CIS and Northern Lights 15’s Chasing Bids At Colorado Crossroads
For CIS, it will be back on the big stage after finishing second to Nebraska Premier at Triple Crown. For Northern Lights, this will be their first time playing outside of Minnesota or Omaha against some of the best in…
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Continue ReadingFor CIS, it will be back on the big stage after finishing second to Nebraska Premier at Triple Crown. For Northern Lights, this will be their first time playing outside of Minnesota or Omaha against some of the best in the nation. Qualifier season has arrived, the intensity is elevated just a bit, and bids are up for grabs at the opening weekend of Colorado Crossroads.
Cinderella keeps on dancing. This is so fun! @CISvolleyball to the semifinals of @triplecrownspts – what a weekend…so far! pic.twitter.com/Nd3zdTwa3I
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) February 18, 2019
Scouting CIS
Central Iowa Select will no longer be viewed as an underdog after finishing second at Triple Crown. Plenty of coaches will be there to watch Hayden Kubik, the Class of 2022 Freshman Phenom who is already a six rotation threat offensively and defensively. However, This team has balance. Lauren Carter is the savy setter who is so smooth from her movement to getting her hands high to her hitters in the right position for an open swing. When Kubik goes to the backrow, in comes Calli Coppola, an explosive outside who can find the open spot on the court with power or finesse. Libero, Payton Lombardi anchors the backrow as well as Abby Staun and Alayna Finucan. If CIS can stay in system getting to get their middles Chloe Largent and Myah Shipley going they will be dangerous to stop. They are the number two overall seed behind NE Premier.
Julia Hanson of @nlightsvball taking a swing. Such a high flyer pic.twitter.com/j86fkZ0rNa
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) February 16, 2019
Scouting Northern Lights 15-1
Julia Hanson is the go to outside hitter who is extremely dynamic for Lights who will bring in a physical lineup to Denver. Hanson can score from anywhere on the court, but they also have two right sides who can create matchup problems for the opposing outsides in Kendall Minta and Sienna Ifill. Minta is 6’3 while Ifill is 6’1, with both of them having a strong block and can put points on the board as well. A prospect to keep tabs on would be libero, Simara Amador. Incredibly efficient with her movement and a solid platform, she has the fundamental base of all the past Northern Lights liberos who have gone on to play big time college volleyball
That set and tempo tho…@Premier_VB – 15s semifinal is rolling! pic.twitter.com/6odnYqWgmM
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) February 18, 2019
The Outlook
CIS will be going up against another Midwest powerhouse in KC Power along with Rocky Mountain and Forza out of California. Northern Lights will see a familiar opponent in Nebraska Elite who got the best of them in Omaha on Presidents Day weekend. There will definitely be a strong West Coast flavor in Denver this weekend with A4, Arizona Storm , MLB, and Aspire. However, the Midwest will be well represented with Premier, Elite, and VCN out of Nebraska along with Legacy and Dynasty from Kansas. There are also the traditional powerhouses of OT out of Florida, Houston Skyline, and Legacy out of Michigan. CIS will be hunting for another chance to play Nebraska Premier, but OT and Houston Skyline I’m sure would love to have another chance at CIS after losing to them at Triple Crown. Northern Lights definitely has the tools to be in the hunt for a bid. Can they be in system enough to utilize all their offensive weapons? May the qualifier season begin, it’s not always the matches you win, but when you win. Those three way ties and crossovers can always make for an exciting weekend.