2022 Club Season Spotlight: 1st Alliance VBC 17 Gold

<p>The 2022 Club Season Spotlight series has looked at plenty of teams in my home state of Nebraska. We've ventured into Iowa, too. Now, though, it's time to hop to Illinois to look at a team that infiltrated the Cornhusker State and took an entire tournament by storm.</p> <p>This is the star-studded lineup of 1st Alliance VBC 17 Gold, champions of the Northern Lights Qualifier's 17 Open division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Elite Ball Control</strong></p> <p>It's easy to get caught up in the players who are terminating rallies, either with a big kill or stuff block. For 1st Alliance, though, I'd advise not to overlook how important their first and second contacts are to their success.</p> <p>17 Gold had some of the steadiest passing of any team in Omaha last weekend. <strong>Gigi Navarrete</strong>, a Northwestern commit, locked down the backcourt in both the passing and defensive phases. This libero flies around the court and has an upbeat, energetic attitude that really embodies this entire 1st Alliance lineup. Navarrete and her teammates know how to have fun.</p> <p><strong>Vanessa Del Real</strong> is also crucial to the team's back-row success. She meshes so well with Navarrete and has spectacular command of her defensive specialist role.</p> <p>Then, of course, you have the pin hitters that are also a major factor in 17 Gold's serve receive. Opposing teams tried to serve [player_tooltip player_id="138647" first="Kennedy" last="Wagner"] and [player_tooltip player_id="138648" first="Grace" last="Egan"] in hopes of slowing down the 1st Alliance offense, but these two left-side hitters are so developed in their pass-to-attack technique. It's as if making the first contact helps keep Wagner and Egan in rhythm.</p> <p>After the first contact, setter [player_tooltip player_id="138653" first="Jordan" last="Heatherly"] keeps the 1st Alliance machine rolling. The Memphis commit is always looking to stay aggressive and keep opposing blockers off balance. It's easy to conclude that Heatherly succeeded just based on how lethal the 17 Gold offense was in Omaha.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/1stAllianceVBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@1stAllianceVBC</a> is on the board first with a set-winning ace from [player_tooltip player_id="138656" first="Kamryn" last="Lee-Caracci"]! <a href="https://t.co/KxomMrVQy9">pic.x.com/KxomMrVQy9</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1487945636741718017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>An Unstoppable Frontcourt</strong></p> <p>We just mentioned Wagner and Egan's contributions to 1st Alliance's ball control, but a conversation about the team's frontcourt should also start with these magnificent outside hitters.</p> <p>Egan was probably the best left-side blocker in Omaha last weekend. She defended her side of the net with astonishing efficiency, and she added plenty of floor-denting kills to the mix, too. Wagner, meanwhile, showed the kind of hitting range that is simply difficult to defend. Tracking her along the net as she hit multiple gaps proved difficult for most teams at NLQ, and that's just a testament to Wagner's dominance throughout the event.</p> <p>Shift over to the right pin and you'll find [player_tooltip player_id="138649" first="Kamryn" last="Chaney"], a player who always seemed to provide a spark for 1st Alliance at just the right time. She made a habit of shutting down some of the best left-side attackers at NLQ, and her heavy arm was also something to behold.</p> <p>Over at the middle blocker spot, 1st Alliance has three more fierce competitors in <strong>Ava Bogan</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id="138651" first="Annie" last="Eschenbach"], and [player_tooltip player_id="138656" first="Kamryn" last="Lee-Caracci"]. Each of these athletes provides enough physicality to compete with any 17s team in the country. Lee-Caracci also made the most of her opportunities behind the service line at the M1 position, which shows her desire to impact a match in any way possible.</p> <p>Look out for this group. I'll be seeing them again at plenty more future events, including Nationals in Indianapolis.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Perfection!<br /> <br /> 1st Alliance VBC 17 Gold is your undisputed NLQ 17 Open champion! Zero set losses throughout the event! <a href="https://t.co/CnjSXlgh1V">pic.x.com/CnjSXlgh1V</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1488278383846907913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>