Big City Luau 16 Premiere: Five MN Athletes to Watch
With the Big City Luau upon us, several teams will be competing throughout the greater Twin Cities area. The 16 Premiere division is the top division in the U16 age group and features eight total teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin…
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Continue ReadingWith the Big City Luau upon us, several teams will be competing throughout the greater Twin Cities area. The 16 Premiere division is the top division in the U16 age group and features eight total teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin while representing some of the bigger and traditionally very competitive clubs. Here are five athletes competing in 16 Premiere this weekend worth a good look.
Jada Nunn
Jada
Nunn
6'0" | S
Woodbury | 2022
State
MN
– Kokoro 16-1 | 5’10 | Opp | 2022
Nunn has a good foundation of skills on the right side of the floor as she primarily played opposite for a good Woodbury team this past fall high school season. She has good court sense and makes good decisions when attacking whether in system or out of system. She can hit with good pace when on balance and in maximizing her elevation. When out of system she has awareness to make a controlled shot that can apply good pressure to the defense. She also has good vision and blocking mechanics that can disrupt opposing outside attackers. She has an opportunity to raise her stock this club season competing for a solid Kokoro program. She and her team begin play at 8am on Saturday at St. Catherine’s.
Cameron Berger –
Vital Volleyball
16-1 Gold | 5’10 | S | 2023
Berger just completed her ninth grade season in high school and is playing up an age group for
Vital Volleyball
. She made great strides in both physical and mental aspects of her game from last club season to now. She shows more maturity in her decision-making while also being more fluid in pursuit of the ball all around the court. Her contact point and extension have improved making her delivery more dynamic and consistent as she can create good opportunities for her attackers with in- and out-of-system passing. She has good quickness and length that benefit the full scope of her game both offensively and defensively.
Vital Volleyball
16-1 Gold opens competition at 3pm on Saturday at St. Catherine’s.
Paige Lemkuil – MN Select 16-2 | 5’11 | OH/Opp | 2022
Lemkuil has good tools as she moves well throughout her approach patterns in serve receive and to become available in transition. She has good slow-to-fast footwork and develops good torque in the air. As she increases her experience, developing better timing and improving her quickness will help her become more dynamic and powerful through her arm work at the peak of her jump. As a six-rotation athlete, a big strength of hers is her ball control and defense. She is rangy at 5’11 and has good platform skills and vision. With the combination of training and experience she gets with MN Select and through a very strong Southwest Christian High School program, she will undoubtedly raise her stock in the coming years. MN Select 16-2 begins tournament play on Saturday at St. Catherine’s at 4pm.
Caitlin Lee – Crossfire 16-1 | 5’10 | MH | 2022
Somewhat raw in the quality of her movement around the floor, Lee does show good athleticism and versatility in her ability to get up off the floor fast and in producing kills from the middle as well as both pins. With sound timing she can get on top of the ball fast as she has the ability to hit with a high elbow. She does make good decisions when the timing is compromised and adjusts well to make shots that can be difficult to defend. She has an airy quality to her jump that seemingly creates some hang time that is an added benefit to being undersized a bit by middle hitter standards. She and her team will start their tournament play on Saturday at 4pm at St. Catherine’s.
Emma Antigua – KEVA 16-1 | 5’10 | OH | 2022
Antigua is a nice addition to KEVC this season as she will be a key element to this team given her high school varsity experience for Kimball. She earned Central Minnesota 1st team all-conference honors as a ninth grader in 2018. She has great all-around skills that accompany a confident and collected demeanor on the court. She has the ability to score from any location and through a variety of tempos. Her approach work is fluid and she has a high contact point on the ball through her arm swing. She also provides meaningful contributions defensively as she has good blocking mechanics at the net and good platform skills in the back row. She also is very skilled from the service line with great range and accuracy to put pressure on the opponent’s offense. KEVC 16-1 starts the tournament on Saturday at 3pm at St. Catherine’s.