The girls had confidence and they handled the pressure.”

TESL defensive specialist Nicole Yuede called the first two days of the tournament “an emotional rollercoaster.” TESL had to play a challenge match Friday to advance to the top pools Saturday where a close rival was waiting bright and early.

“Rockwood had beaten us the first game of the season,” she said. “We wanted to get that back. We don’t hate them or anything. We’re all friends. Then we took what we did wrong in the Sky High game and focused that on the Iowa Rockets game. We wanted to get to Gold. That Iowa match was what mattered a lot more.”

In Pool 3, No. 12 seed ASICS MAVS 17 Blue advanced to Gold after a 2-1 pool showing, which included wins over No. 4 St. Louis CYC and No. 7 MiElite 17-1. A5 17 Mizuno-1 Heidi, the No. 3 seed on Saturday, swept the pool.

“We play very hard,” MAVS coach David Beach said. “We don’t give anybody any points. They have to earn it.”

MAVS setter Paige Brown echoed her coach’s sentiments.

“We don’t give up,” she said. “What really brings this team together is we have people that want to be here and love to play. They want to work hard for their teammates.”

Sunday’s 17 Open Gold Pool 1 features Austin Juniors (No. 1 seed), ASICS MAVS (No. 4 seed) and TESL (No. 5 seed). Pool 2 contains Sky High (No. 2 seed), A5 (No. 3 seed) and Alliance (No. 6).

16 Open Pool Play

Pool 1 supremacy came down to the final match between No. 1 St. Louis CYC 16 Green and No. 8 Austin Juniors 16 Mizuno. St. Louis won the pool with a 25-19, 25-22 triumph in a battle of 2-0 squads. St. Louis had already punched its Open ticket at Crossroads—but needed six three-set wins to do it.

“We fought through Crossroads and we’re finally healthy,” St. Louis CYC coach Matthew Ryan said. “We’re playing better defense and these kids want to win. Our goal is to win three qualifiers this year. These kids are hungry for more.”

St. Louis CYC setter Mallory Warrington can now smile looking back at the extended play the team endured at Crossroads.

“We would win the first (set) and play really good and then we would get down,” she said. “We could have taken the easy road and won in two, but I guess we like to make it exciting and play long matches.”

But just because a bid has already been bagged, St. Louis CYC isn’t letting its foot up from the gas pedal.

“We’re humble about it,” Warrington said. “Just because we qualified doesn’t mean we’re not going to work harder. What it’s done is it’s made us relaxed. We’re not so uptight every point we fight for.”

Over in Pool 2, KC Extreme 16 Red, the No. 2 seed, went 3-0 and will be joined at Gold festivities Sunday by No. 7 seed Temecula 16 Dana.

Pool 3 saw an injury-riddled Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar sweep its three matches, including wins over fellow Southern California region entrants SMBC 16 Trevor and Sunshine 16 Westside.  Long Beach was the No. 3 pool seed, while Sunshine was seeded sixth on Saturday. Sunshine earned the second Gold berth.

Long Beach was playing without outside hitter Frankie Shebby (illness), while Bria Green (ankle) and middle Christian Jones (shoulder) were battling injuries.

“We’re like the walking wounded right now,” Long Beach coach J.P. Calderon said. “Everybody has stepped up for us. It’s been huge. Friday we played with all DS’s on the outside because we were trying to rest our hitters for today. We’re squeaking by.”

Calderon noted there are a glut of Southern California teams hungry for Open berths and four teams here are in contention Sunday. That list includes Long Beach, Sunshine, Orange County and Temecula.

“We have to stay with our game plan and stay disciplined,” he said. “A lot of people are stepping up and playing positions they never have before. We have to win this way. We have no choice.”

Pool 4 saw the aforementioned Orange County 16 Blue win the pool. Both Orange County and Elevation 16 Schaad went into their battle with identical 2-0 records, but Orange County took first and completed a three-match pool sweep with a 25-20, 25-20 win.

For what is certain to be a competitive 16 Open lineup Sunday, Gold Pool 1 features St. Louis CYC (No. 1 seed), Orange County (No. 4 seed), Sunshine (No. 6 seed) and Temecula (No. 7 seed).

St. Louis opened Gold play Friday afternoon with a sweep of Sunshine, while Temecula upset Orange County in three.

Gold Pool 2 features KC Extreme (No. 2 seed), Long Beach (No. 3 seed), Elevation (No. 5) and Austin Juniors (No. 8).

Elevation struck first late Friday afternoon with a three-set upset win over KC Extreme in Gold play.

Mideast Qualifier Insider

It’s prom season.

The streets of downtown Indianapolis featured prom goers festooned in tradition garb making their way to a nice dinner, likely prior to heading to the school’s official festivities.

One person who did not attend prom was KC Power 18-1 outside hitter Lauren Ford. Instead of attending her school’s prom, Ford hunkered down in Indy and helped her team get to Sunday’s Gold play.

“Prom is overrated,” she laughed moments after getting a decent-sized ice wrapping on her shoulder. “We still need an Open bid. It’s better to play as a team instead of splitting it up.”

The sacrifice did not go unnoticed. Ford’s KC Power teammates took her out to eat Saturday night.

“She gave up an important night for something that we love,” KC Power middle blocker-outside Grace Whitley stated. “We’re going to give her the whole works. She’s our prom queen.”

The big buzz: Even bigger than the specter of fairly brand-new Lucas Oil Stadium in the backdrop of the Indiana Convention Center or the many massive wind turbines that dot Interstate 65 heading into Indianapolis from the north was the talk about the return to USA Volleyball qualifier-sanctioned action of Cincinnati-based Team Z, which has its 18 Orange team entered in the Open division. Team Z went 2-1 Saturday to advance to Sunday’s Gold bracket action.

Team Z is one of a number of club teams that helped form the Junior Volleyball Director’s Association in 2006 and stopped playing in USA Volleyball-sanctioned events over concerns of rising costs and season lengths in juniors volleyball.

“A lot of people are surprised they are here. I’m not,” Rockwood Thunder 181 coach Gretchen Moser said. “There is good competition here. There’s good competition on the USA Volleyball side and the JVA side.”

Rockwood defeated Team Z in the final Pool 1 match of the day in 18 Open. The win earned Rockwood the No. 2 seed in today’s action, while Team Z, which was 2-0 heading into the Rockwood match, was slotted as a No. 5 seed for Gold play.

“The thing I like about it for us is that it’s nice to have the opportunity to play someone competitive that we haven’t seen in several years,” Moser said.

As for the $64,000 question as to why Team Z has resurfaced in a USA Volleyball-sanctioned qualifier?

Team Z coach Rich Zeciski again declined to speak with PrepVolleyball.com.

Alas, the mystery continues.

Double trouble: The Nebraska Elite 18 Who Dat! team can get an opposing team’s head spinning in a hurry.

Nebraska Elite, which swept its pool on Saturday, runs a 6-2 with setters Michelle Sicner (Creighton) and Katie Brand (Kansas State) getting in on the hitting fun as well.

“Katie has only been setting for about a year-and-a-half,” Nebraska Elite coach Nick Schuster explained. “Michelle has been setting for six or seven years. They complement each other so well. They have things they do differently. It equalizes teams. We run a 6-2 out of the front and a 6-2 out of the back row. We’ll run a 5-1. We mix things up and keep it interesting. By the time a team adjusts to what we are doing, we’ll move on to the next thing.”

Sicner, in particular, is a big fan of the 6-2 setup.

“It’s a lot more fun because I get a chance to hit once in awhile,” she said. “I get to take a couple of swings. It’s kind of refreshing. I’ve always wanted to be more of a hitter. I’m probably not there yet, but I’m getting there. I’ve got the best of both worlds. I get to play a little of everything.”

Communication between the two aids in the success of the offense.

“It’s relaxing knowing there is another setter on the court. I can relax knowing not all of the pressure is on me,” Sicner stated. “We communicate really well. We tell each other what spots are on the court and what type of shots will work. We’re able to mix up a lot more plays. We’re both able to dump. It just depends on the match and the point and who has the ball in the right place and who can do a better job with it. I have a lot of confidence in Katie. I know she will get the job done.”

Brand added: “We’re friends. We don’t want to let each other down. I like knowing there is someone I can lean on if I get in trouble. Running the 6-2 gives us a lot of options. We’re fortunate that we have a lot of strong hitters. A team can’t just pick one person and try to focus in on them.”

Experience counts: Kane County 18 Gold benefits from the veteran experience of libero Haley Norris and setter Jessica Lubic. Both are Northern Illinois University recruits and have been fixtures on the 18s team for several years.

“Those two are able to keep the team a lot calmer,” Kane County coach Dan Pawlikowski noted. “Their ability to guide and direct is what keeps us in the close matches. Their leadership shows through. They don’t get frustrated.”

Lubic has been on the 18s team for three years now.

“The experience has been a big help,” she explained. “Going from 15s to 18s, I learned so much. The game up here is a lot faster. Now I know what’s going on already. It’s really nice.”

Lubic has been hard at work mastering the mental part of the game.

“I’m a perfectionist,” she said. “If I do anything wrong I get really upset about it. I try not and get down on myself. The first game today I had a good attitude.”

Norris is in her second season on the 18s team. She enjoys the leadership part of her job.

“We’re always working on talking a lot and keeping our energy up,” she said. “If everyone is energized in the game, we’re going to end up playing better. I try and be a good leader. I like taking the lead and putting the initiative into it.”

Tough enough award: It doesn’t take long to see the roll-up-the-sleeves make-up of the ASICS MAVS 17 Blue team, which advanced to Sunday’s Gold bracket as a No. 12 seed.

“We don’t have a superstar, but we have 10 kids willing to put in on the line for each other,” MAVS coach David Beach aptly stated. “I like the way our kids play.”

Two of the many grinders on the team include setter Paige Brown and middle Tayler Soucie.

Brown, committed to Appalachian State, is part of a volleyball-playing family. Her older sister, Lauren, is a freshman at App State, while younger sister, Abby, is on the MAVS 14s team. Brown’s mother played junior college ball, while an aunt played at Idaho State.

“We don’t know how to do anything else apparently,” Brown quipped. “Volleyball has been in the family for awhile. It’s something we’ve always liked to do.”

Brown is proud to play on a team that has that scrappy moniker.

“We all get along and we all support each other. We know how to feed off each other,” she said. “We fight for it out there. We may not hit the hardest, but we fight. We don’t give up easily. We have incredible defense. We make the other team earn their points. We will go down swinging and playing hard, but we will not lay down for anybody.”

Soucie, who is playing on an Open-level team for the first time this year, doesn’t mind the underdog-type roll that sometimes comes with that style of play.

“Personally, I’ve never been on the best team,” she said. “I like it (being an underdog). It makes you want to win more and prove to everyone else that you can do it. The way we play gets you motivated. We play scrappy and we play hard and that makes you want to play even harder and scrappier.”

Call Rampart General Hospital: If anybody gets that reference, hats off to you. A common theme in Saturday’s Open action was teams playing at less than full strength. Check out Saturday’s main story to read about Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar’s maladies.

KC Power 18-1, which advanced to Sunday’s Gold play, was in that same category earlier this season.

“The last day of power league we played with no subs, no starting setter or M1,” KC Power coach Dave Johnson said. “Our libero Taylor Migliazzo was used as an outside. She didn’t block once either. We ran everything out of the back row. She did a great job.”

The more the merrier: TESL 17 Red’s Nicole Yuede was talking to Prepvolleyball.com after one of the team’s matches when a well-wisher caught her eye.

“Our last game I saw players from CYC and HP hanging around,” said Yuede. “St. Louis people love each other. It’s like 50 miles from everybody to everybody. A lot of girls are on the same high school teams. We’re all like one big family from St. Louis.”

What to do, what to do: Speaking of St. Louis, CYC 16 Green setter Mallory Warrington has many things running through her mind while running the team’s offense.

“We have so many good hitters and each likes a different set,” she said. “It can be challenging. I know who is there and I know what they like. That’s my job out there. I think it’s a lot easier having so many hitters to choose from. I trust any of our hitters on the net. I know that every one of them can put it away when I give it to them. When we get good ups, our offense is able to put it away.”

Retro day at the convention center: This big-time sports fan couldn’t help but notice the similarities in a couple of teams’ uniform tops to old-school pro sports jerseys.

Elite VBTC 18 N had player last names near the bottom of the back of the jersey ala the New York Knicks teams from the early 1980s (Bernard King anyone?), while Sunshine 16 Westside’s color scheme on the front of the jersey brings back memories of the Houston Astros’ home uniforms from the 1980s with the red, yellow and orange color block.

Nothing wrong with a little retro.

Orange County 16 Blue setter Torey Thompson was the one with the hot hand when it mattered the most in Sunday’s 16 Open Gold championship match against Elevation 16 Schaad here at the Indiana Convention Center.

Thompson caught fire from the service line in the deciding third set and helped lift Orange County to a 25-15, 20-25, 15-7 victory and the championship of the 26-team 16 Open field.

Orange County, seeded fourth in Sunday’s action, snared one of three Open bids at the upcoming Junior Nationals in Atlanta. Elevation, a five seed Sunday, punched its ticket earlier at Big South, thus its bid fell to sixth-seeded Sunshine 16 Westside, which finished fifth.

In the deciding third set, Thompson stepped to the service line after she killed a long rally and gave Orange County the side out on the opening serve of the third set.

And by the time Elevation knew what had hit it, Orange County was up a commanding 7-0 in the 15-point race to the finish line. Thompson recorded three aces during the run (all passed out-of-bounds). She also kept service going with another kill of her own. A winning joust by 6-foot-2-inch middle Stephanie Serna and an Elevation hitting error also contributed to the seven-point ambush.

Elevation was able to gain side out when Thompson committed a service error after two straight aces.

“Winning this was a really big thing,” Thompson said. “I was focusing on a lot force and keeping it in. I was thinking about winning the game. That was what was on my mind.”

Elevation coach Lisa Schaad felt it was more of what Thompson was doing right than what her team was doing wrong.

“We had our three best passers back there,” she said. “Things didn’t go our way.”

Schaad adjusted quickly after her Ohio-based team found itself looking up out of a 1-0 set hole.

“After the first game I changed the lineup 100 percent,” she explained. “That first game didn’t go so well. We came back in the second game and showed a lot of character after changing the lineup completely.”

Elevation, which earlier qualified for nationals thanks to a third-place finish at Big South, broke free of set-long gridlock by running off five straight points following a 19-19 impasse. Elevation took advantage of three Orange County hitting errors during the run. Right side Brittany Dodson’s kill down the right sideline at 24-20 tied things up at a set apiece.

“That second game we passed poorly and we couldn’t side out,” Orange County coach Trent Jackson said. “We struggled. In the third game Torey served a bunch of points and we got off to a good start. That made all of the difference in the world. We got the side out on that first ball. We made Elevation pass off the net. We were playing good defense. The girls were fired up. They played a great match. This was a huge win for us.”

Thompson paid major praise to her teammates.

“This team works so well together,” she said. “We would not have won if all of us were not part of it. That makes us stronger. We feel like we can do anything.”

Schaad was more than satisfied with the weekend’s performance given the high-caliber of competition, which included a bevy of top Southern California teams migrating east to try and enter Atlanta into their date books for a summer trip.

“This was a very successful weekend,” she said. “It was fun. I don’t know if we expected to be this high. Now, we feel like we have a little respect.”

Schaad was especially thrilled with the play of outside Abbey Bessler, middle Rachel Vidourek and libero Courtney Grafton during the tournament.

“Courtney was digging balls like a machine,” Schaad said.

Schaad pointed out her team improved its showing from Big South to MEQ by one place, going from third to second.

“Maybe at nationals we can improve another place,” she smiled.

One pool play match from Sunday morning that bears mentioning was Orange County’s three-set win (25-17, 22-25, 15-12) over Sunshine. Both teams had lost their opening pool matches and the win kept Orange County on track. Orange County later downed St. Louis CYC to reach the title match. Serna recorded the last two Orange County points against Sunshine via a kill and a block to seal the match.

16 Open Gold

Crossroads 16 Open champion St. Louis CYC 16 Green suffered a costly loss in Sunday Gold Pool 1 play. After running through Sunshine and Temecula 16 Dana, top-seeded St. Louis dropped a 24-26, 25-18, 15-13 contest to eventual champion Orange County. Both teams finished with 2-1 marks, but head-to-head criteria sent St. Louis to the third-place match.

And waiting for St. Louis was a banged up but tenacious Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar team that also was licking its wounds from a Sunday three-set pool loss to Open runner-up Elevation. Mizuno, seeded third, prevailed, 25-21, 25-20, to scoop up one of the three Open berths.

After dropping the first set, St. Louis jumped out to an 8-6 lead in Set 2. But Long Beach showed it had plenty of kick left by quickly commandeering the set. Long Beach led by as many as six points late.

“It was a heck of a weekend for us,” Long Beach coach J.P. Calderon said. “We had that one loss and we took third. That was a bummer. We deserved that loss. We didn’t come prepared to play. That was such a complete letdown. We were in control the whole tournament. It was disappointing because we had played so well. I think the kids kind of lost focus and let themselves be tired. But we beat a team like St. Louis and we got a bid.”

Calderon was proud of his group for forging ahead despite being hampered by player illness and injury throughout the tournament.

“I think that might have cost us today,” said Calderon. “But they kept going and they made it. Now we’re going to go rest up so we can be ready to go.”

A key contributor throughout the weekend for Long Beach was Sara Hughes. Hughes contributed a pair of kills during Long Beach’s match-winning run in set two against St. Louis.

“During pool play (Sunday) we were a little slow,” Hughes said. “We came out here with a bunch of energy and fire. We really wanted to beat them. We wanted to come out on top and try and get first. Third was the best we could get. We fought for it to the end and we got it and we got a bid. That’s what we came here to do and we got it.”

St. Louis coach Matthew Ryan had no qualms with his team’s play in the earlier pool loss to Orange County.

“Orange County was a great match,” he said. “We fought all the way through. We played really well. I was happy with the effort. And Long Beach is a hell of a team. They are a ball-control team and they let us make a lot of errors.”

Sunshine, which went 1-2 in Sunday pool play, prevailed 25-21, 25-17 over KC Extreme 16 Red in the fifth-place contest. KC Extreme, the No. 2 seed Sunday, went 1-2 in pool play, but beat Austin Juniors 16 Mizuno head-to-head and got the fifth-place match nod.

Because three 16 Open teams at MEQ qualified earlier this season for Nationals (Elevation, St. Louis CYC and KC Extreme), the third and final J.O. berth trickled down to Sunshine. KC Extreme ultimately did not figure into the bid equation due to the sixth-place finish.

17 Open Gold

A5 Mizuno Heidi faced quite the 1-2 punch right in the mouth and didn’t blink on its way to the 17 Open Gold championship Sunday.

In order to put pool play to bed and reach the title match, A5, the No. 3 seed in 17s Sunday, first had to get past a talented and second-seeded Sky High 17 Black squad.

After pulling out a three-setter against Sky High, it was no rest for the wicked for A5, which then had to contend with top-seeded Austin Juniors 17 Mizuno in the championship contest.

And once again A5 tackled the task at hand in impressive fashion to tune of a 25-20, 25-23 title win. A5 did not need to use its bid due to qualifying earlier at its hometown Big South qualifier. A5’s bid was scooped up by fourth-place finisher ASICS MAVS 17 Blue.

“Back-to-back wins against Sky High and Austin Juniors was huge for us,” A5 coach Heidi Van Beveren said. “These girls persevered. They didn’t let the pressure get to them. They did all of the little things. They protected each other and made the ball better for each other.”

