Cape Girardeau Classic

We welcomed the opportunity to put our eyes on some teams we haven't seen this year and the Cape Girardeau Classic provided that opportunity! Numerous teams trekked to Southeast Missouri for two days of competition. After reviewing the results, we decided to check out some of the teams who finished in the top portion of the standings. One of the difficulties we did run into was finding numerical rosters for some teams. Thank you Club Como for responding immediately to a roster request to assist us in highlighting some of the ladies who had strong weekends. We also ran into teams playing every match far from the camera. Now, let's take a look at some of the teams and players who had good weekends. 18s In the 18s division, 417 Juniors 18-2 walked away with the top prize. They are a team that relies on good ball control to give their setters the opportunity to keep the offense in sync. One of those setters, Kierstyn Harmon stood out over the weekend. She made good decisions and was consistent on her ball placement. She works hard to get her feet under herself to ensure she had more than one option consistently. Juniors utilize a couple of liberos and Isabella Fuller was sharp. Her passing was efficient and her defense was clutch. Middle Jena Medearis was a force with her timely scoring and defense. One of the major keys over the weekend for 417 was the play of their pins. Outsides [player_tooltip player_id="41761" first="Melanie" last="Cox"] and [player_tooltip player_id="41821" first="Addison" last="Tauai"] were able to help carry the team offensively. On the opposite side, [player_tooltip player_id="41773" first="Carsen" last="Glaser"] was productive in the scoring category and put up a sizeable block defensively. St. Louis Crossfire 18 L1 would finish 3rd. We attempted to watch numerous matches but they ran into the undefeated "team on the far side and can't see their numbers" champion. It was unfortunate because they had a good weekend. 17s MOVA UA 17 Gold were the champions of the 17 division after an undefeated run. OH [player_tooltip player_id="119187" first="Ella" last="Vogel"] is the real deal. She packs. a punch behind her swings and is a high-level scorer. We also liked the athleticism from MB Ramiri Gardner. She is quick and moves well pin to pin defensively and gets her hands on a lot of balls. She can also be a threat offensively. Setter Alandry Below did a good job of finding her hitters. She has great confidence in her ability and does a great job of pushing the ball out to the left side from the other side of the court. Libero Lauren Barnes is a top-tier defender and was the heartbeat for this team defensively. The runner-up in this age group was Club COMO Volleyball out of Columbia, MO. One thing you love about this team is their aggressiveness behind the service line. We watched DS Madison Higgenbotham and OH Claire Crites go on a few runs with their serving ability. We also liked the play of MB Emma Spillman. We watched her enter some matches and provide instant offense when her team needed a point. Setter Ashlyn Hough has good hands and you could see her court awareness on display with her decision making. Libero Brooke Nieder played well over the weekend and her defense kept many rallies alive. 417 Juniors 17-1 finished 3rd. We highlighted these individuals for their play. MB - 7, OH - 17, L - 3, RS - 1 Fourth place [program_tooltip program_id='428820' first='Team' last='Momentum'] 17 Navy had a 4-2 weekend. Libero Summer Meyer was sharp in her play. She is a gritty defender. Joining her with solid play in the back row was DS Emerson Williams. Her technique and passing looking great all weekend. OH Kenzi Hartman and OH Ella Davies took turns putting balls down. We also like the play from MB Sara Hendry. She showed great potential and will be a player to keep our eyes on. We got mixed up with the MOVA teams and watched a few matches of the MOVA 17 UA Black team thinking they were the gold team. This team finished 6th but we were impressed with some of their players after a 2-3 weekend. MB Chloe Dunivan is an aggressive middle who brings fire to this team. Liberlo Kyla Moore played well and passed to target at a high-level. MB Rickie Huff is raw but showed promise, especially in the blocking department. Setter Katelyn Irvin did a good job in finding her hitters when they were hot, like Marlene Andert. 16s 417 walked away with two championships over the weekend, as 16-2 joined 18-2's as victors. They went 5-0 and didn't drop a set. Setter Payge Plank did a good job of running the team. She found great success finding her outsides Abby Chadwell and Claire Esther, who were solid all weekend. Esther also was strong in her serving game, earning a handful of aces. In the middle, Kailey Manes showed her potential with quality play both offensively and defensively. 16-2 got good play behind the blockers from DS Natalie Scott and Libero Anna Howe. Both showed off their ability to pass and play lights out defense. MOVA UA 16 Gold went 3-2 and gave 3rd place 417 Juniors 15-1 their sole loss on the weekend. They received timely scoring from outsides Camryn Minor and Summer Hollmann. MB Natalia Foszpanczyk was a force in the middle. We also thought specialist Kiera Bradley looked sharp in her play. Setter Abbie Raga was efficient and good all tournament. As we mentioned, 417 Juniors 15-1 finished 3rd, while playing up a division. OH - 22, MB - 12, OH 35, S - 1 had good weekends. 15s STL Crossfire had a good weekend in the 15s division. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the numbers due to every match being on the other side of the net away from the camera. 15s ST1 were the champions and SR 2 finished second.