Countdown to Nationals: 3 Teams Thirsty for Big Wins

<p>Only a few days left before nationals. Final practices are wrapping up and teams are physically and mentally preparing for the pinnacle tournament of their season. Teams have been preparing for this all season and are ready to take on the best in the country in just a few short days. Here are some teams thirsty for big wins at national.</p> <h3>Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold – Open Division</h3> <p>This team is STACKED with talent. They have dominated all season and have had huge success across the board. Five athletes on this team have attended USAV National Team Development training. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122568" first="Lilly" last="Wagner"]</strong> is a key athlete and leader on this team. She makes the toughest sets look easy and has an incredibly high volleyball IQ. Middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="178034" first="Gabriella" last="Pitcel"]</strong> (2025) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122475" first="Anna" last="Bjork"]</strong> are some of the best in the sport for their ages. Fellow middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122468" first="Rylea" last="Alvin"]</strong> is smart and powerful and puts up a great block. Pin hitters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="178033" first="Madison" last="Quest"]</strong> (2025), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122516" first="Olivia" last="Kwiatkowski"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122499" first="Melia" last="Johnson"]</strong>, and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="122557" first="Ellie" last="Schumacher"]</strong> are all massively powerful and impactful. All can play six rotations and can manufacture points from anywhere on the court. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122574" first="Olivia" last="Wyma"]</strong> plays primarily right side on this team but is also talented out of the middle. She puts up a massive block and can swing over a lot of blocks to earn points. On defense, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122466" first="Jae" last="Fitting"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122523" first="Claire" last="Luoma"]</strong> play at a very high level and make some pretty crazy defensive plays. They are fun to watch and are both scrappy and gritty.</p> <h3>FC Elite 16 Navy – National Division</h3> <p>This team is very scrappy and gritty. They are super mentally tough and have a lot of high-level talent on their roster. They are led by setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122566" first="Emerson" last="Van Lannen"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122498" first="Kamryn" last="Kaminski"]</strong>. Both make quick decisions and are very precise with their sets. They are also very defensively strong and huge leaders on this team. On defense, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122497" first="Olivia" last="Baierl"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122508" first="Elle" last="Kennedy"]</strong> are awesome on serve receive. They are very consistent and can read opposing hitters well. <strong>Peyton Carlson</strong> (2026) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122532" first="Annalise" last="Patchett"]</strong> are outside hitters who can play and execute out of all six rotations. Middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="151738" first="Mattea" last="Kiepert"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122527" first="Emma" last="Nilson"]</strong> both put up huge blocks and are efficient across the net. They can hit well both in front of and behind the setter and are impactful on tempo plays. This team has huge potential to do well at nationals. They won some big-name tournaments including beating Sting Gold at the Badger Qualifier. They also took 3^rd in Open at the JVA World Challenge. They have a ton of experience and are looking to bring in some big wins at Nationals.</p> <h3>Sting 17 Gold – National Division</h3> <p>This Sting team has some big names and big commits on their team. They are fast, powerful, and aggressive on the court. They have played some of the best teams in the country so far this season and will look to bring home some big wins in Indy. This team won the open division of the Badger Region Championships and the Badger Qualifier. They also performed well on a national level. They have two very talented setters<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="61781" first="Zoe" last="Behrendt"]</strong> (Committed to North Carolina) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91906" first="Elena" last="Dragani"]</strong> (Committed to Wake Forest). Both of these setters are impressive and gritty. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91895" first="Molly" last="Berezowitz"]</strong> (Committed to Marquette) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91881" first="Kati" last="Goba"]</strong> (Committed to UW-Milwaukee) are scrappy and have great court awareness. They impress every time they step on the court. Their middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82901" first="Maddy" last="McGath"]</strong> (Committed to West Virginia), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82287" first="Emily" last="Honzelka"]</strong> (Committed to Toledo), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91901" first="Bella" last="Lipski"]</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61787" first="Emily" last="Clausen"]</strong> bring speed and power to the net. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82916" first="Sylvie" last="Zgonc"]</strong> (Committed to South Dakota State), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91877" first="Karissa" last="Fortune"]</strong> (Committed to Drake), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82936" first="Taylor" last="Tetzlaff"]</strong> are powerful and explosive on the pin.</p>