Academy Summer League Week 3 Preview

<p>We are into week three of the annual Academy Volleyball Club Indiana Summer League, and there are four more teams I’m focusing on that have athletes you should already know. Some are ready to lead and move their respective squads to the next level, some have rising youth that has to fill important losses due to graduation. Here we go!</p> <p><strong>Covington</strong></p> <p>The Trojans finished their ’20 slate with a sectional final loss to Traders Point Christian and a 19-8 record. With only two gone due to graduation, this isn’t a rebuild by any definition. Bringing back the base of what makes Covington a solid repeat candidate for a sectional title is a mixture of youth and experience. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85865" first="Amber" last="Cruser"] (’22, 5-11 RS) </strong>is THE returner that the Trojans must rely on, as her size and experience placed her in the top four in four different categories. She’s a stat sheet filler, and can do anything the Trojans need for a win. Her counterpart, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="102533" first="Holly" last="Linville"] (’22, 5-9 MB/OH), </strong>splits some of the one-two punch with Miss Cruser above, leading in blocks and aces, while sitting just behind her in kills. Feeding them the ball is rising senior setter <strong>Karsyn Engle (’22, 5-6 S), </strong>whose tennis background makes her footwork exceptional and can always find an available attacker. But who might feed <em>her</em> the ball? With their ’bro graduating, I hope to find out tonight.</p> <p><strong>Knightstown</strong></p> <p>My very first IHSAA sectional assignment was at Knightstown as a line judge. Great gym, great atmosphere, and very athletic kids. Back then, volleyball was the tool to get the girls warmed up for basketball season. With a few kids now playing club, the Panthers have a solid core that should make an impact in the fall. <strong>Paige Personett (’22, 5-8 MB)</strong> is the top returning attacker for the Panthers, as she attacks in the front and stays in to pass in the back. Setter <strong>Gwen Dyer (’23, 5-11 S)</strong> brings some much-needed size to the squad, and can get a ton of passes that most can’t just because of that length. Past those two, however, there needs to be another attacker and another defender to take a little bit of the pressure off of the two ladies listed above. Will it be <strong>Avery Bever (’23, 5-6 OH), </strong>who has the athleticism to put balls away while leading the team in aces? Can <strong>Taeler Mayhew (’22, 5-7 RS/DS)</strong> be asked to play more defense and receive more serves? Questions abound I hope to find answers to tonight.</p> <p><strong>Warren Central</strong></p> <p>When conference realignments happened a few short years ago, the MIC got the best of the best, and made the football and boys basketball portions of competition that much better for some of the best athletes in the state. Multiple division one athletes come from all teams in this conference, including Warren Central. Unfortunately, some other sports did not handle the transition well, as the Warriors have struggled to get out of single digits in the win column since this author was a coach almost ten years ago. With that being said, there is no physical equal to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85866" first="Imani" last="Stokes"] (’22, 6-2 MB), </strong>a kid who easily skies past ten feet and is raw, untapped athletic talent who has flashes of division one potential. <b>Steve VandeVanter (’22, 5-8 OH)</b> can also put balls away for the Warriors, and will probably need to do a bit more to make them competitive. <strong>Katelyn Alvarado (’22, 5-5 DS)</strong> should don the libero jersey in the fall, and will need to pass a good portion of the court to keep her squad in matches.</p> <p><strong>Park Tudor</strong></p> <p>The enigma that is the Panther squad has always intrigued me. There are club kids that will make a difference at the next level. There are athletes aplenty. Their training is exceptional. But after a 19-9 season in which they fell flat in the sectional opener, the Panthers return almost all of their highly successful squad from a year ago. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85932" first="Ava" last="Smith"] (’23, 6-0 OH)</strong> can absolutely bounce a ball and is gaining on a jump touch of ten feet, if not there already. <strong>Sara Gomperts (’22, 5-8 S)</strong> has always been the setter at PT, and her high-end training and experience has built her into a setter ready to commit at the next level. <strong>Sophia Kirschner (’22, 5-4 DS/L)</strong> will wear the special jersey again in the fall, and is one of five rising seniors looking to bring it one last time.</p>