New Names To Know From STMA Midwest Fall Classic

Another tournament and more names to get to know around the state of Minnesota. This weekend at St. Michael-Albertville there was 30 teams from all across Minnesota and River Falls from Wisconsin who competed resulting with Champlin Park taking the title. STMA has a beautiful facility that would rival most college facilities with their six court activity center. On day one there was the 35-33 set two battle between STMA and Hutchinson and day two, much of the same with a tightly contested three set match between STMA and River Falls and again later in the afternoon with a top ten matchup between two states in River Falls and Stillwater with Stillwater coming out on top 15-11 to advance to the finals. Here are some names for clubs, colleges, and fans to keep track of throughout the season. So many great athletes and teams - this is just a small sample. We are always evaluating and taking notes to upgrade our player rankings to be updated coming late November. Willmar This was my first time seeing Willmar playing live and wow, what a fun, scrappy, and athletic group. This all starts with the first contact in Sophomore libero, Abby Stark. Stark absolutely commands the backrow with great body language, anticipation, and athleticism. A solid serve receiver and able to take pace off the ball she is going to be one that NSIC or Summit League college coaches will be after from the Class of 2021. Senior setter, Carly Wedel, a South Dakota State commit is a triple threat with her setting, offensive attack, and defense. Setters of her caliber are so tough to prepare for because they do whatever it takes for their team depending on whats needed. She runs a great tempo to her middles, attacks on two, and puts up a really strong block. Caitlin Ogdahl, an outside hitter is lethal from the pin and the service line sending lasers right over getting the opposing team out of system from the start. Middle blocker, Grace Marti is a Sioux Falls commit that is long and athletic and has recovered from not one, but two ACL surgeries. Sydney Olson is an outside that can play on the pin or in the middle. Her athleticism really stands out on the court with the ability to adjust and make plays happen to score or save points. A definite 2019 prospect to keep tabs on that would be a great fit at the next level. Willmar was matched up with Champlin Park, one of the top teams in the state, in the quarterfinals and provided one of the more tightly contested matches of the tournament. Despite the 0-2 loss, each set Willmar had leads forcing timeouts on the part of the Rebels. As a team, the Cardinals will be scary come postseason with multiple ways to score, solid defense, and efficient volleyball. Emily Messner - Hutchinson - Junior - Libero Hutchinson has a tall, athletic frontline, but they have a solid first contact in Junior libero, Emily Messner. Messner is the gritty and scrappy libero you want in the lineup who is going to make the diving play to keep a play alive as well as the routine play to keep the offense in system. Kendal Kemp - Rogers - Freshman - Middle Blocker WATCH OUT! Kendal Kemp is going to be on the radar of plenty of college coaches (which I’m sure she already is), but at 6’6 and the ability to move she is a major force for Rogers. 6’6 Freshman. What? Yes, that is correct. Last year for club she played on the 15-1 MN Select team as an 8th grader and while she continues to develop her game she is really going develop into the next big recruit to come out of the state of Minnesota. Ryley Frye - Robbinsdale Armstrong - Sophomore - Setter At 5’10 and extremely athletic, Frye might be a hidden gem in the Class of 2021. With only two Seniors on the Robbinsdale Armstrong roster this team has a lot of upside in the next couple of years with Frye leading the offense. Great hands, a solid block, steady defense, Frye was really impressive. Knowing she has the rest of her Sophomore year and two more years of high school ball to develop on top of any other training she will receive in the offseason she definitely one to put a star next to her name for kids at the next level. She has a great connection with Junior middle blocker Sofie Vogel, who at 6’2 has a really high contact point and can score points really well in system. Molly Schultz - Rockford - Junior - Setter/Right Side Sneaky good. Schultz is always in position whether its being a setter, defender or swinging from one of the pins. She is constantly talking and communicating with her teammates. When she is a backrow, she puts up a really clean ball to hit, but can also send it over on two to the open spot. Offensively, she sees the court so well. To make a basketball analogy, she just seems like the point guard, a floor leader where she makes everything work and will do what the defense gives her and what the team needs. Her body language and communication alone is something to take note of as a college coach. Rockford also has Lauren Klaith, a 5’11 pin hitter who can score from any spot on the front row. Kelsie Sealock - Osseo - Senior - Outside Hitter Osseo was able to make it into the final four with wins over Bemidji, Rockford, and Buffalo before running into Champlin Park. Senior outside, Kelsie Sealock not only provides a major scoring threat in the front row, but her middle back defense was stellar on Friday night from serve receive to making a hard driven ball playable in system. Arie Walker - St. Paul Academy - Junior - Setter/DS Walker brings an extreme amount of athleticism to the court as a DS or a setter. As a setter, she has great quickness, but also gets her feet set to put up a good ball. A definite utility player who has an overall IQ for the game and can adapt to whatever situation she is in. Reece Koehler - Stillwater - Senior - Middle Blocker Koehler stands at 6'2 and can jump out of the gym. I could even see her at the next level playing on either pin. With lots of quickness to get from pin to pin, Koehler is definitely one on the scouting report who is a threat to score from corner to corner, but also a really solid block that will cause problems for the opposing team.