Top Athletes Show Bold Play at Prep Dig BITV

There were so many players to watch and so little time! There wasn't much time for breaks, and with staggered start times between divisions, there was non-stop action at the Community First Champion Center in Appleton to kick off the month of May. We are hitting a tricky time of year when teams start missing players to rescheduled spring sports competitions, proms, concerts, etc. At the same time, teams are trying not to lose all the ground gained over the last 5 months. Looking back at some of the performances during the Battle In The Valley, some of these athletes stepped up in really big ways for their teams. Overall, I enjoyed seeing the positive body language, all-out effort, and the competitive grind to win it all! [player_tooltip player_id="178238" first="Ava" last="Patchett"] - Libero/Defensive Specialist - FC Elite 15 White Patchett is a really quick defender and solid in serve-receive. Her skill set is sound, and she impressed me during a series of plays against Wisconsin Blaze in pool play that were incredibly crucial and almost pushed the match to the 3rd set. FC Elite 15 White would end up going on to knock off an impressive Impact 16-National and FVP 16-Blue to get a second crack at Wisconsin Blaze. [player_tooltip player_id="181810" first="Grace" last="Fruzen"] - 2024 - 5'7 - Setter/Right Side Hitter - Manitowoc Lincoln - FC Elite 16 White This FC Elite team was all grit and grind throughout the weekend. They are a great mixture that competes well together, has fun, and does a great job adjusting and strategizing. I feel like Fruzen is a huge piece of their success. She has great quick-twitch reactions, gritty defense, and she will jump backset on a dime. Fruzen is quiet but steady, and she knows how to execute and take care of business. She may not be the setter who has a ton of height, but she is a really effective swing and holds her own as a blocker. [player_tooltip player_id="31614" first="Grace" last="Travis"] - 2022 - 5'11 - Setter/Right Side Hitter - DeLaSalle (MN) - Impact 18-Black Travis has all the pieces to run an offense. She gives her hitters a ton of opportunities, and her body language projects a lot of confidence. Travis does a really nice job at the net, puts up a big block, and gets a touch on everything. She has great location, as well as creates positive match-ups to give her hitters the best chance to score. Travis is also a skilled attacker and knows how to keep pushing her squad in tough matches. [player_tooltip player_id="151739" first="Lauren" last="Fischer"] - 2024 - 6'2 - Middle Blocker - St. Mary's Catholic - FC Elite 16 White Fischer puts up a huge block and it always seems to come into play at the biggest moments for this team. She does a great job of being patient and then making a quick first step. She's also come a long way this season as an offensive threat, and her connection with her setters, Fruzen and [player_tooltip player_id="144816" first="Mariah" last="Potter"], just gets better and better every time I see them. She is consistent in closing the block and moving well from pin to pin. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://x.com/FCEliteVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FCEliteVB</a> 16 White moves on to the 17/18 Gold Championship on a [player_tooltip player_id="151739" first="Lauren" last="Fischer"] kill.<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/PDBattleInTheValley?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PDBattleInTheValley</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigChris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigChris</a> <a href="https://x.com/prepdigrachel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@prepdigrachel</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDig?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDig</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigEvents?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigEvents</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigWI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigWI</a> <a href="https://t.co/EKaL6h9ZMe">pic.x.com/EKaL6h9ZMe</a> — Breit Nelson (@BreitNelson) <a href="https://x.com/BreitNelson/status/1520773936019038213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   [player_tooltip player_id="122561" first="Maddox" last="Stille"] - 2024 - 5'6 - Libero - Winneconne - Impact 16 National Impact has a really gritty defense led by Stille as a libero. She is solid in serve-receive and not afraid to claim the first ball, whether that first contact is in transition, off a hard driven swing, or in serve-receive. Stille is the spark who ignites the rest of her