Scouting The Wisconsin 18s Chasing Bids In Chicago
The game has changed a bit at the 18s level with National Qualifiers coming qualifiers much earlier with the USAV Nationals the first weekend in May. Chicago will be one of the first stops for teams to earn their bids…
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Continue ReadingThe game has changed a bit at the 18s level with National Qualifiers coming qualifiers much earlier with the USAV Nationals the first weekend in May. Chicago will be one of the first stops for teams to earn their bids to nationals. Many clubs from Wisconsin will be heading South this weekend to the McCormick Center in Chicago and then to the Minneapolis Convention Center to finish the month at the Northern Lights Qualifier. Here is a quick glance at the teams who will be chasing bids this weekend!
18 Open
FC Elite 18-Elite
Reinhardt #5FC Elite punched their ticket to the Open Division last year at the Chicago Qualifier, but has a brand new squad this year comprised of a variety of ages from Class of 2023 to Class of 2020. Brooke Mosher is the one of the returners from the team last year and is the top player in the Class of 2021 in Wisconsin. An Illinois commit, Mosher can set or swing, making her quite the swiss army knife of options. 18 Elite will also have the likes of Saige Damrow, a Class of 2023 libero committed to Wisconsin and Hattie Bray, a middle blocker committed to Marquette and incredibly dynamic. One uncommitted athlete to keep tabs on would be Lizzie Binder, a 6’2 Class of 2021 pin hitter whose versatility speaks for itself being able to play on either pin, serve receive, and put up a solid block.
Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold
This team will have plenty of expectations on them with some of the top recruits in the country with athletes heading to Top 25 programs. This core group earned a bid to the 17 Open USAV Nationals last year and added a major piece to the puzzle in Class of 2022 outside hitter, Mckenna Wucherer who is heading to Minnesota. Aubrey Hamilton will be a major go-to athlete on the outside as well as a weapon in the backrow. Hamilton was recently named Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year and will head to Notre Dame. The front line for this squad brings plenty of athleticism and physicality with the combination of Kiara Reinhardt (Creighton), Elise Goetzinger (Kentucky), and Kelsey Carrington (Oklahoma) who can play in the middle or right side.
Wisconsin Juniors 18-1 (Title Photo)
This team has been playing together for years and have develop the identity of just being super gritty and finding a way to win. Karina Leber is a force out of the middle and super dynamic off one foot, she will head to Colorado State. High school teammates Karlee Lois and Olivia Dir have been key pieces to this puzzle with Lois being the savvy and offensive setter with the sneaky left hand heading to Wheeling Jesuit and Dir being the ball control and crafty outside heading to Northwest Missouri State. Madeline Haines will be looked at to score points in any rotation. Long, athletic, can play on either pin, and is a big time scorer out of the backrow will heading to IUPUI. In the backrow that has been anchoring this squad with her fight is Amber Bischel who will head to Ole Miss.
18 USA
Capital 18 Adidas
McNabbThe club out of Madison is always full of athletes that are well trained. One of the big point scorers from this crew is KJ McNabb who can do a little bit of everything, she will head to Loyola (Chicago) as an outside hitter. Ella Foti is a top volleyball and basketball athlete out of the Class of 2021, she can set and hit on the right side and is committed to Marquette. This team also has a really solid base of Division 2 commits in Ainsley Apel (St. Cloud State), Maddy Mason (Missouri S&T), Kaycee Meiners (Michigan Tech), and Summer Salettel (MSU Moorhead). An uncommitted prospect from the Class of 2022 is Natalie Ring, a powerful outside hitter touching over ten feet and puts a hurt on the ball.
Milwaukee Sting 18 Black
Watch out for this team as they have a number of really talented athletes who made a run at AAU Nationals last year. The ball control and athleticism at the pins will be fun to watch with Julia Clement (SIUE), Sydney Paulson (Winona State), Madison Weyker (Bemidji State), and Ella Collins (Eastern Illinois). An athlete to watch out of the middle from the Class of 2021 is Lindsay Krznarich, a 6’2 middle who gets more dynamic and terminal each time she steps on the court. Libero Emily Larson is an uncommitted Senior and will be a really good pick up at the next level.
18 American
Capital 18 Navy
Capital’s group of Seniors are incredibly deep and athletic with players who can play multiple positions. Sam Miller will be one of the top setters out of this group who will head to Augustana out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Sam Gray is an electric pin on the outside and a point scorer out of the backrow, she is committed to Huntington (IN). There is also a trio of in-state commits who will go to successful D3 and NAIA programs in Sophia Lee (UW-Stevens Point), Cassidy Spies (Viterbo), and Rylie Steffes (Viterbo).
Vanden Berg and Piton of Impact 18 National.Impact 18 National
Impact is out of the Fox Valley area with some of the top players from the Appleton and Green Bay area. Taylor Vanden Berg runs the show as a 6’0 setter that puts up a big block and is very physical at the net offensively, she will head to Wingate out of North Carolina, a top D2 program. Other D2 commits on this squad are Lauren Richards (Michigan Tech), Megan Piton (Colorado Christian), and Maggie Rohde (UW-Parkside). Keep tabs on Alyssa Koska, a Class of 2021 pin hitter who is extremely high IQ and solid in six rotations.
Milwaukee Sting 18 White
There is never a shortage of talented athletes at Milwaukee Sting. Some more D2 talent will be on Sting 18 White with outside hitters Madelyn Rettler (Upper Iowa), Ava Rebarchik (Kentucky Wesleyan), and Josie Salzman (Pittsburg State). Emma Braun will be heading Milwaukee School of Engineering, one of the top STEM schools in the country. An athlete to keep an eye on would be setter Karli Johnson from the Class of 2020.