Both sets in the A5-Austin Juniors scrum were close until the latter stages. In the opener, A5 broke open a close 21-20 affair by scoring the final four points via a pair of Kelly Murphy kills and a service ace by middle Mara Green that were sandwiched with an Austin Juniors’ hitting error.

The two teams were tied as late as the 23rd point in the finale, but A5’s Murphy was blocked out of bounds for the 24th point and Mary Hannah Arrington came up with a huge defensive save on the ensuing serve that set up Anne Yanda dishing to Green for the championship-winning point. Yanda impressed late with her surprise kill followed by a quick set of Green that gave A5 a temporary 23-20 edge.

“Nothing was going to stop us,” said A5 outside Emily Coorigan, who also was a key contributor throughout the weekend. “We had some big momentum after beating Sky High. Everybody wanted to win. We came out and played tough.”

Austin Juniors enjoyed a number of strong offensive performances throughout the weekend. Outside Amy Neal erased a 1-0 set deficit with a block kill in a key Sunday pool match with MAVS and Sierra Patrick came up with four key kills late in the third set to help keep Austin Juniors undefeated in pool play. Neal closed out the win against MAVS with a bomb out of the middle via another strong set from Katy Beals.

“We couldn’t stop A5,” Lietzke said. “They are a really good team. We were a kid down (injury to Angela Lowak). We played hard and a lot of kids stepped up for us. Don’t take anything away from A5. They may be the best team we’ve played so far. We competed hard. We didn’t play our best, but our opponent had something to do with that.”

Beals said the team’s downfall was a two-way street.

“We kind of played deflated,” she said. “And A5 was outplaying us. We made some errors and they were digging balls. We couldn’t put anything down. Getting second is disappointing, but we still had a good tournament.”

In the third-place match, Sky High rebounded nicely from its loss to A5 in the pool finale by downing MAVS, 25-20, 25-17.

Abby Gilleland’s floater ace capped a set-ending five-point Sky High roll in the opener. Amanda Orchard’s kill in the second set sealed the bid to nationals for the suburban Chicago squad.

TESL 17 Red, which had a strong showing during Saturday’s play to propel itself into Gold play, downed Alliance 17 Mizuno (25-22, 25-19) to take fifth.

18 Open Gold

The third time turned out to be the charm for KC Power 18-1.

Power came into its 18 Open Gold championship showdown having lost twice this season to the team staring across the net—highly touted Nebraska Elite 18 Who Dat! One of those losses came in Saturday’s pool play (30-28, 25-18).

There would be no third loss.

Power outlasted Nebraska Elite in three (25-23, 22-25, 15-12) to win the 18 Open title and cap a marathon weekend that saw the Kansas-based team go 9-2 (including two challenge match wins). Power earned the last Gold pool berth Saturday. Nebraska Elite came into Sunday as the No. 1 seed.

“The girls came to play,” Power coach Dave Johnson said. “These girls do not like to lose. They practiced hard and they showed it today. They had beaten us two times before. I was told it’s hard to beat a team three times. Today was our day. We showed discipline out there. We preach base defense. It comes down to serve receive and defense.”

In the deciding third set, Power, which played with MB Lillian Schonewise last year but faced her across the net after her moved to Nebraska over the summer, held three- and four-point leads the majority of the match and won the championship when Nebraska Elite served out-of-bounds.

“When we played them (Saturday) our serve-receive was bad and we were hesitant on defense,” KC Power right side Shelby Workman said. “Getting to the championship fired us up. That was the key to the game for us. We pulled through.”

Workman talked about the familiarity of the two teams.

“We’ve always played this team since we were little,” she said. “There are a lot of emotional ties. You have to block that out and go out and pull through a game.”

Nebraska Elite finished the tournament going to three sets in its final three matches after having swept its previous six. Nebraska Elite was 8-0 at MEQ heading into the championship match.

“We didn’t play with a lot of energy,” Nebraska Elite coach Nick Schuster stated. “Power had something to prove and they did. They are a great team that has played together a long time. They know how to win. I’ve coached against them at three different age levels. We went to three in both of our pool games. I think we ran out of gas at the end. We were mentally fatigued. They beat us and did a lot of good things. We weren’t disciplined in making the changes.”

Schuster felt his team had major momentum heading into Sunday’s play.

“We’re happy about the bid,” he said. “As well as we played (Saturday) and to not finish today was a little disappointing.”

Nebraska Elite libero Katlynn Elman felt a different vibe from the team in the championship contest.

“We got really quiet out there,” she said. “I don’t know if we felt like a bid was good enough? We all got quiet. We were timid. None of us stepped up and made plays. It’s harder to beat a team three times. They know our strengths and we know there’s. We didn’t execute on their weaknesses as well as we did against other teams.”

But a title loss did not damper the overall mood of the weekend.

“We’re very excited to go to nationals,” Elman said. “We worked very hard this weekend. We put it all out on the floor. We’re excited to go to Atlanta and see what we can do.”

Team Z, making its first USA Volleyball-sanctioned qualifier appearance in several years, won the final bid in 18 Open with a 21-25, 25-23, 15-13 win over Rockwood Thunder 18 in the third-place contest.

As to the pressing question whether Team Z will make the trip to Atlanta, coach and club director Rich Zeciski responded cryptically off the record to PrepVolleyball.com when asked if the team would accept the bid. Zeciski does not speak to PrepVolleyball.com.

However, when asked if Team Z had accepted the bid, an MEQ tournament official clarified to PrepVolleyball.com quickly and sternly that there is no such thing as accepting or declining a bid.

“They earn it, they get it,” the official stated. “There is no choice.”

According to the official, if a team does not show up to Atlanta after winning a bid, it will face sanctions. Zeciski and Team Z were part of a number of clubs in 2006 that pulled out of USA Volleyball-sanctioned events and started the Junior Volleyball Director’s Association over many issues, including concerns about cost and the length of the club season. Thus, Team’s Z appearance in Indy this weekend raised more than a few curiosities.

Back on the court, fifth-seeded Team Z, which ran with a seven-girl crew on Sunday, broke an 11-11 deadlock in the third set and moved out to a 14-11 lead after an Elizabeth McMahon block kill and a pair of Rockwood hitting errors. A Team Z hitting error cut the lead to 14-12 and a kill by Emily Keaton moved the Thunder within 14-13, but McMahon closed the match with a kill off a backset.

“Offensively we were not burying the ball,” Rockwood Thunder coach Gretchen Moser said. “We couldn’t put the ball away. They are a good team.”

Rockwood, the No. 2 seed Sunday, had defeated Team Z in Saturday pool play in two sets.

“Team Z was probably out for revenge,” Rockwood’s Alisha Skaggs said. “Between games they had more momentum. We made more errors than we did in the first game.”

Maverick 18 Elite, the No. 4 seed, won the fifth-place contest (25-18, 25-11) over Kane County 18 Gold. Kane County, which excelled in Saturday’s pool action (3-0), went 0-3 Sunday.

Bid City

A no-frills listing of MEQ Open qualifiers from this past weekend.

18s

KC Power 18-1 (First place)

Nebraska Elite 18 Who Dat! (Second place)

Team Z 18 Orange (Third place)

17s

Austin Juniors (Second place)

Sky High 17 Black (Third place)

ASICS MAVS 17 Blue (Fourth place)

Note: 17s Open champion A5 already qualified at Big South.

16s

Orange County 16 Blue (First place)

Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (Third place)

Sunshine 16 Westside (Fifth place)

Note: Elevation (Second place), St. Louis CYC (Fourth place each previously qualified for Nationals.


Behind The Mike: Final Thoughts From Indianapolis

A few random thoughts and tidbits rolling through my head after an enjoyable weekend at the Mideast Qualifier here at the Indiana Convention Center.

California battle royale: I mentioned in my Saturday offering the likely continued competitive nature of the 16 Open division on Sunday. I was right on the money.

Four of the six matches in the Gold Pool 1 Sunday went three sets with three of those between Southern California entrants Temecula 16-Dana, Orange County 16 Blue (eventual 16 Open champion) and Sunshine 16 Westside.

Over in Pool 2, four of the six contests also went to three sets—and Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar, another So. Cal visitor to Indy, was involved in two of those.

Orange County, Long Beach and Sunshine ended up qualifying for nationals out of 16 Open.

“It was nice the first day or so when there were no California teams,” Orange County coach Trent Jackson laughed. “But when you get down to the top 8, there are California teams. It’s nice that (four) California teams are still in it. But I don’t want to come all the way to Indianapolis to play California teams. But when we do, at least I’ll know a lot about them because we will have played them before.”

Orange County’s Hunter Jennings noted it’s still exciting to play their local rivals.

“When we play them there is an even bigger sense of competition,” she said. “You want to be the best. It’s exciting to play those teams because we have a history with them.”

Plenty of opportunities: Earlier last week I was speaking to a high school coach I’ve known for a decent number of years now (this person coaches something other than volleyball).

Two things stayed with me in the conversation. As you may recall from my other “Behind the Mike” columns, I’m an advocate of letting coaches do their jobs with minimal interference from parents, administrators, etc.

This coach I speak of was having some parental issues (critical e-mails from parents coming in early in the season). He recalled a conversation he once had with a retired coach at the school. The retired coach said, “The best coaching job would be at an orphanage because there’s no parental involvement.” While likely a bit over-the-top, you can see the point that was trying to be made.

More importantly, the coach lamented about the logjam of national club events in his particular sport (again, not volleyball).

I used to be an advocate of having one national volleyball event in the summer (never will happen). But after having been to plenty club volleyball events over the years my tune has changed. The atmosphere in Indianapolis this weekend did nothing to alter that.

The more high-caliber club volleyball events available, the better. These tournaments serve two major purposes in my mind—both critical in a youngster’s development.

One, teams are seeing good competition and they’re seeing competition from outside their local area. Something about playing good competition that makes you better, right?

Secondly, teams are traveling together, staying overnight together and bonding together on the road. Players are getting a small taste of what it’s like to be out on their own. I’m a big fan of teaching life lessons. These big qualifiers do that in spades.

I’m not saying add 15 more national qualifiers around the country, but the availability of quality events around the country is affording teams and players some great opportunities. And that was rather evident in Indy this weekend.

How times have changed: College coaches swarming around qualifiers is a given (a number of Division I A-listers were sighted this weekend). But do you remember several years ago the latest and greatest technology they were carrying around? Remember the Palm Pilot and the little stick they used to navigate around the device?

Those gizmos are ancient history these days.

I was struck by how widespread the use of the iPad was in the location of players and teams and what courts they were playing on. I saw plenty of the fancy gadgets being toted around the convention center.

I found the use of the flip camera equally interesting. Whip it out and take some video of a player you are interested in and bring it back to headquarters for further evaluation.

What will be next down the technology pipeline in a couple of years?

Quick hitters: Some final random thoughts from Indy.

• I noticed two male coaches patrolling the sidelines in suits, which I thought was pretty cool. If you recall the NFL a few years ago had a pair of coaches (Jacksonville’s Jack Del Rio and former 49ers coach Mike Nolan) who donned suits during games. But the NFL was lukewarm to the idea because the coaches weren’t parading around in Reebok-stitched team gear. Though I think Del Rio had Reebok make him a suit.
• I was also impressed with the resiliency of Austin Juniors 16 Mizuno. The team advanced to Open Gold action on Saturday and then closed out the tournament by beating Open runner-up Elevation in two. I saw several of their matches and just when you thought the team was down-and-out, it would come back fighting for more. I was equally impressed by the enthusiasm of coach Elizabeth Quanaim, who obviously connects well with her team and gets the most of them on the court.
• I forgot to put this in the Sunday game story, the 16 Open title match between Orange County and Elevation was delayed some 70 minutes due to backups on Court 20. The 18 title match which went on before the 16s also was delayed due to a prolonged 16 Open match that went three sets.
• Very few referee-coach-player squabbles this weekend. I saw numerous up officials confer with the down refs and/or line judges to make sure calls were properly made. I also saw numerous do-overs called, something I consider a positive rather than a negative.
• Indianapolis may seem like a nondescript city from the outside, but boy is that an inaccurate portrayal. Hopefully folks that were at the tournament got to venture outside and walk around what I feel is a pretty happening downtown area with plenty of places to snag a good meal. If you are into shrimp cocktail, St. Elmo’s steakhouse is known for it (and has been serving it since 1915). I now need a new nasal cavity after enjoying the horseradish-rich appetizer after Sunday’s play.
• On a closing note, a huge thank-you to the folks at Circle City/Capitol Sports Center for their wonderful hospitality and for running a top-quality qualifier.

Mike Miazga has been involved in volleyball as either an executive, editor or writer for nearly two decades. He also was a practitioner of the art of youth sports as a high school baseball and golf coach in the 1990s. Miazga was the editor in chief of Volleyball magazine from 2003-2009 and was the recipient of USA Volleyball’s E. Douglas Boyden Media Recognition Award in 2007. He is a regular contributor to Prepvolleyball.com.

No subs? No problem.

KC Power (Overland Park, Kan.) 18 won its sixth straight Power League last weekend despite the absence of starting middle Grace Whitley and setter Liz Powell. KC power fielded just six girls and played without any substitutes. The team’s libero was forced to play front row and never blocked. ‘

Nonetheless, KC Power 18 went 9-1 to win the Power League and claim the National division bid.

That’s how KC Power’s coach told the story. Dream Team



Here is our Dream Team of volleyball standouts from last week:

OH: McKenna Qualls, OP2 16 Smack – had terrific weekend, including championship swing, in 16 National in Denver
OH: Taylor Migliazzo, KC Power 18-1 – 5-3 libero swung away for Power League winners
MB: Paige Neuenfeldt, Legacy 17-1 – impressing for the Michiganders
MB: Ebony Nwanebu, TAV 16 Black – simply the best and proving it week in and week out
S: Andie Shelton, Delta Valley 15 Blue – Smooth operator helps DV to the top of NCVA power league
RS: Jordan Tucker, Invasion 16-1 – Played big role in third place finish against top older teams
Libero/DS: Ashley Dusek, Skyline 15 RSB – went horizontal to help team to second at Greater Houston PL

Head coach LJ Sariego (right) sports his trademark scowl , but TAV 16 Black and LJ's father are all smiles after winning the Tour of Texas last weekend

The first Open qualifiers of 2011 start tomorrow in St. Louis and Denver, so it’s appropriate that we release our second national rankings in advance of them.

You will note that all of our rankings are contained in one document and that they are not as robust with information as usual. Two primary factors explain that:

1. A plane to Denver is waiting on the tarmac for me at PDX; and

2. Did you see the size of the Soph 79 we published on Monday?

Below please find the best we could do given the limited time and in some cases spotty information at our disposal. Unlike our pre-season rankings, which predict where teams will be at the end of the year, these rankings reflect the now, to wit, how a team has fared since the start of the season. For instance, do we really think Dallas Premier 18s is the No. 19 team in the country in terms of talent and where they will be at the end of the season? Certainly not! But that’s where they sit right now.

If we’ve missed your squad (which shouldn’t happen with more than 120 members on our Club Rankings Team), don’t panic. There will be plenty of opportunities over the next few months to play your way into the rankings.


18s

1. Rancho Valley (California) – winning Vegas usually gets you a promotion to the top spot

2. Munciana Samurai (Indiana) – Coach Lingenfelter again has the best of the Hoosier state on his team and even an Ohio stud

3. Mizuno Long Beach (California) – small team, but who is more athletic?

4. Coast (California) – query whether it’s better to have just one great setter. Coast has two.

5. Sports Shack (California) – national champs need to get healthy, hungry

6. Sky High (Illinois) – playing with something to prove

7. Nebraska Elite (Nebraska) – flying under the radar despite Omaha win

8. Tampa Bay (Florida) – five juniors on the roster

9. NW Jrs (Oregon) – star middle just finished basketball career with state title; now focuses exclusively on vball. Uh oh.

10. Illini Elite (Illinois) – won Showcase in The Dells. Is any team hotter?

11. 1st Alliance (Illinois)
12. Rockwood Thunder (Missouri)
13. SPVB Elite (Illinois)
14. Vision Gold (California)
15. KiVA (Kentucky)
16. A5 (Georgia)
17. Milwaukee Sting Gold (Wisconsin)
18. Sunshine (California)
19. Dallas Premier (Texas)
20. Club West (California)
21. Synergy (Pennsylvania)
22. Team Z (Ohio)
23. Laguna (California)
24. Triangle (North Carolina)
25. TCA (California)
26. City Beach (California)
27. TAV Black (Texas)
28. Capital Navy (Wisconsin)
29. Colorado Juniors (Colorado)
30. Front Range (Colorado)
31. KC Power (Kansas)
32. AVA (Texas)
33. Club Utah (Utah)
34. Pinellas Heat (Florida)
35. TX Pride (Texas)
36. OVA Asics (Florida)
37. 951 (California)
38. Orange County (California)
39. SPVB Red (Illinois)
40. Nike Six Pack (Iowa)


A Baker’s Dozen of Teams That Just Missed

Iowa Rockets (Iowa)

IPVA (Iowa)
Jamba (California)
M1 (Minnesota)
Maverick Elite (Ohio)
Nebraska Juniors (Nebraska)
Northern Lights (Minnesota)
OP2 (Oklahoma)
Skyline (Texas)
SPVB White (Illinois)
Treasure Coast (Florida)
Wave (California)
Willowbrook (Texas)


17s

1. Nebraska Juniors (Nebraska) – defending age group national champs are 1-0 versus 17s teams this year.

2. Austin Juniors (Texas) – Challenge Bracket squeaker versus Sky High in Vegas the de facto championship match?

3. City Beach (California) – Blended team coming together very nicely thank you very much

4. Sky High (Illinois) – late season push last year carrying over into 2011

5. A5 (Georgia) – GLC and Bluegrass wins show what this team is capable of

6. Boomers (Florida) – beat A5 to win Beast; Prieto is helping

7. Northern Lights (Minnesota) – went undefeated in winning Omaha

8. WVBA (Washington) – physical team got on map with Vegas win over Club red

9. Club Red (Arizona) – needs to get healthy to realize potential

10. Invasion (Missouri) – 34-2-1 so far this year and unbeaten in its age group

11. 1st Alliance Silver (Illinois)
12. Milwaukee Sting Gold (Wisconsin)
13. DFFO (Michigan)
14. TX Pride (Texas)
15. Alliance 17 Mizuno (Tennessee)
16. OVA (Florida)
17. TAV Black (Texas)
18. Club West (California)
19. HP (Missouri)
20. Wave (California)
21. Coast (California)
22. Long Beach (California)
23. Surf City (California)
24. Sunshine Westside (California)
25. Club Fusion (Illinois)
26. Orange County (California)
27. Skyline (Texas)
28. Norco (Colorado)
29. Louisiana Elite (Louisiana)
30. MN Select (Minnesota)
31. Woodlands Wave (Texas)
32. AVA (Texas)
33. Vision Gold (California)
34. Colorado Juniors Peer (Colorado)
35. Triangle (North Carolina)

A 10-Spot of Teams That Just Missed

Alamo (Texas)
Austin Performance (Texas)
CVC Black (Ohio)
Instinct Tigers (Texas)
KiVA (Kentucky)
MAVS (Kansas)
MI Elite (Michigan)
NCVC (California)
Rocket City (Alabama)
SMBC (California)


