Impact Pin Hitters Dominate at Bellevue West Invitational

Time to break down some the this event's top performers.   Last weekend's Bellevue West Invitational provided a preliminary glimpse of the excitement we can expect in this year's high school season. The tournament featured a variety of familiar faces and emerging stars, and we'll feature athletes in both categories here.   Our first positional breakdown focuses on some of the pin hitters who stole the show and got the 2022 season off to a roaring start.     Power Combos   We knew going into this event that we'd see some strong pin-hitting lineups. That definitely materialized last weekend.   Most of us know how much six-rotation prowess that Omaha Westside is getting from left-side hitters [player_tooltip player_id='103097' first='Samantha' last='Laird'] and [player_tooltip player_id='59208' first='Destiny' last='Ndam-Simpson']. The wide-ranging impact of these veteran leaders is certainly not limited to the frontcourt.   During my live viewing of Westside, I was interested to see who the team would deploy on the opposite pin across from Laird and Ndam-Simpson. The Warriors may have just found a great solution at that position with [player_tooltip player_id='122761' first='Eleanor' last='Brislen'] taking some solid swings on the right to open 2022. It's a testament to Brislen's versatility when you factor in her club background as a six-rotation left-side hitter. She can do it all, and Westside's offense should achieve some nice balance this season.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1563533515819323393?s=20&t=1irdwyY8h2tIEB7GWico6A </div></figure>   Of course, this conversation on power combos goes far beyond the Warriors. Papillion-La Vista South's heralded left-side duo was back to producing the same firepower we saw in last year's championship run. 2022 isn't exactly the same, however, as senior [player_tooltip player_id='59192' first='Stella' last='Adeyemi'] took on a much more significant serve receive role last weekend and showed that she can be a constant six-rotation scoring threat. We also saw that all-around dominance from [player_tooltip player_id='109585' first='Lauren' last='Medeck'], who is looking better than ever after bouncing back from an injury this summer.   Another Class A frontrunner, Millard West, deployed the expected outside tandem of [player_tooltip player_id='103095' first='Alanna' last='Bankston'] and [player_tooltip player_id='59200' first='Evan' last='Glade']. While we're discussing players who can adapt to a variety of roles, this event was Bankston's chance to prove that she can lock down serve receive and backcourt defense. She was primarily a frontcourt contributor for her high-flying Premier Nebraska 17 Gold club squad this year, but she has a chance to show off almost every skill imaginable within the Wildcats' lineup. On the other side of the rotation, Glade will gladly maintain the same six-rotation presence we saw from her with Nebraska Juniors.   Finally, there are few better combinations than a talented sister tandem. That's what we've got at Elkhorn North with [player_tooltip player_id='59201' first='Grace' last='Heaney'] at opposite and [player_tooltip player_id='155043' first='Shay' last='Heaney'] on the left side. Aside from this standout pair, I was impressed with Morgan Going's ability to take some tough swings and terminate on the left pin. The senior is going to carry a big role on a Wolves squad that will expect to be at the top of Class B by the beginning of November.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1563537450835726336?s=20&t=1irdwyY8h2tIEB7GWico6A </div></figure>       Serious Stock Risers   The Bellevue West Invitational allowed several pin hitters to demonstrate their readiness to take over the spotlight. It's hard to believe we already have some stock riser candidates after the opening weekend of high school action, but there are a few players who showed their best stuff at this event.   Lincoln East's [player_tooltip player_id='104986' first='Shandy' last='Faalii'] firmly established herself as a multi-threat outside hitter. We had already known about her sharp defensive skills for a while, but she took on an expanded hitting role with Premier Nebraska 16 Black this spring. That has quickly translated into frontcourt success on the prep side, as Faalii put down so many assertive swings for the Spartans during their championship run. She is elevating as high as ever.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1563531694119854088?s=20&t=1irdwyY8h2tIEB7GWico6A </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='109602' first='Morgan' last='Glaser'] also took a big step forward in her appearances with Papillion-La Vista over the weekend. During the club season, we documented Glaser's changing positions (and teams!) and getting experience on both pins throughout the year. She was back on the left side for the Monarchs and brought a little extra physicality for the start of her junior campaign.   I also had a chance to check out the new-look Waverly lineup at this event, and we'll clearly have a few stock risers to talk about with this group. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='171630' first='Kara' last='Kassebaum'] appears ready to take on a feature role in this offense and still brings some impressive length to the net. Also, look for [player_tooltip player_id='210291' first='Jaelyn' last='Dicke'] and [player_tooltip player_id='187686' first='Eden' last='Moore'] to up their own numbers this year.   [player_tooltip player_id='173518' first='Rilyn' last='Gish'] made her debut with Millard North and showed that she can be more than a middle blocker. The Mustangs have a lot of that same "newness" we just discussed with Waverly, so this will be a fascinating year for Millard North. The Bellevue West Invitational was just the beginning.

Time to break down some the this event's top performers.