Olathe Northwest Invitational Game Changers

It's the last weekend of regular season tournament as teams jockey for Sub-State seeding for this upcoming weekend. The 5-team round-robin tournament at Olathe Northwest did not disappoint as teams and players showcase their skills on why they should be contentions at Sub-State.   Here are the teams and players who made my Game-Changers aka <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.x.com/prepdigmarshall" target="_blank">@PrepDigMarshall</a>'s All-Tournament team.   St. James Academy   [player_tooltip player_id='154039' first='Reese' last='Messer'] - S - 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='119723' first='Julia' last='Headley'] - MB - 2024   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/CB50B68E-64BF-4B0D-8F61-8ADBD3CD8EE9-200x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-235913"/></figure>   St. James went 4-0 on the day led by sophomore setter [player_tooltip player_id='154039' first='Reese' last='Messer'] who ran the Thunder's 5-1 offense. Messer knew where to place the balls for her hitters and made some athletic jump sets near the net to save points for St James. Messer is always a threat for a setter dump in the front row, as she collected the final kill in the match against Olathe Northwest to claim the championship. She's definitely a game changer for the Thunder as they get ready for post-season play.   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/380EC1EB-4A05-4312-A19E-7E84998568D6-214x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-235891"/></figure>   Junior middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id='119723' first='Julia' last='Headley'], was a force on both offense and defense for St. James. Headley's athleticism to run plays was showcased Saturday as she hit various combinations from Messer. She was able to find holes in the blocking scheme, which helped her terminate balls. Perhaps Headley aspires to be a setter as she took a few balls and handset to St. James pin hitter in some plays. Defensively, opponents had to think on where to hit as Headley blocked shots with her smart movements to the ball and hitter.   Olathe Northwest   [player_tooltip player_id='119707' first='Skyler' last='Pierce'] - OH - 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='119724' first='Jillian' last='Huckabey'] - S/pin - 2024   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/95FB083B-9A7C-4B75-B535-2A21EB75531D-214x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-235892"/><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>   You rarely read or hear Olathe Northwest being mentioned without [player_tooltip player_id='119707' first='Skyler' last='Pierce'] in it one way or another. There's plenty reasons why. Nebraska commit, Pierce, was jumping and hitting balls over blockers with power and authority. I hear spectators giving props to defensive players whenever they got a touch on any of Pierce's hits - that's just how hard she hits! She was smart on taking some heat off on out-of-system balls to keep the play alive for the Ravens. On the flip side, Pierce penetrated far over the net to make hitters change up shots or be in trouble getting blocked.   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/Marshall_ONWinvitational-8976-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-235915"/></figure>   Florida International commit, [player_tooltip player_id='119724' first='Jillian' last='Huckabey'], is your 5-tool player for the Ravens. She did it all during the tournament as I am unsure on how to classify her position on the above heading. Huckabey is so versatile that she can play all the positions in the front row as she hits through the left, middle, and right side of the court. In terms of athleticism, she will run through walls for the Ravens. In the match against Spring Hill, a ball was saved by [player_tooltip player_id='185632' first='Alex' last='Klukvin'] 10 feet off the court and we see Huckabey ran and dove to get the ball up (unfortunately the ball hit the ceiling and play was call dead). Did I mention that she's also a setter? Huckabey ran a hybrid 6-2 offense for the Ravens and share the setting responsibility with Addisen Horn. It's always fun to see the Ravens play since they have so many versatile players in their roster.   Shawnee Heights   [player_tooltip player_id='214642' first='Emily' last='Loy'] - OH - 2023 Taylor Rottinhaus - Libero - 2023   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/Marshall_ONWinvitational-8798-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-235904"/></figure>   In my opinion, Shawnee Heights was the dark horse in this competition. They have the necessary players to compete as they took wins from Spring Hill and Olathe South. Missouri Western commit, [player_tooltip player_id='214642' first='Emily' last='Loy'], was the Thunderbirds go-to player offensively. She's patient on reading the ball, yet explosive to attack in a moment's notice. Loy is smart in locating balls to get points for the Thunderbirds. In terms of being patience, she waited on opponents swing motion before going up for a block.   