16s

1. TAV Black (Texas) – undefeated behemoths have dropped four sets all season; won Tour of Texas last weekend

2. Invasion (Missouri) – age group national champs got ready for qualifier season by playing lots of older teams

3. DFFO (Michigan) – Showcase champs overflowing with talent

4. Wave (California) – last year’s darlings in this age group somewhat overlooked this year. Big mistake

5. OVA (Florida) – showed in Vegas (upset of Sports Shack) that it can play with anyone

6. Northern Lights (Minnesota) – second at AAUs and Nationals last year, Lights’ only Omaha loss was to Triangle 15-13 in the third

7. KiVA (Kentucky) – won Bluegrass, second at Showcase, KiVA off to fast start in 2011

8. 1st Alliance (Illinois) – very confident team flying 1st Alliance banner well

9. Milwaukee Sting (Wisconsin) – terrifying talent but inconsistent at times

10. St. Louis CYC (Missouri) – when they get on a roll…

11. Orange County (California)
12. Laguna Beach (California)
13. Long Beach (California)
14. Elevation Sports Express (Ohio)
15. Triangle (North Carolina)
16. Payes Performance Black (California)
17. Temecula Valley Viper (California)
18. A5 (Georgia)
19. Sky High (Illinois)
20. Nebraska Elite (Nebraska)
21. KC Extreme (Kansas)
22. T-Street (California)
23. Tejas (Texas)
24. Alamo (Texas)
25. Skyline Juniors (Texas)
26. Omaha Wave (Nebraska)
27. Austin Jrs (Texas)
28. Sunshine (California)
29. Front Range (Colorado)
30. Ku’ikahi (Hawaii)

Two Touchdowns Worth of Teams That Just Missed

Academy Cleveland (Ohio)
Blackswamp (Ohio)
CAVA (Pennsylvania)
Colorado Jrs  (Colorado)
Eastside Cleveland (Ohio)
Iowa Rockets (Iowa)
M1 (Minnesota)
NCVC (California)
SoCal Elite (California)
SPVB Elite (Illinois)
Utah Elite (Utah)
Vision (California)
Willowbrook (Texas)
Wisconsin Juniors (Wisconsin)

15s

1. MAVA (Kentucky) – coaching turmoil doesn’t affect MAVA, which beats KiVA to win Bluegrass

2. KiVA (Kentucky) – Avenged loss to Club Fusion to win Showcase

3. MAVS (Kansas) – won 16s tourney in Nebraska

4. Alliance (Tennessee) – Beast champs have beast in Cat Hutson

5. Delta Valley (California) – Junior National age group champs took second in recent NCVA 16s power league

6. A5 (Georgia) – only age group losses to teams ranked ahead of them

7. Milwaukee Sting Gold (Wisconsin) – second to KiVA at GLC President’s Day

8. OVA (Florida) – power on outside will be hard for most to handle

9. Mad Frog (Texas) – Tilley too good

10. Club Fusion (Illinois) – not 100 percent, yet still better than most

11. Lions (Illinois)
12. Skyline (Texas)
13. TAV (Texas)
14. KC Power (Kansas)
15. Ka’Uloukoa (Hawaii)
16. Circle City (Indiana)
17. Munciana (Indiana)
18. Woodlands Wave (Texas)
19. TRV (Texas)
20. Coast (California)
21. Temecula (California)
22. MI Elite (Michigan)
23. Academy Cleveland (Ohio)
24. WI Jrs (Wisconsin)
25. Long Beach (California)

A Six Pack of Teams That Just Missed

CAVA (Pennsylvania)
City Beach (California)
Colorado Juniors (Colorado)
CVC (Ohio)
NKYVC (Kentucky)
Premier (Nebraska)

© 2011 PrepVolleyball.com. Do not reproduce without written permission

Lexi Dannemiller's season was cut short by injury but she did enough to make this list. Photo by Arctic Ferret

Below are 80 or so more than worthy candidates in another terrific year for setters. There were 5-10 other setters we would have liked to include, but we did not have enough information to do so responsibly.

With only a couple of exceptions, you won’t find players on the list who were not pure setters. If you hit as much as you set, like Micah Hancock (Edmond Memorial; Oklahoma); Tori Janowski (Flint Hill; Virginia); or Val Nichol (University; Illinois), for example, this was not the list for you. Andi Collins was a pure setter and with so many good ones to choose from, I wanted to honor Andi’s legacy by choosing someone who emulated her.

The Andi Collins Award winner, as well as class National Players of the Year, will be announced within the next few weeks.


Candidates for Andi Collins Award to Nation’s Top Senior Setter


Rebecca Acevedo, 5-11, Westminster Christian (Miami, Florida) – Named First Team All Area by the Miami Herald, Acevedo, who started for four years for the Warriors, compiled 962 assists to go along with 245 digs, 93 kills and 48 aces in 2010 for one of Florida’s top 2A teams.

Kix Adolpho, 5-8, Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) – First Team All State and First Team All Valley, Adolpho tallied 815 assists, 197 digs and 36 aces for the 5A champion Knights.

Lauren Anderson, 5-9, Lakeland (Florida) – Area Player of the Year, Anderson led the Dreadnaughts to a 26-5 record in 2010. Shed set the county standard in assists with 780 while adding 151 kills and 71 aces. She will play at Loyola of Maryland next year.

Sammie Bane, 5-5, Brownstown Central (Brownstown, Indiana) – A Marshall signee, Bane lacks only height to be considered one of the best setters in this class. She is fast and fierce and led Brownstown Central to the 2A state semifinals in 2010 after taking the Braves to the finals the previous three years. The team assist leader each of her four years, Bane was a First Team All State pick in 2010.

Kellie Barnum, 5-10, Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, California) – When Dani Salka went down with a season-ending knee injury in September, Barnum went from being a nice piece of the national elite Wolverine machine to a key cog, averaging almost 12 assists per game (772 total) in a 5-1 offense. Bound for Boston College, Barnum also had 14o digs for Adam’s Black team, and earned First Team All League and First Team All Area honors.

Maggie Baumert, 6-2, Elkhorn (Nebraska) – The driving force on one of Nebraska’s best teams, Baumert amassed 945 assists and 225 kills in 2010 for the Antlers, who finished second to Omaha Gross in Class B. The Georgia signee was named First Team All State Class B and Second Team All Super State.

Jianna Bonomi, 5-6, Huntington Beach (California) – Cat quick and ultra competitive, Bonomi helped the Oilers overcome a slew of injuries to make some noise in the CIF playoffs. The Top 100 Senior Ace was named First Team All CIF-Southern Section I-AA and Third Team All County by the Orange County Register.

Anna Buckley, 5-6, Grissom (Huntsville, Alabama) – A member of the Huntsville Times Elite Team and one of two setters on the Birmingham News All-State team, Buckley led the Tigers to the Elite 8 in 2010 and set a single-season assists mark in the process.

Amanda Dettman, 5-11, Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) – Great Metro Conference Player of the Year, Dettman, who will play at SUNY Binghamton next year, amassed 950 assists for a Dasher squad that reached the sectional final. Dettman also added 286 kills and 182 digs. It’s no wonder she was also named First Team All Area by the Journal-Sentinel as well as First Team All State, the only setter accorded first team recognition.

Kaitlyn Drawe, 5-8, Lee's Summit West (Lee’s Summit, Missouri) – Drawe ran a 6-2 offense with Kylie Rice for the past two years and the Titans achieved many successes during that time. In 2010, when West was 31-5-2 and reached the state Class 4 championship match, Drawe amassed 462 assists, 71 kills, 155 digs and 24 blocks, good for First Team All Conference, Second team All District, Second Team All Region and Second Team All State honors.

Alyssa Foster, 5-9, Central Catholic (Portland, Oregon) – The only 6A setter named First Team All State, Foster, who also earned MVP honors in the Mt. Hood Conference, led the Rams to a second consecutive state title in 2010. Foster also led her club team to the 18 American national championship in July. She has signed with Cal State San Marcos.

Lindsay Greer, 5-10, Lexington (Alabama) – One of 13 players selected to the Birmingham News All-State Volleyball Team, Greer led the Lady Bears to two state titles and two runner up finishes in her five-year career as starting setter. She had 1,235 assists in 2010. Brooks coach Ryan Roberson called Greer the second best setter (behind Chelsea Wintzinger, we presume) he has seen in the state. “She has a knack for knowing who needs the ball, where they need it, and when they need it,” he said. “She makes the most difficult sets look like the easiest sets and never fails to cover after setting. After being on the opposing sideline and seeing her put the ball on a dime, I'm more than happy to see this very talented setter graduate.”

Lindsey Hanaway, 5-7, Archbishop O’Hara (Kansas City, Missouri) – A four-year starter for the Celtics, Hanaway was the emotional leader in O’Hara’s remarkable four-year, state Championship run.  She capped her career with a brilliant 2010, in which she hoisted 908 assists (10.2 per set) for the Missouri Class 3 champs, while adding 48 aces and playing flawless floor defense.  She was a First Team All Conference, First Team All District, First Team All Region and First Team All State pick. “Her pinpoint accuracy and fabulous decision making is really what sets Lindsey apart from other floor captains,” said coach Lori Hanaway.  “In addition to her astonishing athletic ability, Lindsey has an intense competitive spirit that many times proved the difference for the Celtics in close sets or matches.  In fact, she has the unique ability to make those around her better.  I have seen her many times ‘will’ her team to a victory.”

Hayley Crone, 5-9, Great Oak (Temecula, California) – The Wolfpack struggled in 2010, but Crone did not. The USC signee and silky smooth Top 100 Senior Ace had 719 assists, 133 digs, 118 kills and 62 aces in 2010 for a 19-15 team. She was both Southwestern League Player of the Year and the Californian’s All-Valley Player of the Year.

Kieley Culbertson, 5-8, Blue Springs (Missouri) – Blessed with quick feet, fast hands and terrific leadership skills, this future Georgetown Hoya had 885 assists, 266 digs and 33 aces in 2010 for one of Missouri’s top teams. She was First Team All Conference and First Team All District last fall.

Lexi Dannemiller, 5-10, Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) – Dannemiller’s senior year was cut short by a knee injury, but she did enough to earn Under Armour All America, First Team All Ohio an First Team All Cincinnati honors, amassing 495 assists, 135 digs and 28 aces in 54 games in 2010. “Lexi has an incredible court sense,” said coach Tracey Kornau.  “She is so smooth she makes setting look easy.   She is so quick to the ball and puts her hitters in the best position possible.”

Heather Feldman, 5-9, Eden (New York) – Perennial power Eden was supposed to be in a rebuilding mode after graduating its best class ever the previous year. Feldman, the one holdover from the 2009 title team, changed that with extraordinary play. She led the Raiders to a 48-2-1 record in 2010 and another state title, in brutal Class B. The Gardner-Webb signee amassed 1,367 assists, 455 digs and 108 service aces in 2010 as Eden won its fourth state championship in her five varsity seasons. She was a First Team All-State selection, MVP of the Class B state tournament and Gatorade’s New York Player of the Year.

Brooke Fessler, 5-10, Pella (Iowa) – A fantastic leader, Fessler led Pella to the 3A state tournament in 2010, a year in which she amassed 1,043 assists, 124 kills, 214 digs, 69 blocks and 71 aces. Named to the Des Moines Register’s Elite All State team, Fessler, a Northern Iowa signee, also was First Team All State, First Team All District and First Team All Conference. When the four-year starter began her career, the school career record for assists was 1,569. It is now 3,933.

Jordan Fish, 5-9, North Branch (Michigan) – Michigan’s Miss Volleyball led the Broncos to a 67-8-1 record in 2010 and within a few points of a second consecutive Class B title. Named First Team All State, this Virginia Tech recruit played 172 games for North Branch in 2010 and put up prodigious numbers: 1,196 assists, 410 kills, 319 digs and 113 aces. She was the glue for this over achieving team.

Kristen Fleming, 5-9, Columbus (Georgia) -- Georgia’s new career assist leader, Fleming added 1,139 helpers to that total in 2010 while leading Columbus to the Georgia AAA semifinals. She also contributed 308 digs, 100 kills and 74 aces and was recognized with First Team All State honors. She will play at Southern Mississippi next year.

Katie Gamsky, 5-11, Coronado (Las Vegas, Nevada) – Described by a rival coach as a “pure setter,” Gamsky was named Southwest League MVP in 2010 after dishing 711 assists (8.6 per game) for a 29-6 team. Gamsky also led the Cougars in aces with 57 and was fourth in digs with 172.

Kayla Gesink, 5-8, Western Christian (Hull, Iowa) – Elite All State setter handed out 1,088 assists in 2010 (9.3 per game) for Iowa 2A champs.

Molly Giannattasio, 5-9, East Lyme (Connecticut) – Named All State, All Area Player of the Year and state POY by the Connecticut High School Coaches’ Association, Giannattasio ran the show for East Lyme, which defeated mighty Darien and captured its first-ever Class L state title in 2010. She finished the year with 752 assists, 97 digs, 47 kills, 48 aces and 29 blocks.

Dominique Gonzales, 5-6, O’Connor (San Antonio, Texas) – San Antonio Area POY, this Penn State libero recruit had 604 digs, 517 assists and 81 aces in 2010.

Brooke Hassan, 5-4, Williamstown (New Jersey) – Hassan fought through near-crippling back pain to lead Williamstown to its second state title in Group IV. A three-year plus starting setter for the Braves, Hassan finished the 2010 season with 532 assists, 136 digs, 51 aces and 48 kills on 108 attempts. One of the top players in the southern half of New Jersey since her sophomore year, Hassan was named First Team All South Jersey and Second Team All State Group IV in 2010.

Amber Hawthorne, 5-10, Granada Hills (California) – Named First Team All Area by the Daily News and co-City Section POY, Hawthorne had 836 assists, 132 digs, 107 kills, 75 aces and 75 blocks for the City Section champs. She has signed with UC San Diego.

Ashley Houchin, Calhoun County (Mt. Zion, West Virginia) – Named First Team All State in Class A, Houchin led the Red Devils to only their second appearance in the state tournament last fall. Houchin amassed almost 900 assists and more than 100 aces on the year.

Ryian Hubbard, 5-6, St. Philip (Battle Creek, Michigan) – A club libero, Hubbard is a high school setter and a star at that! Athletic, smart and smooth, she set a young St. Philip team to another Class D title in 2010, the fourth in her four years as a starter, and earned First Team All State honors once again. Bound for Michigan State, Hubbard averaged seven assists per set in 2010 while adding triple figures in kills, digs and aces.

Tori Jobe, 5-11, Canyon Randall (Amarillo, Texas) – A 4A All State Player and Long Beach State signee, Jobe, a strong, smart setter, was a finalist for LoneStarVolleyball.com’s Setter of the Year Award in 2010.

Kelsey Johnston, 5-6, Ripon (California) – A four-year starter, coach Larry Keethe says that Johnston’s skill and leadership were key to Ripon being 160-30 during her high school career. League MVP in 2010, Johnston took Ripon to the Sac-Joaquin Section final. She averaged almost 11 assists per set and was one of the top servers in the state. Johnston was chosen Manteca Bulletin Player of the Year and was a First Team All Area pick by the Stockton Record.

Ellyn Jones, 5-9, Columbus East (Columbus, Indiana) – A four-year starter for the Olympians, Jones led East to a 35-3 record in 2010 and a contending spot in Indiana’s 4A. Voted First Team All State, Jones finished 2010 with 1,033 assists, 238 digs, 98 kills and 39 aces. She is East’s all time assists leader with 4,062.

Erin Juley, 5-10, Lyons Township (LaGrange, Illinois) – A key cog in Lyons’ run to the Illinois 4A title, Juley delivered 19 assists and 10 digs in the state final win over Cary-Grove, capping a year in which her 650 assists led the team. “Her ability to block, play defense and run the offense made her a significant contributor on our team,” said Joann Pyritz.  “Even after a knee injury during her junior club season, Erin's drive to return and play as a senior was outstanding.  She pushes herself to achieve and works to bring this effort out in her teammates as well.”

Madison Kamp, 6-1, Chicago Christian (Palos Heights, Illinois) – Named First Team All State by the News-Gazette, Kamp handed out 825 assists for a 30-11 team that won the Illinois 2A title in 2010. She also contributed 177 digs, 117 kills and 55 aces.

Bailey Karst, 5-9, Eaglecrest (Centennial, Colorado) – A shout out to my girl, Bailey, who had a sensational season for the Raptors that was apparently undervalued by all state selectors, who shunned her for All-Colorado consideration and only accorded her Second Team All State honors. This after a year in which the Eaglecrest program rose from a one-year slump to be the best in the state for most of the year until Morgan Bohl, the other half of the team’s dynamic duo, went down with a knee injury in the state tournament. Karst finished her incredible year with 417 assists (4.5 per game) while adding 362 kills and 243 digs.

Kaylee Kehoe, 5-11, Whitewater (Fayetteville, Georgia) – Named First Team All State in Class AAAA one year after leading her team to the state title, Kehoe put up more than 900 assists in 2010 while reaching triple figures in aces, kills and digs.

Hillary Keltner, 5-11, Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Illinois) – Smooth setter averaged 10.28 assists per game for the Crusaders in 2010. Committed to Air Force, Keltner was a Third Team All Metro pick and Second Team All Area selection.

Shannon Leary, 5-10, Clovis West (Clovis, California) – Leary played outside hitter as a junior, but was marvelous in the setter’s role for CW, leading the Golden Eagles to the CIF finals and a spot in the national rankings. Named the TRAC MVP and First Team All Area, Leary finished 2010 with 763 assists, 201 digs, 35 aces and 31 blocks.

Caylin Mahoney, 6-0, Central (Keller, Texas) – Just a few months after being named 17 Open MVP at Junior Nationals, Mahoney led the Chargers to a 35-8 season in the fall of 2010, In 110 sets running a 5-1 offense, she amassed a team-leading 1,215 assists while adding 339 kills, 358 digs, 95 blocks and 65 aces, all second or third on the squad. Bound for Cincinnati, Mahoney was a First Team All State pick as well as District Setter of the Year.

Shelbey Manthorpe, 6-0, Merion Mercy (Merion Station, Pennsylvania) – A three-time All State selection, Manthorpe earned state Player of the Year honors in Class AA after leading the Golden Bears to an undefeated season and a fourth straight state title in 2010. The Seton Hall signee, who was Gatorade’s choice for Pennsylvania Player of the Year, recorded 972 assists, 568 digs, 280 kills and 133 aces on the year. She was the MVP of the Class AA state tournament for a second consecutive season.

Chloe Mathis, 5-10, La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, California) – With Mathis at the helm, La Jolla Country Day, which repeated as California state champs in Division IV, was one of the best teams in the country. The San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Year, Mathis finished 2010 with 925 assists. Her talent helped both middles and right side attacker hit over .500 for the year! Bound for Arizona, Mathis also led the Torreys in aces. She was voted state tournament MVP. “She was a great leader and teammate,” said coach Peter Ogle. “I would start a team with her if I had to pick one player to build a team.”

Ashley Maxfeldt, 5-10, Bonita (LaVerne, California) – First Team All League and First Team All Area, Maxfeldt led her area with 801 assists in 2010 for one of the best Division II teams in the Southern Section. She also added 126 digs and will play next year at Loyola-Marymount.

Carly Maxwell, 5-9, Centennial (Bakersfield, California) – A four-year starter for Centennial, Maxwell began her career as a small setter with the “heart of a lion,” and grew into a true team leader who now sets with grace and poise. In 2010, she led the Golden Hawks to a perfect record in the brutal Southwest Yosemite League and to a Central Section Division I title. Averaging 11.2 assists per game, which was best in the area by a wide margin, Maxwell also contributed 212 digs and 77 solo blocks to Centennial’s cause. Maxwell was a First Team All League and First Team All Area pick.

