Central Zone - All The Hot Tea Served From The Weekend

What's the tea?  What's the story? What did AES NOT tell me about the weekend? Whenever I'm not in coverage mode, I'm typically looking up tournament updates and get a feel for the event for  how teams fall into place.  However, I want to know the story.  Who played well?  Were there any upsets?  Who are the new players? What are the changes for teams?  Here it is from Central Zone and what the hot tea - the story was from the weekend.    Covering Central Zone (Trying To)   Central Zone is a little bit of a different set up.  I like it, but it is hectic from a coverage standpoint.  I try to find the happy medium between staying on courts long enough to really watch, but also get to see as many courts as possible. I focused heavily on the 15 and 16 Open and some 17 Open.  15-18 Open are all played at the same time (Saturday is 8-Noon and 2-6 - roughly).  That's around 30 courts to cover at once.  I spent a lot of time at the 15s and 16s level because I want to see the new athletes and also the changes from 15s to 16s.  There are so many changes from the 15s to 16s age group with the level of physicality improving among the players, but there are also athletes who are switching clubs, what age group they are playing, and even their position.  Kudos to Capital Spots as this event and the logistics behind it is no easy task.    The 18s   I saw a lot of these 18s teams play at the Windy City National Qualifier in Chicago. I was able to watch Circle City 18 Purple and Elevation 18 Spinney in the quarterfinals and it was a matchup of two of the top middles in the whole tournament with Brooke Bultema of Elevation and Ella Chapman of Circle City. Bultema is heading to Kentucky and Chapman to Florida Gulf Coast. Their athleticism and physicality is next level - extremely fun athletes to watch and to have them go head to head was a treat. In the finals, it was no surprise to see Circle City face Legacy. These two teams I believe will get an Open bid to the 18s USAV Nationals in April. What is ironic is these two teams met in the finals of 17 Open Central Zone last year where the story was Chloe Chicoine of Circle City vs. Harper Murray of Legacy. Chicoine has started class at Purdue and same for Murray at Nebraska. These teams are more than these two athletes. The Class of 2023 for these two clubs run deep. Legacy will take their next chance at qualifying for Open next week at the Ohio Valley 18s Qualifier.   <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1355894556517085191?s=20 </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">***Tweet from Academy vs Boilers as 15s in 2021</figcaption></figure>   The 17s   This was a really wide open field that was ruled by Indiana clubs. Academy 17 Tsunami out of Indianapolis defeated Boiler Juniors 17 Gold in the finals. These two teams have faced each other time and time again throughout the high school and club ranks. They were two teams who were just on the outside of qualifying at the Open level for 17s last year. For Academy, Alaleh Tolliver and Sophie Ledbetter are two athletes who are extremely high on the list for Class of 2024 available prospects. They have been exciting to watch since I first saw them step on to the courts as 15s. I actually remember these two teams playing as 15s in the Central Zone quarterfinals where Boiler Jrs won a tight three set match.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/TheAcademyVB/status/1619844292381655040?s=20 </div></figure>   Rock City just Northeast of Cleveland was the Cinderella of the event. They came in as the 13 seed and took over the top seed defeating NKYVC 17 Tsunami who only had eight active players and was without Washington commit Julia Hunt who is also a top basketball player in her state. Rock City dropped a tough three set battle to Boilers in the semifinal. Outside hitter Kathryn Sowko came up big all weekend where she could find ways to score points in multiple ways. This team will be exciting to follow throughout this season where they will return to Indy in March for MEQ.   <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/1619429441859624961?s=20 </div></figure>   KIVA, Circle City, NKYVC, and REV were all right there on the outside of the final four. KIVA has the typical brand of KIVA volleyball where they play fast and are relentless on defense. One athlete who was really exciting was Eastern Kentucky commit Emma Closurdo who brought the hammer with a heavy left handed swing. Circle City had a bit of a different look with some new additions that included 2025 setter Isabelle Brown who is one of the top setters in the Midwest in her class. One of the top 2024 outside hitters in the country Ava Utterback, the Louisville commit of Circle City was sidelined with a shin injury.   <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/1619357480697593858?s=20 </div></figure>   The 16s   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/01/DSC09345.