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/Marshall_ONWinvitational-8824-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-235906"/></figure>   Washburn commit, Taylor Rottinhaus, was a gem to watch on Saturday. She has such an infectious energy on the court that translated on how she played. Rottinhaus covered the backcourt with speed and tenacity. She was not afraid to chase down balls with a few going to the bleachers. Rottinhaus tough serves helped Thunderbirds throughout the day to capture significant wins in the last weekend of tournaments.   Spring Hill   Jenna Weber - MB - 2023 - Spring Hill   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-medium"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/Marshall_ONWinvitational-8970-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-235907"/></figure>   Spring Hill came in and gave St James a scare in the very first match of the day. The Broncos came back the very next match against Olathe South to capture their only win on the day in a 3-set battle. I previously mentioned that [player_tooltip player_id='119712' first='Shannon' last='Frakes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='216384' first='Keilah' last='Rivers'] are the Broncos 1-2 punch as hitters, however, I'm going with the under appreciated middle position. Senior Jenna Weber is probably one of the best middle to seal the block to the pins on Saturday. She's extremely intelligent and patient to wait where the ball is being set to to read block the opponent. Not only her block reach is high but she reaches over to penetrate over the net, recording some blocks on the stats sheet hence why she is the Bronco number 1 blocker. Offensively, she found her rhythm running some slides while being efficient in the left middle of the court.   Olathe South   [player_tooltip player_id='150066' first='Sara' last='Allmon'] - OH - 2024 - Olathe South   Olathe South was the only team that went to 3 sets in all of their matches until they faced St James for their last match of the day, which they lost in 2. Any of their matches could've gone their way but it was just not the Falcons' day. Junior outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='150066' first='Sara' last='Allmon'], was the go-to player for Olathe South as other girls were not connecting offensively. Allmon plays as a 6-rotation outside and one of the more consistent hitters for the Falcons. She's a beast on the defensive front as she was efficient in sealing the block.       <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   Prep Dig Marshall All-Tournament Team (2 Setters, 2 Middles, 3 Pins, 1 Libero) [player_tooltip player_id='154039' first='Reese' last='Messer'] - S - 2025 - St. James [player_tooltip player_id='119723' first='Julia' last='Headley'] - MB - 2024 - St. James [player_tooltip player_id='119707' first='Skyler' last='Pierce'] - OH - 2024 - Olathe Northwest [player_tooltip player_id='119724' first='Jillian' last='Huckabey'] - S/pin - 2024 - Olathe Northwest [player_tooltip player_id='214642' first='Emily' last='Loy'] - OH - 2023 - Shawnee Heights Taylor Rottinhaus - Libero - 2023 -Shawnee Heights Jenna Weber - MB - 2023 - Spring Hill [player_tooltip player_id='150066' first='Sara' last='Allmon'] - OH - 2024 - Olathe South   It's easy to look at the hitters as they are the last player to contact the ball to get accolades and recognitions. I do my best to get the best all-around all-tournament team with respective representation from each team (top performing teams receive more accolades). This does not mean that a player is not worthy to be on the list because they are hitters. It is more of a representation of a well-balanced team from the respective tournament.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   Winner's Circle   <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/10/35137CF6-5379-46DF-9C3C-F805C51E8824-1024x697.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-235830"/><figcaption>St James Academy</figcaption></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   Did we miss someone we should be aware of? Please email PrepDigMarshall@gmail.com or Twitter <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.x.com/prepdigmarshall" target="_blank">@PrepDigMarshall </a>with your inquiries!

It's the last weekend of regular season tournament as teams jockey for Sub-State seeding for this upcoming weekend. The 5-team round-robin tournament at Olathe Northwest did not disappoint as teams and players showcase their skills on why they should be contentions at Sub-State.