Leisa McClintock, 5-6, Bishop Heelan (Sioux City, Iowa) – Elite All State setter had a state-leading 1,196 assists in 2010 for one of Iowa’s best teams. A southpaw headed to Wayne State, McClintock also made a dent with a wicked jump serve

Taylor McGuire, 5-6, Page (Franklin, Tennessee) – McGuire handed out 1,300 assists and added 144 digs and 137 for the state champion Patriots in 2010. A First Team All-Midsouth pick by the Tennessean, McGuire also was named 12-AA MVP.

Kellie McNeil, 5-11, Lakeville North (Lakeville, Minnesota) -- The No. 1 rated setter nationally in the senior class had a senior year that lived up to the hype. McNeil, a very athletic setter who has signed with the Golden Gophers of Minnesota, led Lakeville North to a 31-1 record, top 20 national ranking and its first large-class state title. She led the Twin Cities Metro Area in assists per game (1172 total) and blocks (147) while adding 66 aces and 122 kills. McNeil swept all the post-season awards in her state. In addition to being First Team All State, she was named Ms. Baden Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year and Gatorade’s Minnesota Player of the Year as well as Metro Player of the Year by the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press.

Alisa Mesa, 5-7, Poly (Long Beach, California) – With four Poly players on the All-Moore League’s First Team, there was no room for Mesa, but that should not diminish what the athletic senior accomplished in her first year as a starter. Mesa averaged 45 assists and 14 digs per match for the Jackrabbits, who won the Southern Section I-AA crown and came within an inch or two of their first California state title. Second Team All-Moore League but First Team All Area as part of the Press-Telegram’s Dream Team, Mesa also won the Moore League’s Steve Lewis Award.

Gigi Meyer, 5-6, Buchholz (Gainesville, Florida) – The Sun’s Player of the Year, Meyer led the Bobcats to a 25-4 record in 2010, recording 1,011 assists, 231 digs and 74 aces along the way. A great leader, Meyer will play for Florida Gulf Coast next year.

Megan Moenoa, 5-10, Lakewood (California) – First Team All CIF and co-Player of the Year in the Moore League, Moeona, who is considered one of the elite, elite setters in this class nationally, had a healthy 2010 and was able to keep the Lancers near the top of the Moore League standings and in the national rankings all season long. She finished the year with 1,025 assists, 174 kills, 134 blocks, 92 digs and 58 aces and was a Press-Telegram Dream Team First Team member.

Jordyn Moody, 5-10, Hamilton (Chandler, Arizona) – The Mesa Tribune Volleyball Player of the Year, Moody delivered 981 assists (9.3 per set) for a Hamilton team that reached its first large-class state championship match in 2010. The Team’s MVP, Moody also contributed 47 aces and was the first volleyball player in school history named to the All-Arizona team. “She is a very competitive player with great work ethic,” said coach Sharon Vanis.  “She came into Hamilton as a defensive specialist but we recognized her leadership qualities and athleticism and felt she could become a very strong setter.  She did...she became one of the best in the state.”

Charlee Nelson, 5-6, Mitchell (South Dakota) – First Team All State and the Daily Republic Player of the Year, Nelson recorded 841 assists in 2010 for the Kernels (9.2 per set), while adding 205 digs, 87 kills and 48 aces. She set a school record with 63 assists in one match last fall. “She is one of the most talented setters I have coached over the past 20 years as she is able to set numerous sets in our quick offense, in or out of system,” said coach Deb Thill. “Her teammates have voted her MVP the past two seasons as well as Most Enthusiastic and Team Hustler.”

Victoria Nutting, 5-9, Hancock (Mississippi) – Nutting set and hit Hancock to a 30-6 record in 2010 and the state Class III title. Named All State and Gatorade’s Player of the Year for Mississippi, Nutting compiled 376 assists, 273 kills and 86 aces for the season.

Blake O’Brien, 5-10, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, California) – Tough and ultra competitive, O’Brien led the Sea Hawks to a 31-9 record in 2010 and a berth in the state Division I semifinals. Named First Team All CIF-Southern Section Division I-AA and First Team All Area by the Daily Breeze, O’Brien finished the year with 1,013 assists, 370 digs and 62 aces. "I've always thought the setter must be an extension of the coach,” said Redondo’s Tommy Chaffins.  “If that is true, I wish I could clone Blake for all my future setters.”

Lexie Pawlik, 6-0, Penn (Mishawaka, Indiana) – The state’s best setter, Pawlik led Indiana in assists per game (1,134 total in 2010) and the Kingsmen to a 39-1 record and large class state title, their first. Pawlik also led her team in aces and was in the top three for blocks and digs and top five for kills. A South Carolina signee, Pawlik was First Team All State and her conference’s Player of the Year.

Katie Potts, 6-0, Northview (Duluth, Georgia) – A tall, confident setter, Potts led Northview to the AAAAA final in 2010, averaging 8.2 assists per game. She also added 103 kills, 68 aces and almost 250 digs for the Titans and earned First Team All State honors.

Elizabeth Powell, 5-8, Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kansas) – First Team All State and selected to the All Kansas State Tournament First Team, Powell guided the Stags to another 5A title in 2010. She’s not flashy, just very, very good.

Kayla Price, 5-9, Fremd (Palatine, Illinois) – A complete setter who can run every tempo and deliver pinpoint sets, Price got on our radar when she was named “Best Setter” at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic her freshman year. Since then, the Wisconsin-Milwaukee signee has matured into a true floor general. A severe ankle injury robbed Price of half her 2010 season, but she still managed to earn All Conference, All Area and Honorable Mention All State accolades after delivering 477 assists in the 20 matches she played in. She will graduate as Fremd’s career assist leader.

Kylie Rice, 5-9, Lee's Summit West (Lee’s Summit, Missouri) – Rice ran a 6-2 offense with Kaitlyn Drawe at LSW for the past two years and the Titans achieved many successes during that time. In 2010, when West was 31-5-2 and reached the state Class 4 championship match, Rice amassed 492 assists, 93 kills, 110 digs and 29 aces, good for First Team All Conference, First team All District, First Team All Region and First Team All State honors.

Dayna Roberts, 5-6, Olmsted Falls (Ohio) – One of three setters named First Team All-Ohio Division I for 2010, Roberts averaged almost 10 assists per game for a 19-6 team, while finishing first on the team in aces with 41, second in kills with 190, third in digs with 289 and third in blocks with 48. The District II Player of the Year, Roberts, who will play for Cleveland State, will graduate as the Bulldogs’ career leader in assists, aces and kill percentage.

Courtney Robison, 5-9, Assumption (Louisville, Kentucky) – A winner and great leader, Robison was key to KiVA’s winning the AAU nationals in 17 Open last summer and was equally instrumental in Assumption’s return to the pinnacle of Kentucky volleyball after a two-year absence. Named First Team All State, Robison has signed with Alabama.

Danae Rosendall, 6-2, Hudsonville (Michigan) – Wake Forest recruit was the only senior setter to earn First Team All State honors in Class A. Rosendall is considered a great athlete for someone her height. She has great feet and connects well with her middles.

Jamie Rutledge, 5-9, Dobyns-Bennett (Kingsport, Tennessee) – Her area’s co-Player of the Year, Rutledge, who has signed with East Tennessee State, led D-B back to the state tournament in 2010, handing out 1,137 assists to go along with 397 kills and 473 digs. She is the state’s all time assists leader with 4,238.

Ali Santi, 5-11, Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii) – A hard worker and intense competitor, Santi led the Buffanblu to the ILH title in 2010 and to the state Division I final. Co-ILH POY, Santi, who has signed with Georgia Tech, was a First Team All State pick.

Selina Schirmer, 5-11, Pittsford-Sutherland (Pittsford, New York) – Schirmer, wh has signed with Samford, led a team that wasn’t supposed to win state to a state title in Class A and posted big numbers in the process: 990 assists, 181 kills, 73 aces, 68 blocks and 132 digs). The heart and soul of her team, Schirmer was a First Team All State pick and co-Player of the Year in the Greater Rochester area.

Kamryn Sherman, 5-10, Nease (Ponte Vedra, Florida) – Smart and competitive, Sherman led Nease to a Florida state title as a sophomore and added two more outstanding years on top of that. The Florida Times-Union Player of the Year had 814 assists, 272 digs and a school-record 152 aces for the Panthers in 2010 for a 26-2 team. A Clemson signee, Sherman also was named Player of the Year by the St. Augustine Record for the third straight year.

Taylor Sherwin, 6-0, Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Florida) – An Under Armour All America and Top 100 Senior Ace, the Ohio State-bound Sherwin led the Highlanders to a District title in 2010, hoisting 675 assists, while adding 146 digs and 67 kills.  Sherwin was named First Team All-Central Florida.

Kristin Shotwell, 5-8, Fort Myers (Florida) – Shotwell set a school record with 935 assists in leading the Green Wave back to the Florida 4A final. She was a First Team All Area pick.

Michelle Sicner, 6-3, Millard North (Omaha, Nebraska) – Named Second Team All Super State, the Creighton recruit, who is blessed with sweet hands and an immense net presence, had a monster year for the 26-12 Mustangs in 2010. Running a 5-1, Sicner delivered 829 assists (7.5 per game) while adding 221 kills, 272 digs, 67 blocks and 85 aces.

Sarah Skeens, 5-4, Charleston Catholic (Charleston, West Virginia) – A four-year starter and two-time First Team All State performer, Skeens hoisted 1,458 helpers in 2010 and added 149 aces for the Class A state champions. She will graduate with the school career record in both assists (3,816) and aces (609).

Aubree Smith, 5-11, Cor Jesu (St. Louis, Missouri) – Third Team All Metro for the second straight year, Smith led the Chargers in assists, averaging eight per game, while adding 131 kills, 229 digs and 51 blocks.

Colleen Smith, 6-0, Cary-Grove (Cary, Illinois) – Smart, heady and athletic, Smith set the Trojans to a perfect season and the top of the national rankings until Lyons Township knocked them off in the finals of the 4A division. First Team All State, the Indiana-bound Smith finished the year with 740 assists for a 41-1 team that played only 87 games. She added almost 100 kills and 200 digs and was a First Team All State and First Team All Area selection.

Jackie Tamburri, 5-7, Hendrick-Hudson (Montrose, New York) – First Team All State and Area Player of the Year in two newspapers, Tamburri had a remarkable year (and five year career!) with the Sailors. In 2010, she handed out 1,223 assists in 119 games, the most ever in Section 1. She added 259 digs, 85 solo blocks, 124 kills and 104 aces for a team that reached the finals in brutal Class B.

Heidi Thompson, 5-7, Sunnsylope (Phoenix, Arizona) – Smart setter led the Vikings to three state titles, including 2010, when she had 1,031 assists and 94 aces for a nationally-ranked 40-3 team. Thompson was a First Team All State 4A pick as well as First Team All Arizona.

Courtney Volkmann, 5-10, Wadena-Deer Creek (Wadena, Minnesota) – Volkmann led the Wolverines to a perfect season in 2010, culminating in the Minnesota Class AA title. First Team All State in 2009, she improved to Class AA Player of the Year this fall.

Chelsey Wager, 5-3, Fowler (Colorado) – Wager set the Grizzlies to a perfect season in 2010 and the state Class 2A title. She finished the year with 893 assists, 203 digs and 57 aces and was a First Team All State pick.

Elise Walsh, 5-7, The Prout School (Wakefield, Rhode Island) – The two-time Rhode Island Gatorade POY led the Crusaders to their second straight Division I state title in 2010. Walsh recorded 517 assists, 150 digs, 82 service aces and 48 kills for Prout and was a unanimous selection as Division I statePlayer of the Year by the Rhode Island Volleyball Coaches Association. Walsh is a three-time First Team All-State selection who helped Prout to four consecutive state titles, two each in Division II and Division I. She finished her prep career with 2,204 assists and 221 service aces.

Sarah Wickstrom, 6-0, Jensen Beach (Florida) – The Florida Dairy Farmers 4A Player of the Year in 2009 when the Falcons won their second state title in three years, this Florida State signee could not lead Jensen Beach to the Promised Land again in 2010, but nonetheless had a fine year. She averaged 8.4 assists and 1.8 kills per set for an 18-13 team that reached the regional final.

Kelsey Williams, 5-11, Amador Valley (Pleasanton, California) – The best setter in the North Coast Section, Williams had 841 assists, 276 digs and 186 kills for the Dons in 2010 en route to First Team All-East Bay honors.

Veronica Zimmerman, 5-9, St. Ursula (Toledo, Ohio) – First Team All State and both District and League Player of the Year, Zimmerman led the Arrows to a 28-1 record in 2010 and the Ohio Division I title. The team leader in assists and aces in 2010, she will leave TSUA as the school’s career record holder in both categories. “She leaves a legacy for others setters that follow will have to work real hard to match,” said coach John Buck. Zimmerman maintains a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and will continue her career at Memphis next season.

Kori Moster is one of three high school liberos up for our National Player of the Year award. Photo by Arctic Ferret

Below please read about our 41 senior finalists for the National Player of the Year award. We will reveal our Player of the Year next week.

To be considered for this honor, a senior had to make a “massive” impact on her high school team and the state. "Massive" is a subjective term, but at a minimum required that she have statistics that were the best on her team at her position and that she be one of the top 1-2 players in her state regardless of class. Playing on a team that won a state title, advanced far in the state tournament and/or was nationally ranked was not only helpful but also critical to her inclusion here. Indeed, of our 41 finalists, 27 finished their year with “state champion” next to their names.

I want to stress that the National Player of the Year award is based solely on HIGH SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT in 2010, not past stardom or future collegiate success. It comes down to this: What kind of impact did you have on your team and your state in 2010?

National Senior Player of the Year Candidates:

Tiffany Baker, 6-3 MB, Hebron (Carrollton, Texas) – A top five national recruit, Baker proved unstoppable in the playoffs as the Hawks soared to the Texas 5A title. Texas’ Gatorade Player of the Year and Dallas Morning News Player of the Year, Baker had 18 kills in a state finals sweep of The Woodlands, capping a year in which she amassed almost 550 kills (5.2 per game), twice as many as anyone else on a team filled with high Division I offensive talent. She led Hebron in total blocks (140) and solo stuffs (72) and was one of six players with more than 225 digs.

Katherine Bell, 6-2 MB, North Mesquite (Mesquite, Texas) – A dynamic athlete who has signed with Texas, Bell, a top national recruit, had another massive statistical year for the 25-10 Stallions in 2010. First Team All State and First Team All Area, this Under Armour All America finished the year with a staggering 838 kills in 114 games, almost 700 kills more than her next closest teammate! She also was credited with a team leading 290 solo blocks, led the team in aces and was second in digs.

Jocelynn Birks 6-3 OH, Lyons Township (LaGrange, Illinois) – An Under Armour All-America pick and consensus First Team All State selection, Birks led the Lions to a 41-1 record in 2010 and the Illinois 4A state title. Birks, who signed with Illinois, had 18 kills and nine digs in the title tilt and finished the year with 467 kills, 302 digs and 35 aces, mighty impressive numbers in a state where they play best 2-of-3.

Elizabeth Brenner, 6-1 MB, Jesuit (Portland, Oregon) – A repeat selection as Oregon’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Brenner, an Oregon signee who also was named state 6A Player of the Year by the Oregonian, is the best passing big player in the country and one of the most powerful attackers to boot. In 2010, this multi-sport star led Jesuit to a 38-4 record and second place in the 6A tournament by amassing 555 kills, 207 digs, 129 blocks and 63 aces.

Lara Dykstra, 5-11 OH, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, California) – The Sea Hawks got within a breath of the California Division I title match and Dykstra was a main reason why. She used her willowy frame and whippy arm to produce 496 kills at the net and 81 aces and used her athleticism and desire to dig up 466 balls for the 32-9 Hawks. For her efforts, Dykstra was named CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year, Daily Breeze POY and Bay League MVP. She has signed with Nebraska to play libero.

Haley Eckerman, 6-4 MB, Waterloo East (Waterloo, Iowa) – A four-time Elite All State member, Eckerman has been first or second in the state in kills in each of her seasons at East. The state 4A Player of the Year led the Trojans to their best season in 2010. She finished her career with almost 2,500 kills, including 703 in 2010 (6.83 kills per set). Eckerman has signed with Texas.

Heather Feldman, 5-9 Setter, Eden (New York) – Perennial power Eden was supposed to be in a rebuilding mode after graduating its best class ever the previous year. Feldman, the one holdover from the 2009 title team, changed that with extraordinary play. She led the Raiders to a 48-2-1 record in 2010 and another state title, in brutal Class B. The Gardner-Webb signee amassed 1,367 assists, 455 digs and 108 service aces in 2010 as Eden won its fourth state championship in her five varsity seasons. She was a First Team All-State selection, MVP of the Class B state tournament and Gatorade’s New York Player of the Year.

Jordan Fish, 5-9 Setter, North Branch (Michigan) – Michigan’s Miss Volleyball led the Broncos to a 67-8-1 record in 2010 and within a few points of a second consecutive Class B title. Named First Team All State, this Virginia Tech recruit played 172 games for North Branch in 2010 and put up prodigious numbers: 1,196 assists, 410 kills, 319 digs and 113 aces. She was the glue for this over achieving team.

Hanna Forst, 5-11 OH, St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kansas) – Forst led St. James to a 44-1 record in 2010, its third straight Class 4A state title and the mythical national championship. Kansas’ 6A Player of the Year and the Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year, Forst recorded 475 kills, 255 digs, 60 blocks and 18 aces for the Thunder and was named Greater Kansas City’s top player as the 2010 Evelyn Gates Award winner . “We played St. James Academy twice and Hanna Forst is a rock star,” said Mark Rice, head coach of rival Lee’s Summit West High. “She is an all-around force, a great leader and a great player for their team.”

Crystal Graff , 6-3 OH, LaFollette (Madison, Wisconsin) – Graff’s junior campaign was so good that she earned Conference, City and Area Player of the Year honors in addition to being named First Team All State and Gatorade’s Wisconsin Player of the Year. Graff, who has signed with Wisconsin, was even better in 2010, posting 782 kills, 308 digs, 55 aces and 53 blocks in leading LaFollette to the state Division 1 quarterfinals. It’s not surprising, then, that Graff swept all of the post-season awards in 2010, including repeating as Gatorade Player of the Year.

Monica Grimsrud, 6-1 MB, Helena (Montana) – An illness forced Grimsrud out of the state playoffs in 2009. In 2010, she led the Bengals to a 23-3 record and the Class AA title. The Montana State recruit tallied 17 kills and three aces in a state finals sweep of Billings West, capping a season in which recorded 605 kills, 312 digs, 131 blocks and 67 aces. She was a First Team All State pick and Gatorade’s choice for Montana Player of the Year.

Micha Hancock, 5-10 S/OH, Memorial (Edmond, Oklahoma) – A repeat winner as Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year, the All State Hancock put up staggering numbers for the state champion Bulldogs despite missing the first 10 matches to play in Singapore on the U.S. team in the Youth Olympics. A lefty, she had 642 kills in 25 matches while also setting! Hancock wasn’t just good in those categories. She had 137 blocks from the right side, amassed almost 300 digs and used her powerful jump serve to record 184 aces. With her in the lineup, Edmond Memorial lost just once, to 5A champion Bishop Kelley, a team the Bulldogs also defeated.