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-306139" width="357" height="238" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vander Wal</figcaption></figure>   This field was extremely loaded with talent, potential double digit teams who could be competing at the Open level come nationals in July.  This is a huge year for the 16s where they will be gearing up to talk to college coaches to officially start the recruiting process June 15, 2023.  There were plenty of athletes who showed where they will be extremely high level prospects and a must get for the next level.    1st Alliance 16 Gold was one of the top teams at the 15s age group last year and they are back and better. Aniya Warren and Addy Horner previously played for Sports Performance and have now provided another spark for this team. Warren is an extremely athletic libero who has such range and poise. Horner is a pin/setter combination where at 6'2, her length is going to give the other side of the net problems. Abby Vander Wal was one of the top outsides in her class last year, but this season she is touching higher and hitting the ball a lot harder.   <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/1619452383645569024?s=20 </div></figure>   Circle City is going to be another top national contender where it's really tough to find a weakness on this team. Their serve receive is spot on and they always seem to be in system. Logan Bell was flying real high on the pin where her approach is so explosive. This can be in system, out of system, she is the type of can make something out of nothing. Reese Dunkle was extremely physical at the net. She establishes great position blocking and finds a way to get a touch. A new athlete to keep tabs on this team is setter Ava Hunter, she comes from Hamilton Southeastern who was one of the top teams in the country and previously played at Munciana.   <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/1619422802356109312?s=20 </div></figure>   Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold had two losses on the weekend which came at the hands of Circle City in Power Pool Play and the semifinals in a three set battle. The experience of Madison Quest and Gabriella Pitcel really propels this team. These two athletes were on the Sting 16 Gold team last year that qualified for 16 Open and are starting the year extremely strong. Setter Billie Reiter was everywhere in their quarterfinal win against KiVA. She knows what's happening on the other side of the net and finds a way to get a favorable matchup for her attackers. The biggest strength to this team is their depth. Come qualifier season, they will be dangerous on day three with the number of lineup combinations they can successfully put on the court.   <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/1619722301746077696?s=20 </div></figure>   The 15s   This was my first time seeing a lot of these athletes (I don't cover 14s).  A lot of new names written down, a lot of excitement for what this age group will provide.    However, there were a few head scratchers throughout the weekend.    Mintonette m.51 came in as the defending 14 Open National Champions, but had a rough afternoon on Saturday afternoon dropping two matches to AVC and Tri State Elite.  Sunday was their day as they blazed to the title sweeping every team enroute winning four matches.     <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/01/DSC09374.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-306161" width="347" height="231" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gabby DiVita</figcaption></figure>   The team Mintonette defeated in the championship was Boiler Juniors 15 Gold who won the 2022 14 Open AAU title. This team is so fundamentally sound, they have a strong team chemistry where they look like a team that's playing in April. Lexi Shondell runs the show with a high IQ and is so smooth with her hands and getting her feet to the ball. Sunday was quite a ride for Boilers as they had three consecutive three set matches, including a semifinal win over Team Pineapple 17-15 in set three.   Watching Legacy 15-1 Adidas on Saturday, I thought they would be the team to beat. Gabby DiVita played up an age group on the Legacy 15 Adidas team in 2022 where they won the 15 Open AAU National title and DiVita was named to the All Tournament team. She can take over a match. Another player who was practically automatic scoring at the net was middle blocker Kayla Nwabueze who was extremely physical and athletic out of the middle. However, Sunday morning Toledo Volleyball Club (TVC) had other plans that included a 34-32 set one win to take down Legacy.

What's the tea? What's the story? What did AES NOT tell me about the weekend? Whenever I'm not in coverage mode, I'm typically looking up tournament updates and get a feel for the event for how teams fall into place. However, I want to know the story. Who played well? Were there any upsets? Who are the new players? What are the changes for teams? Here it is from Central Zone and what the hot tea - the story was from the weekend.