Pacific Northwest Qualifier – 15s Preview

<p>Club volleyball teams from the state of Washington will have their best opportunity to qualify for this year’s USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship in the next two weekends, when the Spokane area hosts the Pacific Northwest Qualifier.</p> <p>The event will be played across four venues in the region and will reunite teams competing in 28 different divisions in eight age groups. In the days leading up to the first weekend of competition, we’ll preview each age group from 15s to 18s, highlighting the teams of Washington that will compete in the tournament.</p> <p>The 15s division will have its four divisions split across two weekends, with 15 Open and 15 USA playing from March 26-28 and 15 Liberty and 15 American competing from April 1-3. There will be 14 teams from the Evergreen State competing on the first weekend and 22 in action on the second.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>15 Open (4)</strong></p> <p>There will be four Washington teams trying to win their bids to the most prestigious division of the tournament. <strong>NPJ Seattle 15 National </strong>has a strong core with setter <strong>Reese Sheppard </strong>and outside hitters <strong>Vanessa Caoili </strong>and <strong>Aly Skagen</strong>.</p> <p>Middle blocker<strong> Ava Bradbury</strong>, libero <strong>Michelle Ding</strong> and outside hitter<strong> Ella Neubauer </strong>are some of<strong> SIVBC Typhoon 15-1’s </strong>most interesting players to watch. The other two teams from Washington set to compete in the division are <strong>CPA 15 Elite </strong>and <strong>Renovators 15-Kari.</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>15 USA (10)</strong></p> <p><strong>Dakine Warriors 15 Surf </strong>has some of the best collection of talent in the entire state in the likes of setter <strong>Peyton Ensign</strong>, outside hitter <strong>Hailey Judd </strong>and middle blocker <strong>Grace Williams</strong>. Keep an eye out too for <strong>Seattle Jrs 15’s</strong> trio of setter <strong>Laura Esping</strong>, right side <strong>Sydney Ort</strong> and libero <strong>Madison Wheeler</strong>.<strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>CRU U15 Baden, Excel NW 15-1 Rox, ITVC 15 Baden, Kraken – 15 Reef, NPJ 15 Seattle Elite, NW Jrs. 15 UA Black, NW Jrs. 15 UA Blue </strong>and<strong> Shockwave 15 </strong>are the other teams from the Evergreen State entered in the division.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>15 American (8)</strong></p> <p><strong>Blue Royals 15 – Blue </strong>will be tested in the 15 American division. The team strongly relies on right side <strong>McKenna Sicsic</strong>, outside hitter <strong>Sophia Guerrero </strong>and setter <strong>Jacqueline Tang</strong>. Outside hitter <strong>Lauren Hutchinson </strong>and middle blockers <strong>Savannah Doughty</strong> and <strong>Carina Judy</strong> are key starters for <strong>Dakine Warriors 15 Ohana</strong>.</p> <p><strong> </strong>The other teams representing the state of Washington in the division are <strong>Apex NW U15 Summit,</strong> <strong>Capital Ice 15’s,</strong> <strong>Dakine Warriors 15 Lokahi,</strong> <strong>PJVBC 15 Danni,</strong> <strong>Rainier U15 Summit-Molly </strong>and <strong>RSVBC 15-1.</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>15 Liberty (14)</strong></p> <p><strong>PS U15 Navy </strong>has emerged as one of the top teams in the state in the age group thanks to the excellent games of setter <strong>Maddie Taitano</strong>, outside hitter <strong>Layne Dent</strong> and middle blocker <strong>Vivian Yount</strong>. Keep an eye out for a trio of upcoming middle blockers <strong>in Oly Reign 15 Gold’s</strong> <strong>Katie Slove, PJVBC 15 National’s [player_tooltip player_id="184440" first="Ziah" last="Sneva"] </strong>and <strong>SIVBC Lightning 15-2’s Bridget Philipsen.</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong><strong>Aspire NW 15-1 Empire, Dakine Warriors 15 Aloha, NW Jrs. 15 UA Green, PS U15 Red, SEVC 15-1, SEVC 15-2, SNVF 15 Blue, SNVF 15 White, Spokane Sky U15 Black </strong>and <strong>Spokane Sky U15 Pink </strong>will also be in contention.</p>