Kristen Harris, 6-2 MB, Apex (North Carolina) – Gatorade’s North Carolina Player of the Year, Harris led Apex to an undefeated year in 2010 and its first state 4A title. Her conference’s Player of the Year and 4A tournament MVP, Harris recorded 340 kills, 163 digs, 46 aces and 42 blocks in 2010. She has signed with Elon. “Kristen Harris is an all-around class act and an outstanding leader,” said Apex Head Coach Nicole O’Donnell. “She exemplifies such qualities as dedication, determination, drive and ambition that allow her to perform at such a high level. Her ability to motivate her teammates to become better players is extraordinary.”

Jeni Houser , 6-3 MB, Assumption (Louisville, Kentucky) – Houser, a Notre Dame signee, compiled 337 kills, 213 digs and 90 blocks in leading the 39-4 Rockets to their first state title since 2007 last fall. A powerhouse player and emotional leader, Houser was named Miss Kentucky Volleyball as well as Gatorade Player of the Year for the state.

Tori Hurtt, 6-2 MB, Archbishop O’Hara (Kansas City, Missouri) – A beast at the net, Hurtt, who has signed with Iowa State, was the unstoppable force that propelled the Celtics to a fourth consecutive Missouri state title in Class 3. She finished the year with 488 kills and 129 blocks. In addition to being state tournament MVP, Hurtt was First Team All Metro, First Team All District, First Team All Region and First Team All State. “She is the best blocker in the state and takes over a match like no one else,” said head coach Lori Hanaway. 

Madelyn Hutson, 6-5 MB, Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tennessee) – A powerhouse player capable of excelling at all three front row positions, Hutson led the Raptors to a 49-8 mark in2010 and their first large class state title. All-Mid South Player of the Year and Tennessee Gatorade POY, Hutson, who has signed with Texas, recorded 587 kills, 135 digs, 86 blocks and 76 aces during the fall campaign. An outstanding student, she has also repreented the U.S. on its Youth National Team.

Tori Janowski, 5-10 S/OH, Flint Hill (Oakton, Virginia) – Twice named All-Met Player of the Year by the Washington Post and Gatorade’s Virginia Player of the Year, Janowski led Flint Hill to a 33-0 record and and the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I state title. A Virginia signee, Janowski recorded 367 assists, 268 kills, 187 digs and 82 service aces. She was Virginia’s Independent Schools Player of the Year as well as state tournament MVP.

Madison Kingdon, 6-1 OH, Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Arizona) – Arizona’s Big Schools Player of the Year as well as Gatorade Player of the Year, Kingdon led the Vikings to a 41-3 record and their third straight Class 4A state title this past season. A 4.0 student committed to Arizona, Kingdon recorded 587 kills, 385 digs, 78 service aces and 67 blocks in 2010. “Madison Kingdon is an amazing volleyball player and the best in Arizona, in my opinion,” said Sunnyslope High head coach Amber Letarte. “She is powerful in the front row and the back row and she led her team in almost every category. No one works harder in games, practice and training outside of volleyball.”

Kelly Lamberti, 6-0 OH, Cary-Grove (Cary, Illinois) – The consensus state Player of the Year and Gatorade’s pick for Player of the Year as well, Lamberti was the driving force that carried the Trojans to the top of the national rankings and within one win of a repeat 4A title in Illinois and an unbeaten season. The Ohio University signee had 21 kills and 12 digs in the state finals loss to Lyons Township, capping a year in which she had 320 kills, 214 digs and 68 aces. “Lamberti may be the most dominating player I have seen in a long time,” said coach Patty Langanis about her star.  “All year, every game, she was on and ready to play.  Bigger the match the bigger she played.  She was unstoppable all season.”

Chloe Mathis, 5-10 Setter, La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, California) – With Mathis at the helm, La Jolla Country Day, which repeated as California state champs in Division IV, was one of the best teams in the country. The San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Year, Mathis finished 2010 with 925 assists. Her talent helped both middles and right side attacker hit over .500 for the year! Bound for Arizona, Mathis also led the Torreys in aces. She was voted state tournament MVP. “She was a great leader and teammate,” said coach Peter Ogle. “ I would start a team with her if I had to pick one player to build a team.”

Madison McCaffrey, 5-9 MB, Ludlowe (Fairfield, Connecticut) – Selected as Connecticut’s Gatorade POY, McCaffrey recorded an astounding 503 kills, 471 digs, 107 service aces and 92 blocks in 2010 for the 20-5 Falcons, who finished second in Class LL. Ludlowe lost in five sets to Greenwich in the state final, but McCaffrey shined in that match, as she did all season, with 25 kills, seven blocks and six digs to earn MVP honors.

Kellie McNeil, 5-11 Setter, Lakeville North (Lakeville, Minnesota) -- The No. 1 rated setter nationally in the senior class had a senior year that lived up to the hype. McNeil, a very athletic setter who has signed with the Golden Gophers of Minnesota, led Lakeville North to a 31-1 record, top 20 national ranking and its first large-class state title. She led the Twin Cities Metro Area in assists per game (1172 total) and blocks (147) while adding 66 aces and 122 kills. McNeil swept all the post-season awards in her state. In addition to being First Team All State, she was named Ms. Baden Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year and Gatorade’s Minnesota Player of the Year as well as Metro Player of the Year by the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press.

Katie Messing, 6-4 MB/OH, The Woodlands (Texas) – A Pepperdine recruit, Messing earned First Team All State honors again in 2010 after leading The Woodlands to the Texas 5A state finals. She finished the year with a team-leading 564 kills (4.1 per game) and a team-leading 73 blocks while adding 243 digs and 49 aces.

Deme Morales, 5-7 MB, Steele (Amherst, Ohio) – First Team All State, Lorain County’s Miss Volleyball and Ohio’s Gatorade Player of the Year, the dynamic Morales did it all for the Comets in 2010. She finished the year with 549 kills (6.9 per game – more than 60% of her team’s total) for a 24-2 team. Morales led Steele in aces with 89 and in total blocks and was second in digs. “There isn't another player in the state that single handily leads their team to victory like Deme does,” said coach Laurie Cogan. “Because of Deme, Amherst volleyball has been able to overachieve. Deme's stats speak volumes. It is too bad I can't email her heart!  A person has to see her to believe a player this size can be this dynamic."

Zoey Morton, 5-9 OH, Woodward Academy (College Park, Georgia) – The heart and soul of the War Eagle, Morton did everything for the AAA state champs, notching 418 kills and 224 digs and acting as a primary passer for a 54-10 team. She was selected First Team All State and Georgia AAA Player of the Year. “If you take her defense away from us, we are not the same team,” said coach Tad Sahara.  “Offensively, if you take her off the team there is no question that we are not the same team.  We have had the best and most consistent season since I have been at Woodward (7 years - 5 state championships), and Zoey is one of the biggest reasons for this.”

Kori Moster, 5-4 Libero, Ursuline (Cincinnati, Ohio) – Considered one of the very best defenders in the senior class, Moster had a remarkable 2010 season. The glue of the fantastic Ursuline teams the past three years, the Michigan State signee had 584 digs (6.9 per game) and 46 aces in 2010 for the Lions, whose only loss came in five sets in the state Division I semifinals. She was named GGCL Player of the Year, Cincinnati Enquirer Player of the Year, First Team All State and an Under Armour All America. “Kori is the BEST defensive player that I have ever coached,” said Ursuline’s Jeni Case. “She has unbelievable instincts and reactions.  She has a great work ethic and the effort is always there. What I like most about Kori is the fact that she is humble about being that good.”

Caroline Niedospial, 5-7 Libero, Marist (Chicago, Illinois) – The most amazing libero I have ever seen, no libero dominated a match the way “Carks” did in 2010 for nationally-ranked Marist. First Team All State and named Player of the Year by the Southtown Star, Niedospial passed serve flawlessly and wracked up 728 digs, many rally crushing, for the Redhawks. “She is quick as lightning and is able to get balls on defense that most would never have the ability to get close to,” said marist coach Natalie Holder.  “She not only gets the ball up, but it still is in system.  She is the best libero that I have seen.” She will play at Northwestern.

Lexie Pawlik, 6-0 Setter, Penn (Mishawaka, Indiana) – The state’s best setter, Pawlik led Indiana in assists per game (1,134 total in 2010) and the Kingsmen to a 39-1 record and large class state title, their first. Pawlik also led her team in aces and was in the top three for blocks and digs and top five for kills. A South Carolina signee, Pawlik was First Team All State and her conference’s Player of the Year.

Marilyn Peizer, 5-10 OH, Flint Hill (Oakton, Virginia) – A power player, Peizer, who has signed with Fairfield, led Flint Hill to a 33-0 record and and the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I state title. She led the Huslies in kills (348) and digs (260) and had 67 aces. Peizer earned First Team All State and First Team All-Met honors.

Alex Schoenberger, 6-1 OH, Branson (Ross, California) – Schoenberger put up monster numbers for the two-time state Division V champs. She led the Bulls in kills with 565 (5.6 per game), and also led in aces, blocks and digs. Last year, Schoenberger was named state finals MVP. She was equally impressive in 2010 and was recognized as part of the all-State Tournament team.

Megan Sorensen, 6-0 OH, Rocky Mountain (Meridian, Idaho) – The hard-hitting Sorensen, Gatorade’s Idaho Player of the Year, led the Grizzlies to a 22-5 mark in 2010 and their first state 5A title. She had 20 kills, seven digs, three aces and three blocks in the state finals sweep of Idaho Falls and finished the year with 431 kills, 296 digs, 45 blocks and 43 aces. A 4.0 student, Sorensen will play for Concordia University of Wisconsin in the fall.

Ali Stark, 6-1 RS, Mt. Vernon (Iowa) – Iowa’s Player of the Year, Stark amassed 324 kills, 232 digs, 66 service aces and 62 blocks in leading Mount Vernon to a 41-0 record, Iowa 3A title and No. 6 national ranking in 2010.A lefty, Stark, who has signed with Illinois, also wasnamed to the Under Armour All America squad and showed off her versatility by winning the “Best Setter” award at the All America game.

Dempsey Thornton, 6-2 MB, King (Corpus Christi, Texas) – Thornton led the Mustangs to an historic season in 2010, as they finished 45-4 and tied for third in Texas’ 5A class after sitting atop the state rankings for most of the season. Named First Team All State and the Caller Times’ Area MVP, Thornton, who has signed with Texas-San Antonio, had an area-best 629 kills for King in 2010, while adding 220 digs, 76 blocks and 43 aces.

Mary Vaccaro, 5-10 OH, Campolindo (Moraga, California) – League MVP and East Bay Player of the Year, Vaccaro returned to the Cougar team after a two-year hiatus and led them to a 34-4 record and California Division III title. Vaccaro, an accomplished beach player and club setter, amassed 471 kills during the regular season and was named state finals MVP after launching 13 kills in the first two sets to set the tone for Campo’s win.

Krista Vansant, 6-2 OH, Redlands East Valley (Redlands, California) – Named Gatorade National Player of the Year in December, Vansant led Redlands East Valley to two state finals and four CIF Southern Section finals during her career with the Wildcats. In 2010, the Washington-bound outside hitter, who is considered the top recruit in the class, amassed 589 kills, 299 digs, 33 blocks and 26 service aces for a nationally-ranked 30-6 team that reached the state Division I quarterfinals. She was CIF-SS 1A POY and was selected as San Bernardino Sun Player of the Year for the third straight year.

Aiyana Whitney, 6-5 MB, Northern Valley Regional (Old Tappan, New Jersey) – New Jersey Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year for New Jersey, Whitney, a Penn State recruit, elevated the Golden Knights to the top of Garden State volleyball in 2010. Old Tappan completed a dream season with a 26-1 mark, a Group III state title and the Tournament of Champions title. The Knights were, of course, led by ToC MVP Whitney, who had 31 kills and 18 digs in two matches, completing a season in which she notched 381 kills, 121 digs and 46 aces.

Emily Wilson, 6-2 OH, Gross (Omaha, Nebraska) – Wilson was at the top of her game again in 2010, recording 398 kills, 239 digs, 40 solo blocks and 27 aces for the Cougars, who repeated their Class B title. Wilson, who has signed with Missouri, was at her best when Gross was down two of its key players due to injury, both carrying the team on the floor and keeping others positive with her leadership. She was named to the Nebraska Super State team.

Stephanie Zampini, 5-1 Libero, St. Mark’s (Wilmington, Delaware) – Voted Delaware State Player of the Year, Zampini anchored a defense that was key to the Spartans’ state championship run. In 68 games in 2010, Zampini amassed a team-leading 334 digs (4.9 per game). She also led the team in aces and received twice as many serves as anyone else on the team. “She is without a doubt the best libero to play high school volleyball in the state of Delaware,” said coach Nancy Griskowitz.  “She has left a standard against which all other liberos will be measured.”

Veronica Zimmerman, 5-9 Setter, St. Ursula (Toledo, Ohio) – First Team All State and both District and League Player of the Year, Zimmerman led the Arrows to a 28-1 record in 2010 and the Ohio Division I title. The team leader in assists and aces in 2010, she will leave TSUA as the school’s career record holder in both categories. “She leaves a legacy for others setters that follow will have to work real hard to match,” said coach John Buck. Zimmerman maintains a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and will continue her career at Memphis next season.

Tiffany Baker, a top 5 national recruit and Texas' Gatorade Player of the Year, leads No. 1 Dallas Premier

Vacations are fun, but they sure do slow down the work productivity. Today we present the 2011 Pre-Season National 18s Club Rankings at precisely the same time as last year, but with a lot less research behind them (thanks to that *&%#& vacation!).

We have ranked the top 50 teams in the country, with 40 more in two Honorable Mention-type categories. There may be some teams omitted from the rankings that you feel are deserving. There are three possible explanations for that:

1. You are deranged;

2. They just missed our top 90; or

3. We lacked complete information, especially for some second teams. I reached out to a number of clubs for information about their 2011 team (Rocket City, High Country, NVVA, for example), only to be greeted by crickets. I simply cannot rank teams I do not know about. No worries though, as these teams and hundreds of others will have their shot to play their way in.

Speaking of crickets, remember last year’s rankings, when we wrote this?

“What’s New

1. USA Volleyball will be ranking teams nationally and regionally this year.

They’re doing it for various reasons, including to generate interest in their program and to assist in their seeding. As the only other entity ranking teams nationally, you’d think PrepVolleyball.com would feel threatened by this bold move. To the contrary, we’re thrilled! When have you ever known USAV to get it right the first go round? USA Volleyball’s computer-based system should be good for tons of discussion on our message boards as well as poignant “commentary” from me…”

Well, we never did see those rankings, did we? I remember Mike Chandler of USAV saying it needed a little more tweaking. Is it ready for this year? I have no idea. Chandler did not respond to my e-mail inquiry as of press time and I do not see mention of it on www.usavolleyball.org.

As you read the rankings, please remember several things:

1. I don’t know anything.

2. The Club Rankings Team members who assist me in the rankings know even less and usually are only concerned about promoting their club and knocking their area rivals.

3. When doing club rankings, it seems I’m serving two masters: certain hard-core directors, coaches and parents, on the one hand, who just want the facts; and others, including me, who are as interested in the flexible fun we can have with team rankings. This year’s rankings, once again, will have a little of both though my puns are God-awful this year.

4. The rankings also are not a complete and accurate reflection of my feelings or that of the CRT. I don’t want to give away the farm, here, but the rankings may be adjusted up or down a few spots to suit my specific purposes regarding that team. I may want to poke fun, or inspire with an artificially low ranking, to say “I believe in you” with one that might be too high. This topic usually causes consternation among the hard core out there. To them, I don’t say “lighten up.” I say enjoy USA Volleyball’s rankings! Whenever they come out that is.

5. I don’t know anything.

That’s it for now. Please, especially you from Ohio, Utah, Oregon, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Nebraska…, go to the Message Board when you are done scoffing at these rankings to discuss them. Facebook and Twitter are fun and all, but the Girls Volleyball Message Board is still the place to be to discuss the sport we love. And registration with our Message Board provider, Yuku, is free!


2011 18s National Pre-Season Club Rankings


1. Dallas Premier “to Ear” (Texas)

The Facts: Can they pass? Because if they can, no team in the nation will be able to match the firepower of this Dallas Premier squad. Seven from last year’s team that finished T-3 in 17 Open return, including No. 4 Senior Ace Tiffany Baker. The tall, athletic Tennessee-bound outside hitter will be joined this year by Katherine Bell, another tall, athletic outside hitter who was No. 2 in the Senior Aces. That tandem should be downright scary. Coach Mike Minnis also upgraded in the middle with the addition of Alexis Mourning and Alesha Bell to compensate for the departure of Olivia Okoro to TAV. Returnees Rachel Buckley, Chandler Hatton and Taylor Cembalisty add even more firepower to a team that also returns defenders Addason Lamb and Emma Dridge as well as setter Bailey Clampitt, who will team with newcomer Cami Fields in a 6-2. It's not how you start; it's how you finish. Expect this team to start slowly against elite national teams -- just like last year -- but to be peaking at trophy time.

The Pun: Premier’s coach credits his training with the team’s success. He calls it “Minnis school.” Sounds like only a small part of it.

 
2. “Play it Again” Sports Performance (Illinois)

The Facts: SPVB director Rick Butler thought last year’s 18 Elite team was the club’s most physical ever, but this year’s version is probably better still, with every front court player, including setter Courtney Thomas, touching 10-0 or better. The team features two – senior OH Meg Vonderhaar and junior MB Meghan Haggerty – from last year’s AAU 18 Open champs and three, Vonderhaar, Thomas and S/OH Emily Young, who were ranked among the top 50 seniors in the 2011 class. Natalia Skiba, who played on 17 Mizuno a year ago, should be the lynchpin of the team’s defense.

The Pun: Whether she plays on the left side, right side or middle, senior Brigid Campbell is Mmm Mmm good!


3. Sports “Love” Shack (California)

The Facts: The reigning 18 Open national champs have to be a favorite to repeat with three key contributors back from last year’s championship team plus several athletic, talented newcomers. The returnees include OH Jane Croson, a top 10 Senior Ace who is hungry after missing the entire high school season; RS Christina Higgins, the No. 11 Senior Ace coming off a fantastic senior campaign in which she was unstoppable for Harvard-Westlake; and top 50 junior setter Becca Strehlow, who may be the best setter in the country regardless of class. Add OHs Katherine Workman and Camille Coffey from Sports Shack’s 17s, libero Skylar Dykstra over from Sunshine and two physical middles, including Cal Jrs import Litara Keil, and you can understand why Goose and Geeter are excited about defending the title.

The Pun: You may not know beans about Coffey, but you will. Her fiery attitude will make you take notice.


4. Coast “to the Finish Line” (California)

The Facts: Too much talent? Despite the early departure of Senior Ace Summer Ross, that may be the case with Coast, which is scary good at every position. At setter, Under Armour All America Chloe Mathis and USC signee Hayley Crone are two Top 100 senior talents. In the middle, Sam Cash, one of four returnees from the Coast team that finished T-5 in 18 Open last year, will compete with Rachel “The Body” Rhoades and 6-4 Gillian Howard, who might as well be called “The Body II” for the way she has transformed herself. Rhoades may move to the right to play opposite lefty Taylor Milton, another Top 100 talent and holdover from last year’s 18s.

The Pun: This team has a reserve middle who helps the team out of jams so much she should be called Lindsay Elgin bailer.


5. “Blow It All” Sky High (Illinois)

The Facts: Ranked No. 1 nationally for a time last year, Sky High 17 Black was going along swimmingly at AAUs without so much as a dropped set until a shocking loss to KiVA sent them home tied for ninth. Coach Chas Kennedy says this team is hungry and motivated not only to get back on top, but to see how good it is nationally by trying to qualify for Junior Nationals. Gatorade POY Kelly Lamberti, Top 10 Senior Ace Ellen Chapman, smart setter Colleen Smith and fantastic libero Kelsey Nobilio are among those returning.

