What 16s Will Be Chasing An Early Open Bid? - Part 1

The 16s age group is going to be real interesting this 2022 season. A few changes to rosters can make a huge difference. Some of the top teams are getting stronger, while other teams are looking to turn heads and make a push to grab an Open bid, competing among the best clubs in the country come late June in Indianapolis at the USAV Nationals. Let’s take a look at some early contenders in the Midwest who will be looking to grab an early bid to USAV 16 Open. *Still waiting for some club rosters to come out. [caption id="attachment_136867" align="aligncenter" width="390"]<img class="wp-image-136867" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/03/DSC05671-1.jpg" alt="" width="390" height="260" /> [player_tooltip player_id="135950" first="Grace" last="Nelson"][/caption] 1st Alliance 16 Gold This core group of athletes made it to the Gold Bracket of USAV 15 Open last summer and they will be hungry for a return. 1st Alliance has a standard within their club where the top teams are always striving to be one of the top teams in the country and want to be playing Open, and for gold the final week of the season. [player_tooltip player_id="135950" first="Grace" last="Nelson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="135954" first="Ellie" last="White"] are two of the top outside hitters not only in the state, but in the country. They can play six rotations, serve receive to attack, and are threats to score out of middle back as well. This team will always have a way to score with these two on the court. The Windy City Power League is going to be a battle among some of the top clubs in the metro. Plays starts January 8-9 and many of these teams will see each other come qualifier season as well. [caption id="attachment_166595" align="aligncenter" width="425"]<img class="wp-image-166595" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/165-Madison-Quest.jpg" alt="" width="425" height="283" /> Quest[/caption] [caption id="attachment_166591" align="aligncenter" width="436"]<img class="wp-image-166591" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/161-Gabriella-Pitcel.jpg" alt="" width="436" height="290" /> Pitcel[/caption] Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold This squad is full of talented athletes across the board and have added some new additions who will make a major impact on a national scene. Some key returners for this team include setter [player_tooltip player_id="122568" first="Lilly" last="Wagner"], middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id="122475" first="Anna" last="Bjork"], and libero [player_tooltip player_id="122523" first="Claire" last="Luoma"]. These three recently finished up training with the National Training Development Program. [player_tooltip player_id="122499" first="Melia" last="Johnson"] is back and will be swinging big on the pin where she started 2021 as a middle blocker. She’s so physical and her transition to the pin will be fun to watch. Two newcomers to this team are Madison Quest and Gabriella Pitcel, two of the top prospects in Wisconsin out of the Class of 2025. Quest is a 6’3 powerful pin who can do it all, a young talent who has already shown at the high school level she can dominate against some of the top players in the state. This team might take a bit to gel with the addition of new players, but their potential is real scary. [caption id="attachment_173089" align="aligncenter" width="430"]<img class="wp-image-173089" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/12/DSC01745-e1640975563108-300x191.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="274" /> [player_tooltip player_id="168149" first="Payton" last="Petersen"][/caption] Six Pack 16-1 Six Pack comes from a major hotspot for volleyball in Iowa in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. Many of the Six Pack athletes have gone on to big time college careers and have plenty of connections to the UNI volleyball program. This team starts with the Petersen twins! [player_tooltip player_id="168149" first="Payton" last="Petersen"] and Jadyn Petersen. Their mom is Bobbi Petersen, head coach at Northern Iowa, while their two older sisters, twins Baylee and Sydney Petersen played at UNI and Texas. Payton and Jadyn are writing their own history having already won two Iowa state titles in their first two years. They will pace this team with their ball control and attacking from the front and backrow. This squad is also paced by right side/setter combo in [player_tooltip player_id="168160" first="Gabby" last="Lombardi"] as well as other multi-sport dynamic athletes. They were a 15 Open qualifier last year, finishing 18th in 2021. [caption id="attachment_168711" align="aligncenter" width="385"]<img class="wp-image-168711" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/12/73-Ruth-Ziegler-300x188.jpg" alt="" width="385" height="241" /> Ziegler[/caption] Sky High Adidas 16 Elite Put this team on the radar right now. Sky High had two extremely strong 15s teams last year at two different sites and this year they have combined forces. [player_tooltip player_id="136595" first="Jenna" last="Meitzler"] will be leading this squad as one of the top 2024 setters in Illinois. She has a lot of physicality at the net where she can be offensive, scoring points on her own and defends her position extremely well. She will have plenty of attackers with the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="135987" first="Nora" last="Larson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="79710" first="Brynn" last="Smith"] on the left side, [player_tooltip player_id="135992" first="Makayla" last="Weissenberg"] with a powerful left handed swing on the right side, and [player_tooltip player_id="135994" first="Ruth" last="Ziegler"] who is a force in the middle. [player_tooltip player_id="135989" first="Jaimie" last="Marquardt"] will be one of the top defenders on this team where she has a really solid all around skill set, but her athleticism really shines in her range as a libero. They will have some big Sunday matches come qualifier season.