A look at January Thaw 18 Open Teams and Top Players

The 2018 January Thaw USAV GJNC Qualifier begins this Friday at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha and brings with it some of the very best teams and players in the nation.

Bids are available to the USAV GJNC in the 18 Open, 18 USA and 18 American divisions this weekend. There will also be very competitive 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17/18 Club divisions which do not involve qualifiers for the national championships. 

The Open division always draws the top teams, and here is a look at the 16 teams competing this weekend, with their national ranking (if applicable) and some of their top players. When possible, jersey numbers are included. 

You can get all the schedule information for all the divisions by clicking HERE. 

A4 Volley 18 – Purple – Ranked #14 Nationally in 18s

Jill Schneggenburger, 6’0, OH, Colorado
Devon Chang, 5’11, Setter, UCLA (#39 recruit in nation)
Rachel Ahrens, 6’0, OH, California (#50 recruit in nation)
Sage Naves, 6’2, MB, Georgia
Kayla Rivera, 6’1, OH, Loyola Marymount

CIA 18Black – Ranked #29 Nationally in 18s

Sydney Petersen, 5’3, Libero, Texas
Tayah Mahi, 5’9, Setter, Northern Iowa
Grace Burken, 6’2, MB, Wichita State
Abigail Weideman, 5’7, Libero/OH, South Dakota
Carly Spies, 6’3, MB, Northern Iowa

Club One AZ 18Platinum

Alyssa Wissinger, 6’2, MB, Boise State
Gloria Mutiri, 6’2, RS, Kansas State (#15 recruit in nation)
Makina Wratten, 6’0, MB, Missouri State

COAST 18-1- Ranked #24 Nationally in 18s

Lexi Hadrych, 5’11, OH, UCLA (#46 recruit in nation)
Michelle Polechonski, 6’0, MB, Wake Forest
Kristina Jordan, 6’4, OH/MB, West Virginia
Courtney Buzzerio, 6’5, Setter/RS, Indiana
Avalon Denecochea, 6’2, Setter/RS, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Jacqueline Van Liefde, 6’0, OH, Colorado State

Dynasty 18 Black

#12 – Sophia McMullen, 5’10, OH/RS, Northwest Missouri State
#13 – Lacey Angello, 5’7, Libero/DS, Kansas
#18 – Kaley Sexton, 6’6, RS, Undecided

Illinois HPSTL 18 Elite

No info available

Iowa PowerPlex 17U

No info available

KC Power 18-1 – Ranked #7 Nationally in 18s

#1 – Taylor Kuper, 5’9, Libero/OH, Illinois
#2 – Jaiden Chase, 5’9, Libero/DS, Wyoming
#3 – Rachel Sturdevant, 5’11, MH/RS, Northwest Missouri State
#4 – Hannah Engelken, 6’1, MB, Central Missouri
#5 – Logan Gish, 6’2, OH/RS, Lipscomb
#6 – Annika Welty, 6’3, MH, Creighton
#8 – Callie Schwarzenbach, 6’4, MH, Nebraska (#10 recruit in nation)
#10 – Sadie Limback, 5’11, Setter/RS, Omaha
#11 – Marissa Hines, 6’0, Setter, Wyoming
#24 – Annie Dixon, OH, 6’1, OH, Kansas State (Top 50 junior recruit)

Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold – Ranked #32 Nationally in 18s

#1 – Brooke Andersen, 6’0, OH, Iowa State (#37 recruit in nation)
#3 – Mia Grunze, 6’3, OH, Ohio State (#29 recruit in nation)
#9 – Mikaylah Van Lanen, 6’0, OH, Dayton
#10 – Haley Multerer, 6’0, MB, Western Carolina
#13 – Claire Mosher, 5’10, Setter, Marquette (#86 recruit in nation)
#17 – Katie Schoessow, 5’5, Libero, Marquette
#21 – Rachel Murphy, 6’0, MB, New Mexico
#23 – Miranda Wucherer, 5’8, Setter, Northern Kentucky
#31 – Karli Graham, 6’1, MB, Austin Peay

