Tuesday’s Tea: Quick Hitting Storylines From Central Zone
This past weekend’s Central Zone Invite in Indianapolis had the feels of what it will be come late June when USAV Nationals comes to the same venue. Some of the best athletes in the country, three set matches, the occasional…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThis past weekend’s Central Zone Invite in Indianapolis had the feels of what it will be come late June when USAV Nationals comes to the same venue. Some of the best athletes in the country, three set matches, the occasional drama, and matches that are too tough to call. Here are some quick hitting storylines Central Zone.
Harper Murray doing Harper Murray things for @LegacyLvc #centralzone pic.twitter.com/1Owda6tgl5
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 30, 2022
It’s happening @LegacyLvc 17 Adidas vs @circlecityvbc 17 Purple for the Central Zone Title @Huskervball commit Harper Murray vs @PennStateVBALL commit Chloe Chicoine.
A Big Ten and @usavolleyball flavor! #centralzone
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 30, 2022
Chloe Chicoine – Relentless
We knew it could happen on paper. Circle City 17 Purple and Legacy 17-1 Adidas would be two of the top teams in the 17 Open field and have two of the top athletes in the Class of 2023 with Chloe Chicoine of Circle City and Harper Murray of Legacy. Chicoine is heading to Penn State while Murray is going to Nebraska. The two were on the same side of the net this past fall, taking home a bronze medal for the USA Youth National Team at the FIVB World Championships. On Sunday afternoon, the two met in the 17 Open final and it was all Circle City, taking home the title. It’s special watching these two – there were hundreds of future D1 players in the building, but these two are just different (in the best way possible). I was able to really watch Chicoine over the weekend and watched her light up the court against a really tall, physical Kiva 17s team. She is relentless, there is no fear in any swing and she wants the ball in the big moments and wants the ball to be served at her, she will get it done. However, she is also a really good teammate, she hypes up the others around her and it’s a contagious confidence. It doesn’t matter what the sport is, you need Chloe Chicoine on your side.
This middle/right side combo for @a5volleyball really tough to go head to head against. Molly Kate Patten 6’6 and Mia Hood 6’7#centralzone pic.twitter.com/bcZR3NNN5k
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 29, 2022
The A5 Factor
When A5 comes to an event out of Atlanta, there is going to be something different about the dynamic of the tournament. I think everyone in the country wants to be on the A5 social media pages as their club is one of the top brands in the country with athletes going to top programs from coast to coast, their tik tok page, they videography, and their near 40k in followers on Instagram. Sign me up! But they also have so many details to their game that makes their top teams at each age level a heavy favorite.
Speed – A5 plays controls the tempo in ever facet of the game. They are running to the ball to get it to the server to speed things up. After a few points, the momentum is in their favor and the other side feels like it is playing up a hill.
Size – The size and strength of the A5 athletes is just different. Teams have to look past the physically imposing factor, but its hard facing A5 16 Gabe when you have 6’6 and 6’7 teaming up to block the outside. Even their liberos can be 5’9 or 5’10.
Swag – When A5 teams are able to watch each other, especially when it comes to gold bracket play, the chant “We are A5” sounds just a little bit louder. The blocks have a little more celebration and the whole court is on fire. Combined with their pace of play, size at the net, and what feels like the whole club cheering behind them – it’s tough to stop.
Circle City Defends “Home” Court
There were plenty of local Indianapolis teams and teams from within an hour or two of the convention center, but Circle City is the host club when it comes to the Central Zone Invite. They won plenty of hardware across multiple divisions, 14 of their 15 teams in the 15s to 18s finished in the top ten with their 16 Black, 16 White, 17 Purple, and 18 Black taking home a title.
Love the pace that @avcvolleyball plays with. They score and get the ball right back and are constantly putting pressure on the other side of the net #CentralZone pic.twitter.com/1oCJNk8p1c
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 29, 2022
Central Zone vs. NLQ Omaha
Prep Dig had scouts all over this weekend, but two of the major events going on were the Northern Lights Qualifier for 17s and 18s and Central Zone. Austin Kingsley, our Prep Dig Nebraska writer had exclusive coverage on NLQ and the storylines in Omaha with plenty of top teams competing from the Midwest and Texas while Central Zone had who’s who from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
Zeroing in on the the 17 Open field, the top four in Indy were:
- Circle City 17 Purple
- Legacy 17 Adidas
- A5 17 Jing
- AVC CLE Rox 17 Red
NLQ 17 Open Top Four:
- 1st Alliance 17 Gold
- Premier Nebraska 17 Gold
- MAVS 17-1
- Dynasty 17 Black
This will heavily involve seeding at Triple Crown in Kansas City which is just under three weeks away. Circle City will be playing in St. Louis while the others will head to Triple Crown, along with the big clubs from California, Texas, and other top competitors who will be kicking off opening of live recruiting for all divisions.
The Balance of 15s
The 15s division was a really interesting division to keep tabs on. Seeding at tournaments this point in the season when teams haven’t played a lot of matches is based a lot on finishes from last year. A lot of changes happen from the 14 to 15s year which always brings a lot of question marks heading into the event, but also a lot of excitement. KIVA would go on to win the championship, but they did drop a match to OPVC Saturday night in the power pools and won a key match Sunday morning to advance to the final four defeating Legacy 15 Adidas 17-15 in set three. There were teams in the top ten who suffered two, some had three losses. However in volleyball, it may not always be the number of wins, but who you beat, when you beat them, and how many sets you give up that will determine your fate.
Emma Koceja of @stingvb1988 15 Gold finding a lot of different ways to score points today. #centralzone pic.twitter.com/EIuuvTdz0j
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 29, 2022
What’s Next?
Presidents Day is a weekend starred for everyone, Prep Dig scouts will be out around the country. But first, we have our Stateline Slam in Rockford, Illinois followed by Chi-Town Classic in Chicago February 12-13. I will be covering the whole weekend of Triple Crown in Kansas City.