Las Vegas Classic – 18 Open – Excel NW 18-1 Rox

<p>Several teams from the state of Washington will make the trip down to Nevada in the upcoming President’s Day weekend to compete in the prestigious 36^th Annual Las Vegas Classic.</p> <p>The gigantic tournament will feature more than 800 teams in its ten divisions, with matches being played in the luxurious and imponent Mandalay Bay Convention Center.</p> <p>The Evergreen State will be represented in several different divisions as the tournament quickly approaches, we’ll highlight some of the teams that will compete in the 18 Open division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Excel NW 18-1 Rox</strong></p> <p>The team from the Excel NW Volleyball Club has a great collection of talent from Southwest Washington and has won eight and lost two matches in the season so far.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97217" first="Emily" last="Vossenkuhl"] – Middle Blocker – HS: Ridgefield – 2022</strong></p> <p>A long and athletic 6’1” middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id="97217" first="Emily" last="Vossenkuhl"] dominates the middle for Excel NW 18-1 Rox. She plays the game with a lot of intensity and moves really well at the net, managing to be very involved in the game. She has a very well-developed and powerful offense, which includes the ability to hit from the right if needed too. After four excellent seasons with Ridgefield, Vossenkuhl will remain in the Evergreen State for her collegiate career as she committed with Western Washington.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12449940/620156e0ff01e70f8c15ef3d" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97213" first="Rylie" last="Reeves"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Columbia River – 2022</strong></p> <p>A dynamic outside hitter with an excellent two-way game, [player_tooltip player_id="97213" first="Rylie" last="Reeves"] is the kind of player that delivers both offensively and defensively. She has an exceptional offensive game and, at 5’11”, is capable of carrying a team’s offensive load on her own from the left or the right. She’s also very technical and intelligent on defense and contributes to her team’s efforts to not concede points as well. Reeves is coming from a very prolific high school season with Columbia River in which she produced 279 kills, 254 digs, 172 passes and 34 aces and is headed to the University of San Francisco, where she’ll play beach volleyball.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11681512/61bbb0d10660e90af4dc7b04" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97304" first="Paige" last="Stepaniuk"] – Libero – HS: Ridgefield - 2023</strong></p> <p>An electric defensive player with excellent positioning and outstanding ball control, [player_tooltip player_id="97304" first="Paige" last="Stepaniuk"] leads Excel NW 18-1 Rox’s backcourt efforts. She’s already one of the best liberos in the entire state and playing the club season one year up will just make her game continue to develop at a very fast pace. The 5’7” Stepaniuk is extremely consistent and reliable with her passing and adds a lot of volume on defense. She was one of just nine Washington players selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Phenom Watch List.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/awzKq_jXiHQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>