Mizuno Northern Lights 17-1 – Ranked #6 Nationally in 17s

#3 – Kyndra Hansen, 6’3, OH/RS, Iowa
#4 – Marissa Hinkle, 5’9, Libero, UCLA (Top 50 junior recruit)
#5 – Ellie Husemann, 6’4, MH/RS, Minnesota
#6 – Rachel Kilkelly, 5’9, Libero/OH, Minnesota
#7 – Gabrielle McCaa, 6’4, MH/RS, USC (Top 50 junior recruit)
#9 – Kennedi Orr, 6’0, Setter, Nebraska (National Freshman of the Year Finalist)
#10 – Blythe Rients, 6’2, MH/OH, Iowa
#11 – Peyton Suess, 6’2, OH/RS, Wake Forest

Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1 – Ranked #53 Nationally in 18s

#1 – Kennedy Brady, 6’1, MH/RS, Concordia-St. Paul
#4 – Ellie Koontz, 6’2, OH/RS, Marquette
#5 – Madeline Mackinac, 5’11, Setter, Bemidji State
#6 – McKenna Melville, 6’1, Libero/OH, Central Florida
#7 – Isabella Ratzloff, 5’4, Libero, Rhode Island
#8 – Meg Schmidt, 6’2, OH/RS Southwest Missouri State
#9 – Lauren Turner, 6’2, MH/RS, San Diego

Mizuno Northern Lights 18-2

#11 – Madison Bremer, 6’1, MH/RS, Northern Colorado
#12 – Mary Campbell, 6’0, MH/RS, Bemidji State
#14 – Isabella Erne, 5’9, OH, St. Cloud State
#16 – Esther Grussing, 5’8, Setter, Ball State
#17 – Alyson Murphy, 5’11, OH/RS, North Dakota State
#18 – Danielle Pioske, 5’7, Libero, Drake
#19 – Elizabeth Stark, 5’9, OH/DS, Northern Michigan

MN Select 18-1 – Ranked #4 Nationally in 18s

#13 – Kayla Bair, 6’2, MB, Michigan (#84 recruit in nation)
#6 – Eleanor Holthaus, 6’2, OH/RS, Iowa State (#59 recruit in nation)
#5 – Brynn Paumen, 6’2, MB, Missouri
#8 – Grace Persson, 6’2, OH, Michigan (#82 recruit in nation)
#10 – Kari Zumach, 6’2, OH/RS, Creighton
#3 – Lauren Clark, 6’1, OH, Penn State (Top 50 junior recruit)
#3 – Emma Schmidt, 6’1, OH, Northern Iowa
#11 – Izzy Ashburn, 5’11, Setter, Wisconsin (Top 50 junior recruit)
#12 – Kaitlyn Weimerskirch, 5’6, Libero, Northern Iowa

Nebraska Elite 17 TKO – Ranked #54 Nationally in 17s

Michael Bartels, 6’0, MH, Nebraska-Kearney
Lily Heyne, 6’1, OH/MH, Tulsa
Megan Raszler, 5’7, Setter, Dordt College
Emma Grunkemeyer, 6’2, MH/RS, Iowa
Jordan McCormick, 5’10, Libero/DS, Wayne State
MacKenzie Saittta, 6’0, OH, Tennessee-Chattanooga

Nebraska Elite 18 MOAB – Ranked #71 Nationally in 18s

Sarah Wing, 6’2, MH, Iowa
Rylee Marshall, 6’1, OH/MH/RS, Omaha
Maggie Mullen, 5’5, Libero, Louisville
Kate Bilyeu, 6’0, OH, UMass-Lowell
Maddie Wiedenfeld, 6’2, MH, New Hampshire
Sydney Daniels, 5’6, Setter/DS, Sioux Falls
Emily Bressman, 5’10, OH, Creighton

WVA 18-Black

#1 – Lily Welti, 5’9, OH, St. Louis University
#3 – Emily Scott, 6’2, MH/RS, Louisville
#6 – Megan Cannon, 5’10, Setter/RS, Robert Morris
#12 – Abigail Fortune, 5’11, Setter, Northern Michigan
#13 – Alexis Domer, 5’11, RS, Wisconsin-Green Bay
#14 – Maddie Koch, 6’0, OH, Purdue (Top 50 junior recruit)