18s GJNC Preview: Seattle JRS 18

<p>The most important tournament of the year for the class of 2021 players is just in front of us as the 2021 USAV Girls 18s Junior National Championship is set to happen from April 23-25 in Columbus, Ohio, and as many as 280 teams from the entire country are expected to compete in the five divisions.</p> <p>Even though the high school season is still ongoing in Washington for a few divisions, the state will be represented in the tournament with four teams making the trip out East and this week we’ll present them and analyze their most important players.</p> <p>The 18 Patriot Division will have two Washington teams in contention and one of them is <strong>Seattle JRS 18, </strong>which we present now:</p> <p><em>Seattle JRS 18 is part of the Seattle Juniors Volleyball Club, which has gyms in four locations around the city - Lynwood, Snohomish, Redmond and Mountlake Terrace. The group of players that works under head coach Shannon Pratt had played in just a few matches so far this season, winning seven and losing six of them.</em></p> <p>Here are their key players:</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="96985" first="Karli" last="Tri"] – Middle-Blocker – HS: Lake Stevens - 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="96985" first="Karli" last="Tri"] has been a dominant force for high school powerhouse Lake Stevens in the last few years. The 6’2” middle-blocker is exceptionally strong on offense with a powerful and well-diversified game that had her register north of 300 kills in three high school seasons. Her blocking game is also very well-developed and she will further improve her skills at the next level as she committed to the Western Washington University. She ranks sixth on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TxHdICdU76w" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97075" first="Emily" last="Mekelburg"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Arlington - 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97075" first="Emily" last="Mekelburg"] is another player who should have a central role in Seattle JRS 18’s offensive system. The 6’1” outside hitter has been a scoring machine for Arlington during her high school career, having tallied more than 220 kills last season alone, and her game is also good enough to make an impact at the club level. Mekelburg is very long and technical, doesn’t shy away from the big moments and can score from the back row too. She’s part of our class of 2022 watchlist.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11711698/606e99520c5da20c10b33df7" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97003" first="Michelle" last="Fast"] – Setter – HS: Lake Stevens – 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97003" first="Michelle" last="Fast"] had a fantastic group of hitters to work with during her four years with Lake Stevens but she deserves a lot of credit for making the absolute most of them. The 5’10” ran a very creative and efficient offense with the Vikings and ended her high school career with 1,340 assists. She’s also an excellent defender and a lethal server and for those reasons ranks 24th on our 2021 Prep Dig State Rankings.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15731886/6053e46d90f98c190c674d37" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>