The Pun: If where Lamberti and Chapman play is Sky High’s strong side, does that make the right pin its weak side? Consider that the position will be manned by a newcomer named Allison Whimpey.


6. Munciana “Green Gables” (Indiana)

The Facts: Could Munciana be the best team in the country? Coach Mike Lingenfelter isn’t saying it, but we’re thinking it. Seven players from the 18 Open team that took second at AAU Nationals return, including outsides Jeme Obeime and Alex Fuelling and middles Kiki Jones and Sloane White. They are joined by junior setter Morgan Bergren, a Kentucky recruit; junior Taylor Morey, the Indiana Gatorade winner who can swing or play defense; and Ohioan Alyssa Winner, an Under Armour All America pick headed to The Ohio State University to play libero. This team has depth, athleticism and a great coach. What’s not to love?

The Pun: If the other team can’t slow down senior middle Erica Stahl, no worries. She’ll do it all by herself!


7. Mizuno Long Beach Babies (California)

The Facts: Is everyone healthy? I’ve contended the past two years that, when healthy, this group has few peers. The same will hold true in 2011. Eight from last year’s 17s team that tied for fifth at Junior Nationals return, including dynamic setter Megan Moenoa, MB Halli Amaro and high flying OH Bria Russ, all Top 100 Senior Aces. Hawaii-bound setter Monica Stauber, who played on the 18s a year ago, also will be on this team, as will lithe libero Tyler Jackson, oft-injured but talented Dalas Dodd and power hitting Marissa Bubica. This team will win and entertain doing so.

The Pun: You should see Halli bury the ball on the slide!


8. AVA of Texas “Toast” (Texas)

The Facts: After finishing ninth in 17 Open a year ago, AVA of Texas returns all of its key players, including setter Malorie Pardo, middles Marissa Maas and Jill Humphrey, high flying OH Yewande Akanbi and libero Shelbee Berringer. The addition of athletic OH Nicole Bardaji, a top 100 Senior Ace who played for Southwest Asics last year, gives coach Todd Porter a second legitimate threat on the outside.

The Pun: While the players on this team are fresh faced and innocent, Porter has baggage.


9. Synergy “Willickers” (Pennsylvania)

The Facts: Seven players return from the team that owned the summer last year, finishing second in 17 Open at both AAUs and Junior Nationals. That includes Pennsylvania Gatorade winner Shelbey Manthorpe and top 100 Senior Ace Maggie Deichmeister, two of the most physical setters in the country. MBs Emma Deininger and Alexa Swann and defensive standout MacKenzie Kleespies also return for coach Rich Johnson, who adds firepower to the outside with Delaware newcomer Rachel Wiechecki.

The Pun: MB Alexa Wick burns to be better.


10. “X-ray” Vision (California)

The Facts: Every year, Vision 18s coach Jay Mansfield puts together a team that could challenge for a national title. This year is no different, although it’s not quite the big name powerhouse it’s been the past few years. The strength of this team is on the outside, where Under Armour All America Michelle Neumayr, one of holdovers from 18 Gold a year ago (along with setter Mary Vaccaro), joins 6-3 junior Brittany Howard and 5-11 senior Allie Frappier in forming a dynamic group of scorers. Katy Schatzman and Ronnie Lewis combine to give Vision a very strong backcourt.

The Pun: Coach Jay Mansfield stays calm and collected on the sidelines. Wish we could say the same about senior middle Jordan Pehanick.


11. Rancho Valley “of the Dolls” (California)

The Facts: After taking second in 18 Open at Junior Nationals a year ago with five underclassmen, expect Rancho, led by savvy coach Danny Scott, to be at or near the top of the SCVA standings all year long this season. Scott has two dynamic returnees in Gatorade National Player of the Year Krista Vansant and quick middle Jasmine Eatmon, a blocking force. Alyssa Mason, another big blocker headed to Pepperdine, also will be key for a team that has upgraded its setting from a year ago with athletic junior Ciara Richards. The big question is who will replace graduated power hitter Delainey Aigner-Swesey. Versatile MacKenzie Roddy, who has added heat from a year ago, when she was the starter on the right, will get first crack.

The Pun: Is Eatmon’s favorite food “jerk chicken?” (This is not mean. “Mon” is a common word in Jamaica where jerk chicken is famous – frustrated that I have to explain this to avoid the nasty emails…)


12. Tampa Bay “City Rollers” (Florida)

The Facts: Tied for third at AAUs and T-11 at Junior Nationals in 17 Open a year ago, Tampa Bay, which is down to just two teams for 2011, will look to its 18s to carry the torch for the club. The team has a nice blend of seniors and juniors, newcomers and holdovers. Seniors to watch include outside hitters Alex Johnson and Lexi Weldon, a high flyer from Tallahassee; MB Lauran Eschenroeder and libero Natasha Rowland. Of the team’s five juniors, setter Mackenzie Dagostino, MB Sarah Burrington and OH Jordan Burgess, Florida’s Gatorade POY, were recently recognized as among the top 50 junior recruits in the country.

The Pun: Tampa’s defense is so steady you could claim they bore us with Natasha.


13. Nebraska “Tear” Elite (Nebraska)

The Facts: I’m totally bullish about this team, which should be even better than last year’s “Thriller” edition, which took 10th in 18 Open at Junior Nationals. Two key members of that 18s team are back: setter Michelle Sicner and RS Emily Wilson, both top 100 Senior Aces. They are joined by four from last year’s 17s squad, which qualified in Open, plus four talented newcomers: MB Lillian Schonewise, the top 100 Senior Ace move in from Kansas; hard-hitting Tara Curtiss from Lincoln Elite Lasers and the athletic Brand sisters, Stephanie and Katie Brand from Grand Island. If the chemistry is there, this should be a fun, athletic group to watch.

The Pun: The Grand Island imports will be better for the team but coach Nick Schuster also thinks it will improve the Brand.


14. City Beach “Blanket Bingo” (California)

The Facts: A NorCal insider predicted that this City Beach team would be MUCH better than the 18s team that finished 13th in Open a year ago. Three return off of that team -- Top 100 Senior Ace Savannah Paffen, smart RS Konomi Yokoyama and junior libero Taylor Formico, who was MVP of the Division II state championships as a setter. Five from the 17s team that also qualified in Open, including high flying OH Priscilla Ezeji and MBs Elle Moffatt and Caroline Walters, join them. For several years this City Beach team has been playing in Vision’s shadow. Is this the year for the Beach to shine?

The Pun: This team has a lot of serious personalities. OH Caitlin DeWitt’s the funny one.


15. A5 “for Fighting” (Georgia)

The Facts: Those in the know say that this will be the best 18s team that A5 has ever put on the floor. Eight from last year’s team that finished 14th in Reno in 17 Open return, including four, libero Danielle Thompson, OHs Mary Hoey and Zoey Morton and MB Lauren Teknipp, who have been high school classification state Players of the Year. Bob Westbrook’s team lost longtime setter Maggie Smith to retirement, but has two talented newcomers in athletic Kaylee Kehoe and physical Katie Potts. MB Delaina Sarden, a wonderful athlete who played on A5’s second team a year ago, could give this group a new dimension at the net.

The Pun: OH Gaby Smiley is the face of the franchise.


16. “Bermuda” Triangle (North Carolina)

The Facts: Ooh boy, does this team look good on paper! All world junior setter Madison Bugg and Tennessee-bound libero Alston Kearns return from the 18 Black team that double qualified for Nationals a year ago. They’ll be joined by a talented core that went 7-3 in Reno in the 17 National division – including OH Karson Ratliff and North Carolina Gatorade POY Kris Harris, a 6-2 middle. Ashleigh Crutcher, a 6-0 outside, returns to Triangle after a year away, while fast middle Caroline Douglas joins for her senior year. If the ball control is there, this should be an impressive team to watch.

The Pun: A veteran with the club is Camden Spade.


17. “North By” Northwest Oregon Juniors (Oregon)

The Facts: Four from last year’s team that finished 21st in 18 Open at Junior Nationals plus six from the 18 American national champs join together to form what may become the best 18s team ever from the Pacific Northwest. The key players are Liz Brenner, two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and a top 100 Senior Ace headed to Oregon; Martenne Bettendorf, a 6-2 sledgehammer junior on the outside; athletic setter Meredith Coba and versatile attacker Cheyne Corrado. Newcomer Tineka Bierma, who stands 6-3, could be a shut down blocker on the right side.

The Pun: Setter Alyssa Foster will attend Cal State San Marcos on scholarship or as the parents like to call it, a “Foster Grant.”


18. 1st Alliance “and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” (Illinois)

The Facts: T-5 in Reno last summer in 17 Open, Alliance will make a run at the upper echelon again this year with seven returning players, including setter Alexis Viliunas and Under Armour All America Jocelynn Birks from Illinois state champion Lyons Township and amazing libero Carks Niedospial. Big blocking middle Heather Boyan and OH Sofija Cucuz, who possesses phenomenal arm speed, are two newcomers for head coach Jackie Simpson, a former Wisconsin star setter who I can’t believe is 25 years old.

The Pun: The team took a survey of favorite cereals. Vicky Wrobel liked Apple Jacks. Katie Krasowski preferred Special K. For Cucuz, it was Cocoa Puffs.


19. KiVA “Lee Under the Mat” (Kentucky)

The Facts: The core of this team won both the AAU National Champions in 17 Open a year ago and the Kentucky state high school title last fall, so you know they’re good. Just how good remains to be seen, as KiVA teams historically do not transition to the 18s and remain at the tippy top of the game. Jen Houser, the Gatorade award winner for Kentucky, and Defensive Dandy Jackie Napper will be among those trying to reverse that trend.

The Pun: KiVA players are largely tomboys who retain their femininity. OH Taylor is Allgeier.


20. Laguna “Matata” (California)

The Facts: You look at this roster and you think this is a team that should be good, not great. But the bet here is they will surprise us all, just as the 17s did a year ago when they were first nationally for a good part of it. If senior OH Sam Tinsley is back at 100 percent from a knee injury that cost her the 2010 high school season, the strength of this team should lie on the outside, where she’ll be joined by power hitters Kaila Thomas and Nora Tuioti-Mariner, two Top 100 Senior Aces. The team also has a glut at the setter position, with talented juniors Allison Palmer and JoJo Schnabl (who played for Long Beach last year) plus senior Shellsy Ashen. Libero Molly Yoder is as good as it gets.

The Pun: With hard-hitting Danielle White and Claire Ham patrolling the middle, coach Michael Soylular can call his tandem “Ham and Cheese.”


21. “A” Team Z (Ohio)

The Facts: We are not sure what to make of Team Z, after three players quit from last year’s team, two recently. The sextet currently on the roster – including Top 100 Senior Aces Liz McMahon, Lexi Dannemiller and Kori Moster plus top junior Megan Courtney – are so good that good health and a few warm bodies should make them a top squad nationally.

The Pun: OH Taryn Ward plays over at St. Henry in Northern Kentucky and crosses the river to play club ball in Ohio. That makes her not a Ward of the state. (This is a repeat pun from last year. Don’t tell anyone)


22. Skyline “Chili” (Texas)

The Facts: This Skyline team has kind of been underappreciated by me over the past couple of years despite qualifying in Open each time. Newcomers Katie O’Brien and Stephanie Holland give Jon Rye’s team more starpower, but the same blue collar kids, Caroline Weir, Autumn Ellison, Margeaux Mendenhall, Hope Ogden…, are back as well. This isn’t the tallest 18s team in the world, but no one will outwork them.

The Pun: I can think of 144 reasons to love 6-0 senior middle Taylor Gross.


23. “God Bless” Texas Advantage (Texas)

The Facts: The defending age group national champs have undergone a bit of a transformation since last summer, when they were celebrating with Gold Medals in Reno. Gone are OHs Katie O’Brien and Natalie Puckett, RS Stephanie Holland, MB Alexis Mourning and libero Jayma Mickler. The team should still be formidable, however, with MVP Caylin Mahoney returning to the setter position. She’ll have Lizzie Theesfeld and Katie Neisler on the outside and strong middles, returnees Whitney Little and Megan Short, both ironically 6-3, and Skyline transfer Olivia Okoro, a top 25 Senior Ace. 6-3 RS Anna McGee is another newcomer for coach John Sample.

The Pun: Taylor Story goes strictly by the book.



24. Club West “Early Winds” (California)

The Facts: Club West finished near the bottom of 17 Open in Reno one year after challenging for the title in 16 Open. The roster is stacked with two talented setters, Ashley Maxfeldt and Jackie Macy, 6-4 MB Mercedes Binns, a high-ceiling senior, and two incredible senior liberos, Natalie Bookout-GonzalezKasimira Clark. What this team needs is sustained good health and the belief that it can compete with and defeat those elite local foes with more pedigree and sand between their toes.

The Pun:  When Tirah Leau delivers her typical smashes from the right side this year, don’t be surprised to hear head coach Kurt Vlasich say, “That’s the tastiest crunch I’ve ever heard!”


25. Capital “Improvements” (Wisconsin)

The Facts: Capital split its talent into two 18s teams a year ago, with five underclassmen on each squad. Both played Open at AAUs last year. One team tied for fifth, the other was 30th. Seven, including powerful hitters Lindsey Gosh, Kaitlyn McIntyre and Ashley Ring and libero Kalie Endres, are back and the team adds two in 6-3 All State middle Libby Bresser, a blocking force who also is good off of one foot; and 5-8 senior All State setter Hannah Cahoon, a tough competitor. Two-time Wisconsin Gatorade winner Crystal Graff was on this team a year ago, but departed high school early for Wisconsin. Had she stuck around, this team could have found its way into the pre-season top 10.

The Pun: Most volleyball players I meet are very genuine. Capital’s Jillian Bauer is also genuflect.


 
26. “Lake” Michigan Elite (Michigan)

The Facts: The 17 National champs kept a couple of their key players – Maddy Doyle and Chloe Reinig – at 17s this year, but that doesn’t mean that Ed Ruhl’s team isn’t formidable. Two members of Marian’s Class A state championship team – MB Alessandra Dietz and Gatorade POY Alex Lovell – and two members of North Branch’s Class B runner up team – libero Catherine Brusie and Michigan Miss Volleyball Jordan Fish – anchor this strong, deep squad.

The Pun: DS Erin Klostermann is going to Notre Dame. Combine her with the coach and what do you get? The Golden Ruhl!


27. Texas Pride “Of Lions” (Texas)

The Facts: A new club but not a new team, Pride boasts 10 from the TX Tornados 17s team that tied for 15th in Reno last year, plus 18s setter Caitlin Ogletree and energetic Brazos Valley transfer Julia Westerbur. Chuck Schneider coaches this team, which doesn’t have the big, powerful elite middle but has a lot of everything else.

The Pun: Daniela Arenas is at home in the gym.


28. Sports Performance “Anxiety” (Illinois)

The Facts: SPVB’s second team, formerly known as “Red,” will be awfully good. They have four, including middles Lainey Wyman and Shealynn Kolosky, from the 17 Mizuno team that tied for ninth at AAUs last summer. Two from last year’s 18 Elite team, libero Gina Madonia and physical setter/hitter Jenna Jendryk also are on this squad, as is Illini Elite setter Hannah Crippen.

The Pun: When defender Taylor Reckards goes horizontal for a dig it’s known as a “floppy disk.”


29. TCA “Okay” (California)

The Facts: After one year with club founder Neil Mason, former Penn State assistant Steve Aird gets his crack with this group, which finished middle of the pack last year at 17 Open. Many of the team’s stars are back – OHs Morgan Boukather, Cassie Strickland and Courtney Castle and setter Jianna Bonomi. The team picked up two new middles, including Allison Riggs from Surf City, but once again, defense will be key. To that end, Surf City’s Savannah Clark should be a key contributor in the libero position.

The Pun: Ali Moskitis joins Savannah in the back court, giving the defense a lot of bite.


30. Nike Six Pack “Abs” (Iowa)

The Facts: Jay Grassley has himself a talented team in Cedar Falls, a nice blend of young and veteran talent. Five of the best players from the 16s team that tied for 11th a year ago in Reno combine with two holdovers from the 18s, OH Rachel Peth and MB Kelsey Roggemann. Two newcomers, MB Courtney Kintzel and libero Katie Kelley, complete the squad.

The Pun: Junior Morgan Kuhrt may be short with you, but the Iowa State-bound attacker does her talking on the court.


31. KC Power “to the People” (Kansas)

The Facts:   Power won the 16 Open national championship two years ago, but may have a tougher time battling the elite at the 18s level. The core group of this team consists of hard-nosed, athletic players but there isn’t a tremendous amount of size on the roster. Under Armour All America OH Hanna Forst, fast MB Grace Whitley and versatile lefty junior Shelby Workman are the headliners for this team, which lost No. 12 Senior Ace Lillian Schonewise, a 6-2 MB, when her family moved back to Nebraska. This team also has a new head coach in Dave Johnson, who replaces Mike Stowell after Stowell spent several years with this group.

The Pun: Three players headed to Oklahoma are on the roster. In this age of leaving early for college, this is an example of three players going Sooner yet still playing their last year of club.


32. “Weeping” Willowbrook (Texas)

The Facts: Willowbrook 18 Red qualified in Open a year ago and took 19th in Reno. Only one returns off of that team, but what a one: OH/MB Katie Messing, a Pepperdine recruit and No, 14 Senior Ace. Add Messing and TX Tornados standouts Katzy Randall and Paige Holland to a 17 Red team that last year finished T-5 in 17 National and you have all the ingredients for a team that should take a huge step up this year.

The Pun: I don’t know which of the newcomers will see playing time, but UT-Arlington-bound OH Amy Davault is a lock.


33.  OVA “Lox” (Florida)

The Facts: MB Jade Vorster’s off to Hawaii – a big loss – but OVA returns everyone else from last year’s squad that tied for seventh in 17 Open, including attackers Lauren Adkins and Kirsten Watson and a strong defense, led by Gabby Shipe, Molly Winger and Madison Monserez, which got stronger with the addition of Ansley Gebben, who can also hit, from the 18 Asics team last year.

The Pun: Two on this team, Winger and MB Denise Dearman, are committed to Columbia. I aint Lion.


34. “Grab a Piece of the” Rockwood Thunder (Missouri)

The Facts: Seven from last year’s team that took 10th in 17 Open are back, including physical setter Aubree Smith, libero Abby Moser, big blocking Taylor Masterson and attackers Helen Boyle and Emily Keaton. Newcomers Jackie Harter and Jordan Timmerman should fit in well. They are experienced and athletic.

The Pun: Boyle is so excited about this team that she could just burst.


35. Sunshine “Cleaning” (California)

The Facts: This is essentially the same team that took 21st in 17 Open a year ago. The key to this team’s success lies in the middle, where Taylor Bantle is much improved from a year ago and Toni Alugbue, who may also play on the pin, is a high flying terminator. Alex Nyman, Emma White and Kellie Barnum are three more to watch for Heather Cullen’s team.

The Pun: While the team’s offense will be sometimes spectacular, the defense is very Workman like.


36. “Country” Club Utah (Utah)

The Facts: After finishing middle of the pack in 17 Open in Reno, Club Utah returns its most powerful front row players, including OHs Chelsey SchofieldKim Dahl, middles Nicole Koehler and Kaitlyn Vanhoff, 6-2 S/MB Sam Staker and 6-5 RS Elle Brainard (I’m confused…Maurielle Pollard?). Newcomer McKenna Tait, the biggest name of the three additions, wil probably concentrate on defense, as will Jentry Hatch.

