NKYVC Earns 13 GJNC Bids on Saturday
The Pioneer Region bid tournament was held on Saturday with several bids to the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships up for grabs. Several age groups had three bids available for the USA, American, and Freedom divisions. NKYVC claimed 13…
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Continue ReadingThe Pioneer Region bid tournament was held on Saturday with several bids to the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships up for grabs. Several age groups had three bids available for the USA, American, and Freedom divisions. NKYVC claimed 13 total bids as at least one team from ages U11 through U18 qualified for nationals to be held in Indy in late June and early July 2022. Multiple age groups, U13 and U16, saw NKYVC claiming the two highest bids available. In 2021, NKYVC had four teams earn open-level bids outside of the Pioneer Region event, including their U13 team a season ago claiming the bronze medal in 13 Open. This same squad, with the addition of a couple of new key athletes, won the U14 division on Saturday. Here are a few key athletes that helped NKYVC find great success this weekend. NKYVC’s 16-Time team (pictured) claimed 2nd in the U16 division, following up on their runner-up finish in gold at the recent St. Louis President’s Day event.
Emsley Venard
Emsley
Venard
6'0" | S
St. Ursula | 2025
State
OH
– S | 2025 | 15-Tsunami
This team recently switched to a 5-1 offense with Venard taking on the role as the primary setter. Upon the switch there seems to be a much more defined identity in their offense with the ball in her hands. She continues to get much more confident in her skills and decision making and this was a big factor for them this weekend. The St. Ursula product has a good core group of attackers with good ball control and defense behind her to create a lot of opportunities. This team won the U15 age group.
McKenna Rocco – OH | 2023 | 17-Tide
Rocco and her twin sister, setter Macey Rocco, attend Mount Notre Dame and make up a key duo for this 17-Tide team that finished third on Saturday, claiming a bid into the Freedom division. McKenna Rocco is this squad’s primary arm and gets a lot of opportunities on the left pin and in the back row. At 5’9, she has good physical tools as she jumps well and swings with high contact at the top of her jump. She also has good skills in the ball control and defensive phases of the game.
Sophia Mokedi – OH | 2024 | 16-Tide
Mokedi may be undersized as an outside hitter at 5’7 but she is crafty with her arm and balances that net play well with her ball control and defense. The Mount Notre Dame athlete has a good skill foundation and is not afraid to compete as a primary offensive option for this team. She has good arm control in the air and can swing aggressively and with good finesse to place the ball. She and her team defeated a good team in Union’s top U16s in the semifinals that eventually earned them 2nd place overall and a bid to the American division. The key factor here is that NKYVC’s top U16 team is expected to once again qualify at the open level, which means that this Tide team would move up and assume their USA bid earned through the Pioneer Region.
Kayla Hostetler
Kayla
Hostetler
DS/L
Notre Dame | 2023
State
KY
– L/DS | 2023 | 17-Tsunami
This club has a great reputation for producing high quality liberos and Hostetler is another one garnering good attention as a prospect for the Division I level. She continues to grow in her ability to read the game and pursue the ball with good first-step reaction to make big plays on the ball. She creates good angles versus hard-driven balls and can chase down and control balls around the court showing her quickness and range. She and her teammates finished 2nd overall, earning the American bid from the Pioneer Region.