What New 15s Are On The Radar After Windy City Qualifier?
Last weekend at the Windy City Qualifier was one of the first times I was really able to sit and watch, take notes on some 15s. I saw a solid group of these athletes at Central Zone, Triple Crown, Northern…
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Continue ReadingLast weekend at the Windy City Qualifier was one of the first times I was really able to sit and watch, take notes on some 15s. I saw a solid group of these athletes at Central Zone, Triple Crown, Northern Lights Qualifier, and a little at MEQ. I start my coverage with the oldest age group and work down throughout the season (a little glimpse behind the process). I had seen Circle City play back in January and they are continuing to get better, they are continuing to become more balanced and now are really winning those big points. They were down match point to Dynasty in the championship and stormed back to win the set and then eventually claimed the title. Six Pack had big win after big win this weekend and ended up taking home a 15 Open bid back to Iowa.
I see a lot of players, some more than others, but here are some from the 15 Open Division where I hadn’t seen much heading into this weekend. They are officially on the radar.
Ella Florez – Dynasty 15 Black
Florez just glides on the court and has such a solid all around skill set. That is much the same as her teammates for Dynasty where they are one of the top teams in the country at the 15s level. Florez gets her feet in the right position and her hands on the ball even in a scramble situation. She could even swing if needed, but was used mostly in their 6-2 system.
Hadley Porter – Dynasty 15 Black
I use the term platform awareness and body control a lot when talking about Liberos and Porter has it for Dynasty. At times liberos will have a lot of movement and they’ll get the touch, but can’t keep the ball alive let alone in system. Porter moves easily and keeps it simple with her platform where she turns a ball with a lot of pace into an system play for Dynasty
Avery Freeman – Circle City 15 Purple
Freeman is very much like all the Circle City Liberos where they have a controlled platform and make all the plays look routine. She can handle a high volume of serve receive and commands the back row to let an elite setter like Isabelle Brown really do her thing running a quick tempo offense.
Let’s play three! @circlecityvbc is down match point and fights back to win 28-26 to force set against Dynasty in 15 Open pic.twitter.com/JoLSxv3JFK
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 17, 2022
Logan Bell – Circle City 15 Purple
For someone who is only at the 15s level, Bell knows all the angles from the pin where she knows how to turn it down the line or blast the split. What really shows her high IQ is being able to go high hands or off the block which makes her a really frustrating matchup for the other side of the net.
Really competitive first set between Vital and @6packvbc Abbey Hayes has been coming up big. She closes set one with a kill #wcnq pic.twitter.com/8Seim4wxlb
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 15, 2022
Abbey Hayes – Six Pack 15-1
Active and electric, Abbey Hayes does it all for Six Pack 15-1 n every rotation. She is a pure point scorer where she can put it away from the backrow or blast on the left side pin. Six Pack out of Cedar Falls, Iowa was the “Cinderella” of the tournament scoring wins over Legacy and Houston Juniors, punching their ticket to USAV 16 Open Nationals.
Zoey Belt – Five One Five
Five One Five comes out of Central Iowa in the Des Moines arwa and has a really athletic bunch. Libero, Zoey Belt is one of those top athletes who really demonstrates range. When she is able to get the first touch that means really positive things for Five One Five.
Epifania Salamasina – Dynasty 15 Black
Extremely fundamental and well trained, xxxx knows how to work hard in transition, going from blocking to attacking in a smooth manner. Her court vision allows her to swing deep for the corners or a simple tip to the campfire or the middle to score points.
Sonja Laaksonen – Vital 15-1 Gold
Another fast twitch electric outside in this field with Sonja Laaksonen from Vital. She is able to contact the ball high and put some pace on it, making it difficult for the defense to stay in system. Other teams have to know where she is as the squad from the Twin Cities will go to her in a variety of situations.
Upset in 15 Open with @6packvbc out of Cedar Falls, Iowa taking down Legacy 15 Adidas in two sets. #wcnq pic.twitter.com/qKzocBOx7p
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 15, 2022
Gracie Furlong – Six Pack 15-1
What is so fun about Furlong is there is no fear when she goes up to swing. A really fast arm, Furlong can swing from both pins or the backrow where she scored plenty of points over the weekend. She is also dangerous in using the block with how much pop she has with hand to ball contact.
Ella Rogers – Six Pack 15-1
Six Pack has a lot of attackers they can go to, but the x-factor who brings it all together is their setter xxxx. Really long and athletic, xxxxx can nail all the tempos in front and behind while also making the high IQ play. She isn’t extremely offensive but being 5’10 with a high reach allows her to take it over on two to score points.
Kennedi Rogers – Houston Juniors 15 Elite
So explosive. Rogers was really key in the day one pool play against Milwaukee Sting 15 Gold. Time and time again she was able to come up with big kills that would stop Sting’s momentum and propel HJV in a pivotal pool match. She has the skill set to attack anywhere in the front row – electric!
Kennedi Rogers having a big match for @houstonjuniors 15 Elite. Uber athletic with a big swing. Six rotation outside! #wcnq pic.twitter.com/7luQzKCdN0
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) April 15, 2022
Kirra Musgrove – Houston Juniors 15 Elite
I really could write about the whole HJV 15 Elite squad with how athletic and physical this squad was over the course of the weekend. Kirra Musgrove is scary good and extremely dynamic. At 6’2 she can turn and burn with a left handed swing or set a variety of tempos. She is following in the footsteps of plenty of high level Texas setters who make such an impact in every facet of the game.