Best of the West: Arizona and Idaho 15 Open Standouts
Being based out of the Midwest, I don’t get a chance to see a lot of West Coast teams. Last week at the USAV 15 Open Championships in Indianapolis I got to see plenty of top athletes all over the…
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Continue ReadingBeing based out of the Midwest, I don’t get a chance to see a lot of West Coast teams. Last week at the USAV 15 Open Championships in Indianapolis I got to see plenty of top athletes all over the country, but getting to see new players from the West is always exciting. Arizona brought a ton of talent, including one of the top athletes in the 15 Open field. Arizona Sky was also right there with a top 15 finish. Idaho Crush showed a lot of athleticism at every position, maintaining a strong tradition of their club. Here are the standouts of the GJNC 15 Open division from Arizona and Idaho.
USAV 2022 – Day 1 – 15 Open/National Photos
USAV 2022 – Day 2 – 15 Open
Photo Gallery – 15s Championship Thursday
Teraya Sigler back at it today for @az_stormvbc looking to go undefeated in their pool. pic.twitter.com/70hvy76TY5
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) June 28, 2022
Teraya Sigler – Arizona Storm 15 Thunder
Outside Hitter
Arizona Storm was first on my list to watch for 15 Open. I went into this match with a completely clean slate, I didn’t watch any video of these teams beforehand. However, it didn’t take long to see the ability of Teraya Sigler. She has all the tools to be one of the best players in her class where she can serve receive, pass, and score points in multiple ways. She has the power, but I was most impressed with her ability to hit shots all over the court. The defense is set up to stop her, but she still finds a way to get it done. She plays with such great intensity and fire that her teammates feed off of in a very positive way.
Kenna Cogill – Arizona Storm 15 Thunder
Middle Blocker
What is exciting about this Storm team is that their style of play will continue to translate well at each level. The athleticism, quickness, agility, and length of Cogill was what first jumped out to me. I didn’t even realize she was 6’4 because she moves extremely well, she makes it look easy. As she continues to develop her game, her stock is only going to rise among some of the top middles in the country. She has a high contact point and she is can run multiple routes, including a slide where she is near automatic. Her style reminds me of a former Storm player in Lauren Stivrins whose numbers spoke for itself with an illustrious career at Nebraska.
Kaia Pixler – Arizona Storm 15 Thunder
Setter
Pixler really makes this offense flow with a smooth release and ability to find the hot hitters. What sets her apart from other setters is her physicality at the net. There were multiple times where she was tight against the net, pulled off the net, or had a 50/50 ball where she found a way to make something positive out of the situation. For Pixler, she could easily go to the pins time after time, but she really does keep a balanced offense where everyone gets a chance to score points.
Gabriella Kucinski – AZ Sky 15G
Opposite
AZ Sky was sneaky good all week. They were not a favorite heading into their pool, but when they took down the top seed in their pool in 1st Alliance a lot of heads turned. This team has multiple attackers and clean ball control to put them in position to win. Kucinski came up with some big kills and blocks on the right side. She can put some pace on the ball, but she also has a high IQ to avoid the block and find the open spot to get the ball down.
The 15s are finishing up their first round. More names from 15 Open
Georgi Stein – @arizonaskyvbc
SaMya Dorsey – @arizonaskyvbc
Ella Craggs – @MIEliteVB
Sydney Marshall – @TopSelectVolley
Logan Parks – MAVS— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) June 27, 2022
Georgi Stein – AZ Sky 15G
Outside HItter
A lot of athleticism and plenty of physicality, even watching Stein approach you can see its going to be a big attack. With a solid all around skill set, she can contribute in plenty of ways for this dynamic AZ Sky team. She was a go to outside hitter all tournament, coming up with key kills, but she is also a heavily relied upon primary passer in serve receive and can attack out of the backrow as well as the right side. For someone at the 15s level, she is extremely strong and dynamic which will continue to translate well to the next age group.
Addison France – AZ Sky 15G
Setter
France is a dangerous player if you are on the other side of the net. I saw her primarily play as a setter, but being 6’2 and left handed does have its advantages to be able to do a variety of things for her squad. Sky ran a 6-2 for the most part, but they were able to use France in rotations in the front row where she could swing on the right side or jump set or attack out of the front row. She receives the ball high and can nail all the tempos. She is definitely one to have on the radar for 2025 setters.
Elizabeth Bower – Idaho Crush 15 Bower
A lot of athleticism on this Idaho Crush team. Bower serves as the team’s libero where she has such a presence. She is always dependable with the first touch, but she takes charge in finding the first contact to run their quick tempo offense. Great liberos always seem to find the ball and that is the case with Bower. She is always there to better the ball and played a huge part in the success of Crush.
Bellamie Beus – Idaho Crush 15 Power
Uber athletic. Beus is an outside hitter for Crush who has quite the range on the court as a six rotation outside. She is terminal on the outside and is always there out of system. The college level is still a few years away, but Beus could be used as a high level libero/ds. She has a solid all around skill set and will raise the level of play and athleticism of any gym she enters.