A Look at Top Performers from Heartland Cup Power League Pool Play

<p>On the final weekend of the Heartland Cup Power League, there were several standouts in the pool play portion of competition on Saturday at the Abbott Sports Center in Lincoln.</p> <p>The championship brackets for the Open divisions this weekend will be completed on Sunday at Nebraska Elite in Omaha. Here is a look at players who stood out that I got a chance to watch on Saturday.</p> <p>The best player on saw on the day was junior <strong>Anna McLain</strong> (Lincoln Pius X) of VCNebraska 17 Black. McLain was dropping the hammer all afternoon and is simply an impressive athlete. McLain is currently ranked #49 in our Class of 2019 rankings and has a really bright future ahead of her if she wants to play college volleyball. A little undersized at 5’10, McLain’s sweet spot for college would be mid-level Division II or NAIA – where she would be an absolute standout.</p> <p>A player who really deserves a lot of credit as well for VCNebraska 17 Black is <strong>Jessica Malizzi</strong> (Gretna). The 5’8 OH/DS is ranked #154 in the Class of 2019 rankings, but Malizzi has really worked her tail off over the past few years to become a really nice, versatile player on the court. Malizzi isn’t dominant at any one thing, but she is a steady attacker, can hit well out of the back row, plays nice defense and can definitely play in the NAIA ranks.</p> <p>Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution had a pair of players doing really nice things. <strong>Shayla McCormick</strong> (Skutt Catholic) looked real athletic and has some great length while <strong>Allison Petry</strong> (Council Bluffs St. Albert), despite being an undersized attacker, was strong and put up a solid block.</p> <p>I don’t like talking about kids until they are at least into their summer before high school, but it was hard not to notice some of the 8^th graders that were playing in the 15/16 Open division on Saturday.</p> <p>Playing for VCNebraska 15 Elite, Wahoo’s <strong>Mya Larson</strong>, a 5’10 OH, is absolutely the real deal, as is Papillion-LaVista South 5’10 8^th grader <strong>Ava LeGrand</strong>, who was a pretty dominant force for Nebraska Juniors 151 Black on the day.</p> <p>Abby Schomers is the real-deal as an 8^th grade setter for Nebraska Elite 14 Havoc and <strong>Kylie Weeks</strong> has one of the best jump serves I’ve seen in a while, let alone from a middle schooler. Also really liked the quick arm swing, length and athleticism of <strong>Jenna Hamilton</strong> from Elite Havoc. A 7^th grader playing on Havoc that you will want to file away in your memory is <strong>Amanda Loschen. </strong>One more 8^th grader to keep in the back of your mind is VCNebraska 15 Elite’s<strong> Kali Jurgensmeier. </strong></p> <p>A pair of Lincoln Southwest freshmen also looked pretty good today playing for VCNebraska 15 Elite – 5’11 OH <strong>Elisabeth Tomlin</strong> and 6’0 MH <strong>Kayla Davis</strong>. Premier 15 Black’s <strong>Abby Wolfe</strong>, a 5’10 freshman, had a really nice afternoon as well.</p>