What Top Players Are Going Head To Head At The Scholastic Cup?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school season is starting to wind down and teams are looking fo their final end of the  season push to gain momentum heading into tournament time.  I'm taking a Chicagoland tour with a trip to Huntley and the Scholastic Cup at GLC on Saturday to see some of the top athletes in Illinois.  Here is a quick preview of some of the top players I will be looking forward to watch at the Scholastic Cup, put on by St. Charles East at the Great Lakes Center. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1530918498519638016?s=20u0026t=UFwNTWMbuh8Ma5SNMDmIhA","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1530918498519638016?s=20&amp;t=UFwNTWMbuh8Ma5SNMDmIhA </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jada James and [player_tooltip player_id='225756' first='Ava' last='Nepkin'] - Lincoln Way East</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>James and Nepkin have been extremely explosive for Lincoln Way East which has earned them a top ten ranking and a 18-3 record.  The two have combined for over six kills a set and are doing it different ways.  James is the quick arm, explosive, using a lot of power from everywhere.  Nepkin is long, athletic, and uses a lot of different shots and can do it from everywhere on the court.  Some other athletes to have on the radar is attacker Tamia Maddox and freshman setter Maggie Simon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1548821875408732161?s=20u0026t=iqoqZVGTE_10p4bm1vqY1w","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1548821875408732161?s=20&amp;t=iqoqZVGTE_10p4bm1vqY1w </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Charles East </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This has been a storybook type of ending for Head Coach Jennie Kull who will be retiring after this season.  I was able to see St. Charles East at the Wisconsin Team Camp this summer where they dominated the field, defeating a really talented Quincy Notre Dame team in the championship.  [player_tooltip player_id='138660' first='Kate' last='Goudreau'] is a big time point scorer on the pin that every defense knows about.  The first contact is held down by South Florida commit, [player_tooltip player_id='225988' first='Lia' last='Schneider'] who is among some of the top liberos in Illinois.  Middle blocker <strong>Natalee Rush</strong> is a Texas A&amp;M-Kingsville recruit who has a major presence offensively and defensively.  They will have their eyes on the prize for a title this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='136874' first='Ava' last='Novak'] - Benet Academy </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Novak is among some of the top point scorers in Illinois for Benet Academy who is in the hunt of every tournament they attend.&nbsp; Novak can score from either pin and has a very active arm to score plenty of ways.&nbsp; A setter to watch who is on the rise among 2025s in Illinois is Audrey Asleson who is long, athletic, receives the ball high and neutral, and finds a way to put her attackers in a position to score.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sidney Hamacker - Oswego </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oswego will be heading down the road to the Great Lakes Center to get into the Gold Bracket and find a way to make some noise.&nbsp; One of the key attackers for Oswego, she will be relied upon to score points in key times for the Panthers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='225947' first='Paige' last='Lauterwasser'] - Naperville North </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lauterwasser brings a spark to the court where she can score from either pin and can do it with a variety of shots.&nbsp; She is heading to the University of Wyoming, who has picked up some big time commits in 2023 and 2024.&nbsp; North is heading into this tournament with an 18-3 record and an opening day pool play match with Edwardsville will make for a fun matchup between two different parts of Illinois.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sydney Davis - Edwardsville </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edwardsville is coming off a state tournament appearance in 2021 and will be looking to make the trip back to Normal.&nbsp; They have a really deep junior class where they have continued to progress throughout the season.&nbsp; Davis is one of those juniors who has been a major point scorer for the Tigers with 3.3 kills per set.&nbsp; She can do it going cross, line, or even out of the backrow.&nbsp; She has an aggressive approach with a live arm.&nbsp; Edwardsville has Hanna Martarelli at libero who is so key into getting their offense in system.&nbsp; They also have two key setters (also juniors) in Megan Knobelach and Sara Gouy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138655' first='Jessica' last='Parker'] - St. Charles North </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Parker, an Elon commit,  is extremely dynamic and does it all for St. Charles North who has built a big time season sitting at 22-6. Parker is nearing 500 assists and 100 digs, running the show.  They will have a chance to avenge some early season losses this weekend at the Scholastic Cup.  Some other attackers to keep an eye on are Katherine Scherer and a freshman on the rise in Haley Burgdorf.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='190743' first='Mia' last='Mattingly'] - Lincoln Way Central </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln Way Central is sitting at 17-5 and will be a threat in this event.  I have seen a lot of these athletes live at some point over the high school or club season. Mattingly is one I have not seen live, but have been extremely impressed with video.  A lot of college coaches are still on the hunt for 2023 middles and Mattingly needs to be on the radar of plenty of these coaches. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1531289179241566208?s=20u0026t=C163I2xk9RxIaRaUkFV-fA","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1531289179241566208?s=20&amp;t=C163I2xk9RxIaRaUkFV-fA </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sydnie Hernandez - Normal West </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was able to see Normal West at the state tournament last year and was impressed with their overall team.  One of their key athletes returning is libero Sydnie Hernandez.  The Class of 2024 prospect is one who should be on the radar of plenty of college coaches.  West is 22-3 and is ready to take on the top teams out of Chicagoland. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://prepdig.com/2022/10/scouting-report-of-top-athletes-at-huntley-high-tournament/","type":"wp-embed","providerNameSlug":"prep-dig"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-prep-dig wp-block-embed-prep-dig"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://prepdig.com/2022/10/scouting-report-of-top-athletes-at-huntley-high-tournament/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:read-more {"content":"https://prepdig.com/2022/10/scouting-report-of-top-athletes-at-huntley-high-tournament/"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/features {"id":"block_6340521043733","name":"acf/features","data":{"heading":"","_heading":"field_628f949dd82bc","features":"","_features":"field_628f94add82bd"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-649b090f5c624"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->