Battle at the Fort Top Teams and Players 15s-18s
Battle at the Fort is a large tournament located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and hosted by Fort Smith Juniors Volleyball Club. This is the second-largest event all year for the city. It is split over two separate weekends. This past weekend was…
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Continue ReadingBattle at the Fort is a large tournament located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and hosted by Fort Smith Juniors Volleyball Club. This is the second-largest event all year for the city. It is split over two separate weekends. This past weekend was the 15-18s weekend, massing a total of 89 teams just for these age groups.
15s– We saw three different regions and four different states represented in this age group. This was the largest of the three divisions. 36 teams went head to head in a very competitive tournament. EVA 15 National, Club Net 15 Premier and BAVC 15-1 Royal were the overall top three seeds entering the tournament. We will focus on the Oklahoma teams, such as Rise 15-1, who ended up tied for 3rd overall, and BAVC who ended up finishing tied for 5th overall in the gold bracket.
We were lucky enough to see Rise 15-1 at the ORU Early Bird back in December. They have greatly improved since then and their top three finish proves it. Talking with head coach, Rachel Jones, she credited her team with her hitters finding some good timing and making better decisions. Watching them in person, I would also credit their out-of-system attacks. Middle Blocker #3, Vanessa Fisher, was an absolute monster this weekend. Opposing teams need to put up a big block or she will drop bombs on the opposing team’s right-back defenders. Outside Hitter, Chesnie Caudill, continues to up her game. She made nearly no errors in the match we were able to watch. She is a big reason they are able to apply pressure at all times. She can be smart or aggressive, whether she is back row, in system, or out of system. Both deserve to be looked at in the 2025 rankings.
BAVC 15-1 Royal also had a really nice tournament showing. Behind players like Peyton Heath and Camryn Liechti, they will continue to push teams and finish high in tournaments.
Lucy Ridener and Brooklyn Hicks had solid outings this weekend for Virago 15-1. They play for 6A school programs in Jenks and Broken Arrow that play at a high level. Heat VBC 15 Black and Virago 15-1 both finished in the top 10 as well at Battle of the Fort.
16s– Oklahoma has four teams finish tied for 9th or better, Peak 16-3 and Kaizen 16 Black both tying for fifth overall and Charge 16 American and OC 16 Elite both rounding out the top 10 as well. Both Hadley Crain, who plays for Kaizen and for the top-notch high school, Carl Albert, and Ella Booth, who plays for Peak 16-3 and Mustang High School, have a ton of potential. Look for them to continue to grow their skills and help their teams rise in the rankings.
17/18s-Oklahoma again had 4 teams finish tied for 9th or better. TPV 17-1 had another strong showing this weekend, finishing tied for third. Layla Lenex Layla Lenex 6'0" | MB Charles Page | 2023 State OK , Brooke Goen, and Logan Hamilton all contribute to make this team multi-dimensional. Virago 18-1, Heat VBC 18 Black, and Kaizen 17 Black all rounded out the top 10. We actually got to see Heat and Virago in the 1 vs 2 match-up in their pool on Saturday. The match went three sets and was full of energy from both teams and their fans. They both blew through the rest of the pool leading up to this. Virago edged them 15-10 in the final set.
Oklahoma was well represented this past weekend at Battle at the Fort. Although no Oklahoma teams won their division, as a whole they finished heavily towards the top. They are all clearly making strides as individual players and as whole teams. We look forward to continuing coverage of players and teams from the state of Oklahoma.