 
The Pun: There’s a ton of size on this team. Even so, you can’t miss Staker.


37. “On” Colorado Juniors (Colorado)

The Facts: Since they first caught our eye as 15s, this CJ squad has always been blessed with a ton of individual talent. Last year, they made the step up to Open, but struggled in Reno. The team, anchored by Nebraska signee Taylor Simpson, returns virtually intact, with the addition of terrific libero Sarah Kosbab. Key to this team’s fortunes may be how quickly MB Elsa Krieg returns following ACL surgery.

The Pun: Nikki Glass can be a pane.


38. “Eminence” Front Range (Colorado)

The Facts: The jury’s out on this Front Range team, due largely to Morgan Bohl’s knee injury suffered during the state tournament. She’s not expected back for coach Jim Miret, who returns two, MB Anna Faul and libero Laura Whalen, from his 18s squad of a year ago. Several newcomers off of a talented 16s team last year, including Setter/Hitters Nicole Edelman and Gatorade winner Nicole Dalton, both Top 50 juniors, give this team a fighting chance.

The Pun: Many teams have a hitter playing libero. Front Range has a Breaux who’s a hitter.


39. Wave “Goodbye” (California)

The Facts: After winning 16 National two years ago, this team qualified in 17 Open a year ago and finished T-27 in Reno. That’s the kind of team this is: a good, solid squad with nice talent like Lauren Birks, Karsta Lowe, Annie Francis, Maddie Rudnick and Under Armour All America libero MacKenzie Gilbert, but not one that will threaten for a medal in Atlanta. A return to health of senior middle Alexa Armstrong (knee) could make this team much more competitive against the nation’s elite.

The Pun: Francis has earned her “Stripes” on this team, but she spends too many days worshipping the sun, which prompts us to say, “Lighten up, Francis!” (Ask your dad about the reference)


40. M1 “for the Money, Two for the Show” (Minnesota)

The Facts: Senior setter Kellie McNeil, a leading candidate for the Andi Collins Award, is off early to Minnesota. Otherwise, this team would be much, much higher. Several key players from the 17s team that McNeil set, which finished T-5 at AAUs, are back, including tall middle Adrianna Nora and pin players Emily McDonough, Alexis Robinson and Sara Atkinson. Felicia Ulrich, who played up on the 18s a year ago, is another serious threat from the outside.

The Pun: DS Cassie Yurick, at 5-4, is small for a volleyball player. Should we call Yurick “ant acid?”

TAV, led by Junior Nationals MVP Caylin Mahoney, is our top 17s team for 2010.

With a very heavy emphasis on year-end performance, here now are the final national rankings for the 2010 club season in the 17s division:

1. Texas Advantage “Rent a Car” (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 6
Last ranking: 4

The undisputed national champs, Texas Advantage won 17 Open in Reno and also won the JVA World Challenge over Easter weekend, defeating AAU national champion KiVA in the finals. This is the team that won several qualifiers in a row as 15s and 16s, but did not put it all together at the year-end events. The addition of coach Ping Cao, a proven closer, helped take TAV to the Promised Land.  


2.  KiVA “Beava” ()
Pre-season ranking: 3
Last ranking: 6

KiVA lost its last pool play match at AAUs to MI Elite. Just like that, what was expected to be a finals showdown with Sky High became a Round of 16 struggle to survive. KiVA won that match and beat Milwaukee Sting, then survived a semifinal tussle with to reach the finals, where it outlasted Synergy in three sets. Tourney MVP Jeni Houser as well as All Americans Courtney Robison and Claire Gerwig will all be seniors for Louisville Assumption this fall.  


3. Synergy “Willickers” ()
Pre-season ranking: 17
Last ranking: 29

For the second straight year, Synergy came on very strongly at season’s end. With Maggie Deichmeister and Mackenzie Kleespies starring, the team reached the finals of the AAU national championships despite playing most of the event without libero Tabitha Maurer, who suffered a concussion. Maurer did not make the trip to for Junior Nationals and Synergy lost Deichmeister to a knee injury on the first day. Remarkably, Synergy kept winning all the way to the championship match, becoming the first team ever to reach a USAV Open championship final.


4.  KC Power “to the People” ()
Pre-season ranking: 5
Last ranking: 2

Last year’s national champs cruised through pool play at Nationals without a loss, but got stunned by Synergy in the Challenge phase. They also lost their next and final match of the season to 1st , a downer on a season that included three major championships, including two qualifier titles in three starts.


5. Vision “Quest” ()
Pre-season ranking: 18
Last ranking: 7

Allie Frappier’s heroic effort helped Vision, which smashed TAV to win Crossroads in March, overcome in a Challenge match to reach the Final Four. That got Will Yuen’s team a rematch with TAV in the semifinals. Alas, Vision could not repeat the magic and fell in straight sets to the eventual champs.


6.  “Blow It All” Sky High ()
Pre-season ranking: 2
Last ranking: 1

Ah, what might have been. Sky High, which won 16 Open at AAUs in 2009, was on its way to a repeat in 17 Open in 2010, having won 16 straight sets by an average score of 25-18. But a loss to KiVA in the Round of 16 abruptly ended Sky High’s season three matches short of the finals.


7. Laguna “Momento” ()
Pre-season ranking: 21
Last ranking: 5

The top seeds at Junior Nationals came to undermanned, with injuries to setter Allison Palmer and hitters Sam Tinsley and Kaila Thomas. With a libero hitting outside and the rest of the team stepping up, Laguna made the most of Junior Nationals, winning its final four matches to finish courageously in 13th place.


8.  Dallas Premier “Or Mirror on the Wall” (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 23
Last ranking: 14

Premier opened Junior Nationals with a three-set win over Synergy that helped it win Pool 2 and get to the Challenge phase, where it defeated 1st Alliance. That earned Premier a Final Four spot, where Synergy awaited once more. This time, the Pennsylvanians got the best of Mike Minnis’ squad, relegating Premier to a third-place finiah.


9.  Mizuno “Towels” ()
Pre-season ranking: 4
Last ranking: 3

Setter Megan Moenoa was hobbled in due to an ankle injury. She did not play on Day 1, but gutted it out the rest of the way. She was in the lineup when upended Coast in a tense three-set match to advance. defeated AVA in one Challenge match but could not get by Vision in a fight for the Final Four. , perhaps the most talented 17s team in the country, thus settled for fifth place at Junior Nationals.


10. “I Saw Her” 1st Alliance (Illinois)
Pre-season ranking: 13
Last ranking: 16

Alliance lost its first two matches at Nationals, both in three sets, then caught fire, winning six matches in a row until being eliminated from contention by Dallas Premier in a Challenge match. Led by Jocelynn Birks, regrouped to beat KC Power, then agreed to a draw with that meant T-5s for both teams.


11. “Better Off” Dead Frog ()
Pre-season ranking: HHM
Last ranking: 26


12.  OVA “Lox” ()
Pre-season ranking: 16
Last ranking: 19


13. AVA of “Toast” ()
Pre-season ranking: 12
Last ranking: 9


14.  “Oh Nets” ()
Pre-season ranking: 9
Last ranking: 12


15. “Emerald” Illini Elite ()
Pre-season ranking: 14
Last ranking: 15


16. “Extreme” Sports Performance ()
Pre-season ranking: 27
Last ranking: 17


17. Sting “Rays” ()
Pre-season ranking: 15
Last ranking: 27


18. Rockwood Thunder “Down Under” ()
Pre-season ranking: 22
Last ranking: 10


19. A5 “for Fighting” ()
Pre-season ranking: 20
Last ranking: 11


20. “Mash” Michigan Elite ()
Pre-season ranking: HM
Last ranking: HM


21. “Great White” Oklahoma Peak Performance (Oklahoma)
Pre-season ranking: 36
Last ranking: 22


22. Skyline “Item Veto” ()
Pre-season ranking: HM
Last ranking: 28


23.  Texas Tornados “Off” (Texas)
Pre-season ranking: 11
Last ranking: 8


24. M1 “is the Loneliest Number” ()
Pre-season ranking: 29
Last ranking: 33


25. CYC “ ” ()
Pre-season ranking: HM
Last ranking: 35


26. Club “Inspiring” ()
Pre-season ranking: 31
Last ranking: 23


27. Coast “to the Finish Line” ()
Pre-season ranking: 10
Last ranking: 18


28.  TCA “Okay” ()
Pre-season ranking: 10
Last ranking: 18


29.  “A” Team Z ()
Pre-season ranking: 1
Last ranking: 37


30. Sunshine “on My Shoulder” ()
Pre-season ranking: 26
Last ranking: 21


31.  Iowa Rockets “Red Glare” (Iowa)
Pre-season ranking: 7
Last ranking: 24


32. 951 “Timer” ()
Pre-season ranking: 37
Last ranking: 30


33. “Cobbler” ()
Pre-season ranking: 33
Last ranking: 25


34. Asics “Shooter” MAVS  ()
Pre-season ranking: not ranked
Last ranking: 34


35. “Flats” Elite ()
Pre-season ranking: HM
Last ranking: 32

CVA (Ohio)
Northern Lights (Minnesota)
SF Juniors (California)
TAV Blue (Texas)
Union (Indiana)
Wave (California)
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Honorable Mention

1st Alliance Black (Illinois)
A5 172 (Georgia)
Academy Cleveland (Ohio)
Alamo (Texas)
Bakersfield (California)
Bexar County (Texas)
CC Wave (Texas)
Cleveland Volleyball Company (Ohio)
Club Fusion (Illinois)
Club One (Oklahoma)
Colorado Juniors Brian (Colorado)
Downstate (New York)
El Paso Wildfire (Texas)
FC Elite (Wisconsin)
Force (California)
Impact (California)
JJVA (Florida)
KNVBC – Topeka Impact (Kansas)
Legacy (California)
Legacy (Michigan)
MAVA (Kentucky)
Munciana (Indiana)
MVA (Michigan)
Niagara Frontier (New York)
Orange County (California)
Piedmont (North Carolina)
Rage (California)
Rocket City (Alabama)
Rolling Thunder (Illinois)
San Diego VBC (California)
Southwest Asics (Texas)
Spiral (Arizona)
Sports Shack (California)
Springfield Juniors (Missouri)
Surf City (California)
TAV Blue (Texas)
Team Atlantis (Ohio)
Top Select (Florida)
Triangle (North Carolina)
TVC (Ohio)
Vision Blue (California)
Willowbrook (Texas)
WI Juniors (Wisconsin)

© 2010 PrepVolleyball.com. Do not reproduce without permission

Sammie Bane electrified for Union 17 Prather

We wrap up the Mideast Qualifier below with no talk of seeding controversy, bizarre formats or makeshift divider nets. What’s done is done. With a 180-team increase over last year, the qualifier demonstrated that USA Volleyball is alive and well in the Midwest (?) and gave us story lines that will endure for years to come.

Abby Moser hates this picture, but it displays the intensity with which she played the liberio position for Rockwood Thunder

Hanna Forst hit and dug well for KC Power

Christina Ambrose played big in the middle for OVA

Cindy Zhou was one of two strong Sky High setters

The quarterfinals for 15 American were some great matches. After two days of solid play, there were 8 teams left in the gold bracket and teams began to face off in hope of making it to the finals where they would fight for that one and only Junior National bid.

The first quarterfinal was a match up between Ultimate G15 Gold and Texas Tornados 15 Silver. Though Tornados won in two, Ultimate gave them a run for their money. Outside hitter Sarah Wegrzyn for Ultimate kept the ball coming fast from the outside and remained a huge and reliable weapon for the team throughout both sets. With a 10-4 deficit in one of the sets, Ultimate’s Nicole Manno served her team all the way back to tie it up at 10-10. However, Tornados took the lead once more with an incredible dig by Emily Billingsley and their consistent and powerful right side Samantha Mifflin would finish several long rallies with emphatic kills. Tornados Silver off to the semifinals!

The next quarterfinal match was between PVCA 151 and Impact 151. This was a close three-set match in which Impact and their blocking machine Yanesha Johnson would pull it off in the end. Krystal Faison for Impact kept her team's intensity high and was extremely aggressive. PVCA’s setter Dana Krizan was really solid throughout the whole match and continued to deliver a consistent ball to her hitters. But with a solo block from Faison to switch sides at 8 in the third set, Impact would take over the match. Johnson again was a force at the net for Impact putting down several balls in set three and finishing with a sly tip to win.

Back in the very corner of the convention center, Stars and Spikes 15 and Sunsetters 15 Elite battled it out until Stars and Spikes finally came out on top 17-15 in the third set thriller. Powerful hitter Rachel Kent and good setting by Annamarie Cianicio led Sunsetters the whole match. Stars and Spikes fed the ball to Monique Harris on the outside, giving them smart kill after smart kill. Alyson Knutsen for Stars and Spikes would start off set three with an ace, but Sunsetters’ Molly Sturlis responded and served her team to a 4-1 lead. Although Sunsetters were up 8-2 at the switch, Stars and Spikes’ height and the strength of Alyssa Wing would begin the come back. Stars and Spikes’ Allison Vandermore took her team on a serving run bringing the score to 7-9. Yet Sunsetters’ Lily Neppl put a ball straight down to giver her team a 14-10 lead, but with a block from Stars and Spikes’ Vandermore, her team would fight back to make it 14-14. The just-gained momentum for Stars and Spikes would be too much for Sunsetters and Stars and Spikes’ Erin Mead put a ball away to finish the match.

The final quarterfinal match was a match up between Chicago Juniors 15-1 and Springfield 15 Blue. ’s Jessica Maurer dominated this two set match. (Remember her name as she is a future star) and her heavy arm on the outside continually put the ball away for her team. ’s setter Michelle Konecki had great hands and continued to feed hitter Kelly Clarke, who blasted through ’s big front line several times. But the blocking machine for Emily Thater would assure her team a win to move onto the semifinals.

Impact 151 and Texas Tornados Silver were the first semifinal to match up. This was a three-set match that was won in the end by the very consistent play of the Tornados and too many passing errors by Impact. Impact’s Faison was so much fun to watch and though she was smaller, she played huge at the net and her passion for the game was present through every point. Tornado libero Samantha Finkenstaedt was almost errorless, making her serve receive almost perfect every time. Faison led her team to the win in set one, but consistently tough serving by Tornado middle Taylor Thompson, would win Tornados set two. With hard fight from both teams, Tornados would pull it out in the end and off to the finals they went!

In the next semifinal match, would continue their dominating play over the field as they had all weekend.  This two-set match was once again lead by strong outside hitter Maurer for . setter Sarah Kreul also was a standout because of her high volleyball IQ and great setting hands.

The three-game thriller final was exactly what a bid match should be like. It was obvious both 15 Blue and Texas Tornados 15 Silver were out to seal their bid and trip to in June!

took the court wearing loud, fun beach surfer shorts, but it didn't intimidate the Tornados who started the finals match by winning the first set. Would bounce back? It was the first set that they had lost all weekend. Tornados took the first game led by great shots from the front row by Amy Hlozek and tremendous defense by Emily Billingsley from the backrow. ’s amazing outside hitter, Maurer, though, would continue to respond with forceful swings down the line the entire match. Monica Martinez would give Tornados a solid start in game two, but ’s Emily Thater would be too much of a force at the net in game two. Tornado’s Hannah Bullock helped her team by solid serve receive passes and teammate Billingsley backed her team up with great one arm digs. ’s Maurer swung over Tornados’ block in set two to tie the score at 21-21. Tornado’s Bullock responded with a line kill to give them a 22-21 lead. But with two stuff blocks from Thater in the final points, would take the second set. Set three started off with an 11-2 lead by , but Tornados fought hard to bring the score back to 7-11. However, with two kills from Maurer off two great sets from Kreul, would close out the match, 15-9, and win their bid to .

15 National

Like 15 American, the hunt for that one bid to would begin with the gold bracket quarterfinal matches.  All teams were ready to win!

The first quarterfinal match was a face off between Texas Tornados 15 Black and Legacy 15 National. Outside hitter Kerstin Jenkins led Tornados throughout the match by consistency and strength from the outside. Legacy’s Amy Bodien with hands as sweet as sugar also contributed great defense and leadership. Bodien sprawled out for a pancake in set one to give her team a 24-23 lead. In game two, Tornados’ Sarah Denheim went on a five point serving run for her team bringing the score from 14-14 to 19-14. Each team with one set win, game three was up for grabs. Tornado’s libero Skyeler Aguado made some crucial plays to keep the ball off the ground, but Legacy’s Jamie Coleman would be the difference maker in the front row. Legacy would seal the deal to head to the semifinals with a solo stuff block by Isabelle Glancy.

KC Extreme 15 Black would win the next quarterfinal match in two sets against UNO Girls 15 Elite. Despite the great swings from UNO hitters Morgan Reardon and T’ara Austin, KC Extreme’s dominant hitter Torian Kerr would lead her team to victory. KC Extreme’s Ashley Allegri was also a standout hitter and Lindsey Maxwell was a wall at the net the entire match.

With both sets with a score of 25-23, Asics MAVS 15 Molten overcame Titan Juniors in this quarterfinal match. MAVS’ libero Katie Bartolac kept the energy high and the balls up the entire match in the backrow. Titan Juniors’ Taylor Sandbothe remained a threat at the net with several good blocks, but MAVS’ Brianna Lewis continually responded out of the middle. MAVS off to the semifinals!

Ozark Juniors 151 and Iowa Rockets 15R took their quarterfinal match to three sets, with Iowa Rockets moving on to the semifinals. The setter for Ozark Juniors, Aubrey Edil, definitely has a bright future! She was not only tall and graceful, but she had beautiful hands and jump set almost every ball. Iowa Rockets’ Alexus Rogers would help her team by using her super athletic ability and Audrey Reeg was a major impact on the outside for as well. Ozark Juniors’ Hannah Pinter placed the ball nicely on shots from the outside and libero Tatum Marshall was solid. Iowa Rockets would pull out the win in the end.

Iowa Rockets would win the first semifinal match in two sets against Asics MAVS 15 Molten. It wasn’t for a lack of trying though. MAVS’ setter Kathrin Davis was deceptive and kept on its heels. ’s Michaela Nelson was a player out of the backrow and outside hitter Audrey Reeg was at times unstoppable on the outside. MAVS’ Abigail Rhodes was a solid server and Lewis backed her teammates up with three blocks in game two. ’s Reeg was set the last five balls of the match, and put them away to finish out the match for her team.

The next semifinal match was Legacy 15 National playing KC Extreme 15 Black. This match went to three sets, with Legacy finally coming out on top. Legacy’s Jamie Coleman would start her team off strong in game one with a solid net play and block. KC Extreme’s Allegri was a smart attacker throughout the match and took advantage of her “against the flow” sets. Legacy’s Alexis Schultz was not only good defensively, but she gave her team a several point serving run. Setter Bodien continued to be a standout setter especially because of her great defensive plays before releasing to set. Legacy off to the finals!

The final was a match up between Iowa Rockets 15R and Legacy 15 National. Both teams were eager for that one bid to Junior Nationals!

Iowa Rockets 15R dominated the finals match against Legacy 15 National. In a two set match, held Legacy to scores of 25-7 and 25-15. Iowa Rockets’ Katherine Wetjen was a middle monster and she continued to hit smart shots to the corners. Reeg for was an absolute beast on the outside and she was a definite terminator for her team. The setter for , Erin Muir, was very smart throughout the match and delivered the ball nicely to her hitters. ’s had a powerful kill to right back in game two to give them 24 and Rachel Rinehart sealed the match for her team with a kill. Iowa Rockets get to book their trip to !