squad. In a tight match against FC Elite 15 White, Stille kept her team in a number of plays and helped push the match to a 3rd set. [player_tooltip player_id="122476" first="Natalie" last="Boehmer"] - 2024 - 5'8 - Setter - Horicon - [program_tooltip program_id='431537' first='Midwest' last='Penguins'] 16 Black Boehmer is following the trend of highly athletic setters in this article. She has soft hands and gives her hitters a lot of opportunities to show off their athleticism. Boehmer does a nice job of seeing the court and knowing what her hitters need from her. [player_tooltip player_id="149043" first="Rayna" last="McArdle"] - 2024 - 5'9 - Setter/Right Side Hitter - Holmen - Xtreme 17 Adidas McArdle's athleticism makes it hard to believe she is playing up an age. She is competitive and very physical at the net. McArdle is also gritty on defense, has a soft quick release when setting, and she just knows how to make things happen for her squad. You can tell they have a lot of respect for her and confidence in her.   More Top Athletes: Adalyn Schoen – Middle Blocker – Impact 16-Black (MN) [player_tooltip player_id="178280" first="Addison" last="Bryant"] - Setter/Pin Hitter - impact 15-National Amara Jahner - Libero - FC Elite 14 White Amaris Williams - 2022 - 4'11 - Libero - Riverside University - Adversity 17-1 Ava Van Hammond - 2026 - Setter - Appleton North - FC Elite 14 Navy [player_tooltip player_id="195004" first="Avery" last="Buchta"] - 2025 - Defensive Specialist/Libero - Lakeside Lutheran - River City 15 Blue Ella Lindgren - Defensive Specialist - FC Elite 14 Navy Faye Hehli - 2026 - Middle Blocker - Appleton North - FC Elite 14 Navy [player_tooltip player_id="178234" first="Grace" last="Borys"] - 2025 - 5'7 - Setter - Notre Dame - FC Elite 15 White [player_tooltip player_id="195005" first="Grace" last="Eickhoff"] - 2023 - Setter/Right Side Hitter - Holmen - Xtreme 17 Adidas [player_tooltip player_id="195006" first="Hailee" last="Thompson"] - 2024 - Setter - Bonduel - Wisconsin Blaze 16 Black [player_tooltip player_id="178249" first="Halley" last="Maglio"] - 2025 - 5'8 - Setter/Right Side Hitter - Pewaukee - [program_tooltip program_id='431537' first='Midwest' last='Penguins'] 15-Black [player_tooltip player_id="178246" first="Isabella" last="Pulvermacher"] - 2025 - 5'3 - Libero - Arrowhead - [program_tooltip program_id='431537' first='Midwest' last='Penguins'] 15-Black [player_tooltip player_id="122583" first="Izabelle" last="Shea"] - 2024 - Defensive Specialist/Pin Hitter - Xavier - FC Elite 16 White <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://x.com/FCEliteVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FCEliteVB</a> Belle Shea was unstoppable at the service line. She pushes this match to 3 at the <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/PDBattleInTheValley?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PDBattleInTheValley</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigChris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigChris</a> <a href="https://x.com/prepdigrachel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@prepdigrachel</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDig?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDig</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigEvents?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigEvents</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigWI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepDigWI</a> <a href="https://t.co/iFtAzQwixt">pic.x.com/iFtAzQwixt</a> — Breit Nelson (@BreitNelson) <a href="https://x.com/BreitNelson/status/1520481298623746048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   Kourtney Zech - Setter - River City 15 Blue [player_tooltip player_id="195007" first="Kylie" last="Fernan"] - 2023 - 5'11 - Setter - McFarland - FFC 18-1 [player_tooltip player_id="195008" first="Lara" last="Kavalauskas"] - 2024 - Middle Blocker - [program_tooltip program_id='431537' first='Midwest' last='Penguins'] 16 Black Libby McGrath - 2022 - 5'6 - Setter - Xavier - One Wisconsin Bay 18 Mizuno [player_tooltip player_id="178235" first="Maddie" last="Wolfram"] - 2025 - 5'5 - Libero - Notre Dame - FC Elite 15 White [player_tooltip player_id="144816" first="Mariah" last="Potter"] - 2024 - 5'8 - Setter - Xavier - FC Elite 16 White [player_tooltip player_id="178236" first="Mariska" last="Kees"] - 2025 - 5'7 - Setter - Laconia - FC Elite 15 White Mia Jannazzo - Defensive Specialist - [program_tooltip program_id='431537' first='Midwest' last='Penguins'] 14-Elite Rayna Nelson - Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter - Appleton North - FC Elite 14 Navy Samantha Weiss - Setter - FC Elite 14 White