Freshman Shelby Workman was sensational in KC Power's 16 Open run. Photo by www.arcticferret.us

We’ve covered Friday’s action, M1’s inspirational wins and the Club scene in other articles. This one wraps up MEQ 2009 for PrepVolleyball.com, as much as one man can see and report from the weekend in .

Before describing the action, some observations on matters outside the lines:

Thumbs Up! To the MEQ staff (and not just because they comped me a room at the Marriott). The folks from who run the Mizuno Hoosier Mideast Qualifier have always been very helpful to me and it seems to all who need assistance. I know when I come to that my questions will be answered readily and with good humor.  

Thumbs Up! To downtown , which ranks with and as best qualifier cities. The Skywalk, the Circle Centre Mall, the abundant restaurants, the easy access…all made staying where the action was pleasant and convenient.

Thumbs up! To Select 18s DS Brooke Nichols. Nichols, a wonderful young lady I first knew as the pin trader extraordinaire at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic last summer, was raspy voiced before attempting the national anthem Sunday morning. She was singing before a huge throng for the first time AND the convention center PA went down moments before it was her time. Unfazed, she belted, I mean BELTED – what a powerhouse voice – out the Star Spangled Banner. Amazing!

Thumbs up! To the snack shack inside the convention center. No one touches the for its food choices. And the snack shack in Indy has never merited a mention before. But I’ve been coming here a lot and wanted to give kudos to the Diet Coke (actually tasted like Diet Coke this year!), the hot dogs (big!) and the breakfast specials (good and affordable!). I don’t eat much when I’m covering a tournament, but no lines and fast food made me take notice of the snack shack for the first time.

Thumbs down! To the court setup. It looks like they used every inch of the convention center to squeeze in 70 courts, but that made for crowded conditions watching several courts, especially the ones with the ultimate matches. Plus the court numbering system was confusing. As someone who has to visit several courts in the same hour, getting around was very difficult. And when I came late to a match, finding a vantage point was challenging.

Thumbs down! To the bathrooms at the convention center. Simply put, there aren’t enough of them. If you were watching on court 52, it might take you 10 minutes to weave your way through people and courts to find a bathroom, take care of your biz and weave your way back.


Finally, to the Action!  

16 Open

I’ll start in the 16 Open division which, in my view, was the best, most competitive and most interesting of the three open divisions. These are teams that, as 15s, I didn’t get to see much of a year ago, but I was mighty impressed with what I saw over the weekend. Many college coaches commented that the 2011 class was deeper than the 2010 class and I’m inclined to agree.

By Saturday morning, the 38-team field had been whittled to 24. That number included four third-place finishers in Day 1 pools, Nashville One, NKYVC, Cincy Classics and Southwest Illinois, which had earned their way back into Division I.

Pool 1 had such a team in Classics, but it could not take advantage of the second chance. Classics took games off of A5 and Austin Juniors, but could not win a match despite nice work from Megan Kavanaugh, an undersized middle.

The story of this pool was Texas Tornados. This is a team with scary ability and a seasoned coach in Tara Cross-Battle, but when Austin Juniors dominated them in the fourth match of this pool, Tornados faced a must win situation versus A5 else be eliminated from bid contention. A5 was sitting pretty at 2-0, after besting Austin and MB Ella Praisner for the sweep and having used its size and the hitting of Delaney Dameron and Mary Hoey to escape Classics in three. Austin also was rooting for A5 – a Tornados loss would put AJV in second place and advancing to Gold.

The first game was key, which is good because it’s the only one I saw (when you’re sitting on 16 courts at once, you don’t get to see nearly as much as you’d like). A5 led 11-10 in the set and had Tornados parents wondering when their “real” team was going to show up. I chuckled because ALL parents talk like that when things aren’t going well. Anyway, with OH Zoey Morton taking Maggie Smith sets and scoring effectively on the left, A5 managed to maintain a slim lead late into the set. This, despite the amazing efficiency of Tornados RS Savannah Myklebust, who seemed to score on virtually every swing. Facing set point, Caroline Young, Tornados’ other right side, got the equalizing kill and saved the next set point with another scoring shot, as the Texans seemed to be exploiting A5’s smaller left-side block. Tied at 26-26, Tornados finally broke through. Serena Warner, the quick middle (compared to the prodigious power of Jill Ivy), scored to give Tornados a game point. Myklebust then finished off the exciting 28-26 win. Game 2 wasn’t nearly as fun, as Tornados pulled away for the 25-15 win that not only secured the sweep, it won them the pool.

Thus, A5 and Austin Juniors were forced to play off one set to 25 to see who would remain in Gold. A5 won the playoff, 26-24, in a doozy I wish I’d seen.

Pool 2 also went to a playoff I did not see, but it was the three-way 1-2 variety. MAVA, a small team with very tall coaches (including Lisa Argabright, who is listed at 6-5 but is an inch or two taller) put on the defense, led by DS Megan Stout, to sweep through its three opponents. The remaining teams, Top Select, Nashville One and Toledo, all won games from one another. Top Select, an Orlando club that won 15 American at JOs as “Champions,” took out Toledo and its fine setter, Veronica Zimmerman, in the first playoff and then faced Nashville One to stay in Gold. Nashville One also is a new club, with several members coming over from last year’s successful Impact 15s. In this new club showdown, rested Nashville One emerged with the win, 25-18, surviving a playoff to stay alive for the second straight day.

Pool 3 also featured a playoff of the three-team, 1-2 variety. It did not involve AVA of Texas, coached by Karen Trout, which dominated Indiana Volleyball Academy and Coast and swept NKYVC. I did not get to see much of AVA last year or on Friday, which means I lingered more on its court than I should have. I was transfixed. This Houston-based club has a tremendous setter in Malorie Pardo, a wonderful libero in Shelbee Berringer, athletic pin attackers and two exceptional middles, 6-1 Marissa Maas, who has already committed to Florida; and 6-3 Jillian Humphrey, who will attend Rice.

Coast started off the pool with a sweep of IVA. OH Kristen Casey is the emotional leader for Coast and its go-to player and she was on versus IVA in the two-game sweep. Next came AVA and NKYVC, another of the third-place teams from Day 1 still breathing. After dropping the first, NKYVC seemed poised to send the match to a third set behind the southpaw smashes from Megan Wanstrath. Alas, ahead 24-22, NKYVC could not hold the lead. AVA scored the final four points, including the block from Pardo that secured the sweep.

Coast dropped its final two matches while IVA and NKYVC both were going 1-1 to force the three-way. It did not favor Coast, which lost setter Lauren Hays to a tendon injury. That forced Courtney Hoffman to lead this team in her first test on a national stage. Coast and IVA were tied 13-13 in the first playoff before Casey and Katherine Ingersoll got together on a block. Two points later, Hoffman authored a back breaking dump that crashed down the floodgates. Coast finished the set on a 12-5 run, advancing to meet NKYVC when Frannie Cormier scored the game winner from the back row.

Lauren O’Conner, a tall middle already committed to Kentucky, helped NKYVC keep the second playoff close, but a four-point run, which extended Coast’s lead to 19-13, proved the difference in the set. Cormier and Sierra Moran were pivotal at the net, while smooth libero Marissa Smith made things look easy in the back court for Coast, which won 25-19 to stay alive.

If you watched Pool 4 closely, you would have come away with the impression that Iowa Rockets, who won JOs at 15 National a year ago, were the best team in the field. Led by setter Brooke Fessler and hitters Alli O’Deen, Ali Stark and Courtney Kintzel, the Iowans are intimidating. Their first match of Saturday was against Sunshine, which would finish second in the pool. Rockets and Sunshine, a smaller, ball-control type team from California, were playing point for point in Game 1 until the Rockets put on a devastating 7-0 run, keyed by O’Deen, which clinched the first set. More of the same followed in Set No. 2, which the Rockets led, 24-12, before Sunshine managed nine points in a row. A combo block from Stark and Gabrielle Winegar finally got Iowa the sweep.

Iowa also swept M1 to knock the Minnesota squad from Gold. Sunshine had won a tough three-setter versus M1, 18-16 in the third, to go 2-1. M1 needed to defeat Iowa to be part of a three-way 2-1 playoff, but the PrepVolleyball.com Classic champs at 15s a year ago, could not overcome the Rockets’ tall front line. Setter Kellie McNeil had some nice blocks and Emily McDonough took quality swings for M1, but it wasn’t enough. O’Deen’s kill gave the Rockets the sweep and the pool and made Sunshine the other team to advance to Gold.

Of the six Saturday pools, Pool 5 was the only one to go according to seed. KC Power, which won Omaha on President’s Day Weekend, started things off with an easy win over Renaissance Cleveland. This RC team featured 6-3 RS Halle Kearney, the cousin of setter Allison Kearney, who led Renaissance Cleveland’s 17s team to Open glory a year ago. She put up a big block and Alexis Plagens had some quality swings, but KC Power exposed Cleveland’s passing difficulties with great serving in the victory. Grace Whitley was especially effective behind the line for Power, which got quality swings from Hanna Forst in the sweep.

KC Power would end up sweeping everyone to win the pool. MAVS, which got nice work from OH Morgan Voorhees, took second, sweeping both Renaissance Cleveland and Minnesota Select.

Pool 6 was probably the most competitive of the Saturday pools. Mad Frog, which would end up winning the pool, started things off with a sweep of Cleveland Volleyball Company. Lauren Teknipp and Megan Wendel had nice moments for CVC in the loss. Kendall Eckerd served effectively for the Frogs.

The next match, between Rockwood Thunder and Michigan Elite, was a thriller. Michigan Elite won the first and took a 9-8 lead in Game 2 when setter Jordan Fish, a great athlete with fast hands, turned and shot the ball into the corner. RT setter Aubree Smith said, “Dump you very much” on the next point, returning the favor in a set Rockwood would go on to win. That set up a third set that, as it turned out, proved crucial to the Missouri team’s qualification chances.

Michigan took an early lead on kills from Nicole Merget and Erica Robb. Rockwood rallied on kills from Morgan Beil and Helen Boyle. Michigan Elite went ahead again only to see successive Emily Keaton swings tie matters once more. And that’s how it went, with Michigan inching ahead only to be caught by Rockwood, until three in a row, capped by a Beil free-ball kill, gave Rockwood a 15-14 lead. Merget scored to tie it for Michigan Elite, but that was the last point it would score in the set. Another Beil kill, followed by Alisha Skaggs’ perfectly-placed ace, gave Rockwood the win.

It would prove to be Rockwood’s only pool-play win. RT lost two straight games to CVC then, after being told the match against 2-0 Mad Frogs was “must win,” withered after a strong start to fall in three. Ashtaan Horton, Holly Hopkins and Emily Johnson played key roles and Dana Galway delivered the final swing in the Frogs’ win.

The result was Michigan Elite, which beat CVC, Rockwood and CVC all were 1-2 and in a playoff to determine who would go forward.

Rockwood took out CVC, 25-20, in the first playoff. Lauren Landsman did her best to keep Cleveland close with her strikes from the left, but a late kill from Keaton and two from Culver Randolph sent Rockwood to the next playoff versus Michigan Elite.

In contrast to the pool play match, the playoff was over in a flash. Rockwood charged to a 17-2 lead and made it 20-3 on a Boyle kill en route to the 25-5 win that got them into Gold.

While the 17 Open and 18 Open teams in Gold played beyond their morning pools on Saturday, the 16 Open teams rested and prepared for Sunday’s play: four, three-team pools with the winners of each pool slotted into a Final Four. They could have done three, four-team pools, with each pool winner getting a bid, but I like this format better. It makes winning your pool, the semifinals and third place match so meaningful.

Texas Tornados, which took over the top seed after beating A5 on Saturday, continued its hot hand by defeating both Sunshine and MAVS to reach the semifinals. Toni Alugbue played well for Sunshine, as did the Mira Costa tandem of Emma White and Andi Zbojniewicz, but everyone knows that Tornados obliterate Sunshine. And so it was. Katzy Randall delivered the match winner for Tornados.

After MAVS turned on the defense – great digging from Haylee Gregory, Emilee Clark and Anna Church – to sweep Sunshine, it then faced Tornados with a berth in the Final Four on the line. Tornados’ front line controlled Game 1 until several errors tightened up the set. The teams found themselves tied at 22 apiece until a Ruth Brooks roll shot gave Tornados the lead for good. Emily Sweet followed with an ace to extend the lead. The final point of the set featured a digging show on both sides – Courtney Cornell for MAVS and super athletic libero Sindhu Vegesena for Tornados – before Brooks’ roll shot helped Tornados prevail. With Vegesena filling the highlight reel, Tornados also took the second set. Voorhes showed off her big arm for MAVS  and Aubree Freeman also contributed at the net, but it wasn’t enough. Ivy’s lefty tip put Tornados into the semifinals.

MAVA won the first match of Pool 2 despite the loss of libero Megan Stout to an arm contusion. Colbey Cameron’s tough serving and a combo block on game point from Allyson Wilbourn and Elisa Burkman gave MAVA Game 1 versus Coast. Coast equalized in Game 2 behind a key ace serve from Moran, which kept MAVA at bay, and forced a third game to 15 points. In that one, Coast led early behind Casey’s strong hitting and an Ingersoll block, but two Sophie Kellerman kills helped MAVA claim a 10-9 lead. Aided by Coast serving errors and spectacular MAVA defense, keyed by Kellermann and Erin Hoffmann, MAVA never trailed again and won, 15-12.

That proved to be Coast’s last, best shot. Forced to turn around and play Rockwood right away proved too tough a task. Getting strong play from the setter Smith and MB Taylor Masterson, RT dominated the match to set up the showdown with MAVA for the Final Four.

Rockwood, which came so close to being eliminated yesterday, was now the team everyone feared. Boyle played great, as did the rest of her Rockwood teammates, in an easy win. The only anxious moments came late in Game 2, when MAVA saved three match points to make it close at 24-22. Beil’s left-handed strike off the block put any comeback thoughts to rest, however.

Pool 3 featured AVA and Mad Frog, two teams that appear capable of medaling at JOs, as well as Nashville One. Stephanie Click tried to rally Nashville One with her play in the middle and her spirit and Kristy Hughes had nice moments as well, but Nashville One could not hang in against either Mad Frog, with Elizabeth Jauregui and Katie Walker, supplying the offense; or AVA. That set up a showdown for the semifinals between two Texas teams that had yet to taste defeat.

When I came onto the scene, AVA had already taken Game 1 and led 11-7 in the second. Displaying a relentless offense, AVA never let the Frogs back into the set. The lead grew to five on the hard angle kill from Yewande Akanbi and was the final margin when Jasmine Casey drilled on into the seam for the sweep.

Pool 4 started with Energizer Bunny Bailey Kaloupek administering different hand shakes and chest bumps to the rest of her Iowa Rockets teammates. Good thing she got them in early, because once play started, the Rockets found very little to cheer about. Previously undefeated, they dropped two straight to A5 to open the pool, as Mary Hoey played well for the Georgians; then two in a row to KC Power to close the pool. Tough serving by Leslie Starks and the all-around excellence of freshman Shelby Workman spelled the difference.

The two Rockets’ losses meant the KC Power/A5 match would be for a spot in the semifinals. An ace from Elizabeth Powell gave Power a quick lead to start the match. A5’s Sarah Morris matched Powell with an ace of her own to tie matters at 2-2. I didn’t get to see much more of this match, which went to KC Power in two straight. But I know that precision serving and the quick sets to the pins from Powell were key to Power’s advance.

Both semifinal matches were close. KC Power knocked off Texas Tornados in a Game 1 Tornados thought it should have won, then did the same in Game 2 behind the great setting of Powell and Workman’s three late kills to clinch an Open bid. Afterwards, the Tornados players were stunned. Some were crying. I made a mental note that they wouldn’t win the third-place match, either, because they already looked defeated.

AVA dominated the first game of its semifinal versus Rockwood Thunder. AVA raced to a 14-5 lead, then cruised to the 25-16 win behind the hitting and serving of Humphrey. Game 2 was a different story. Despite Berringer’s tremendous defense, AVA could not keep Rockwood off the scoreboard. Kills from Keaton and Boyle and a block from Beil staked Rockwood to a 19-14 lead en route to the 25-20 win that forced a third game.

In that game, three kills from Casey and two from Humphrey gave AVA an 11-8 lead. Beil’s kill and block helped Rockwood pull even at 11-11, but reclaimed the lead on Rachel Hobaugh’s back row kill. Down one, Rockwood scored two straight thanks to the amazing Boyle. Her kill tied matters at 12-12. She then saved a ball from the bench area on the next rally, which culminated in her solo block. AVA tied the set on Akanbi’s kill, but the final two points belonged to Rockwood Thunder, which secured the bid when Smith and Masterson got together for the clinching block.

That left just two matches, the final between KC Power and Rockwood Thunder and the third place match, with a bid on the line, between Tornados and AVA.

Before the final, Rockwood coach Gretchen Moser implored her team to “finish what we started,” but Rockwood may have been too physically, mentally and emotionally drained to make that happen. For two days, they’d had to fight and claw and come from behind when left for dead. They had nothing else left to give. Behind Workman, Forst, Whitley and Lauren Ford, KC over powered Rockwood, winning 25-18, 25-14.

KC Power coach Mike Stowell said he was really proud of how his team performed on championship Sunday.

“Two weeks ago, we lost a couple of matches we shouldn’t have in region,” he explained. “So to come out here and get the bid in what probably is the toughest field we’re going to be playing against all year and to do it the way we did it, against A5 and an Iowa Rockets team I thought was playing the best of anyone, I’m thrilled. We’re playing lights out. We haven’t played at this level all year.”

As the third-place match got underway, I fully expected AVA to blow Tornados out. Remember my observation of Tornados after they’d lost to KC Power?

Well, between that time and the start of this match, coach Tara Cross-Battle had worked some magic.

“I told them it was disappointing that we lost to KC Power when we had our chances to win, but we still have another chance to get a bid,” she said. “‘You can’t give up now!’

A kill and block from Ivy to open Game 1 staked Tornados to a fast 5-1 lead and the match was never close. Tornados was playing like they had nothing to lose. AVA was playing tight, afraid to make mistakes yet making too many of them and letting them linger. Coach Traub tried to re-focus her troops but without success. Everything Tornados did was golden; just about everything AVA did was not.

AVA had one brief glimmer of hope, when a Hobaugh kill on the right and her two aces following tied up the first set at 11-11. But a Myklebust kill, one of three from the right side in the set, gave Tornados the lead for good. Cross-Battle’s team finished with a flourish, on a 14-6 run. Daniela Arenas, a spectacular athlete playing on the left, delivered a tip kill to get Tornados to 24 then blocked a slide to give her team the first set, 25-17.

AVA was never in the second set at all. Ivy had a kill and a block and Young added a kill to help Tornados to a 7-0 lead over error-prone AVA, their Houston area rivals. The lead grew to as much as nine, 15-6, on a Myklebust kill, as setters Paige Holland and Emily Sweet did a nice job of finding the weak areas in AVA’s defense. When Arenas cranked one down the line, Tornados had eight match points, leading 24-16. AVA saved three but no more. When the serve sailed wide, Tornados had the third bid.

Cross-Battle said the key may have come after the A5 match on Saturday.

“I told them you have to be a team; you can’t be six individuals,” she said. “‘We need everyone to play and play well. It’s up to you.’ They decided to perform.”