Five Hot Takes Heading Into 18’s Windy City Qualifier

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's Qualifier Season - for 18s the qualifier season happens fast and furious where many 18s will start their journey to Columbus who will host the 18s 2023 Nationals.&nbsp; Schaumburg in the NW Burbs of Chicago will host an 18s Qualifier as well as Kansas City this weekend in Midwest.&nbsp; I'm going to put the lens on the Windy City Qualifier as I will be in attendance to see some of the top athletes take the big stage.&nbsp; Here are some questions I have heading into the event.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Guess Who's Back? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Literally - guess who is back?!?  Heading into an 18s season I comb through rosters to see who made switches, and who is not on any rosters - meaning they have left for college early. <strong>Chloe Chicoine</strong> of Circle City and <strong>Harper Murray </strong>the top two prospects in the Class of 2023 are off to Purdue and Nebraska.  Same with <strong>Saige Damrow </strong>of FC Elite, she will be starting her volleyball career at Wisconsin for the spring semester.  I'll be spending the next few days doing a deep dive on rosters to see who is back for one final victory lap. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The Strength of the “Home” Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":201673,"width":409,"height":272,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/06/Catherine-Burke.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-201673" width="409" height="272" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='225752' first='Catherine' last='Burke']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clubs out of Illinois and Wisconsin, with the shortest commute to Schaumburg could be considered the home teams.  In 18 Open there will be Adversity 18 Adidas, Adversity 18 Purple Adidas, Sky High Adidas 18 Elite, Top Flight 18 Elite, and VC United 181 Elite out of Illinois will be in attendance while FC Elite 18 Elite and MKE Sting 18 Gold will be coming down from Wisconsin.  Adversity 18 Adidas will be one of the favorites out of Illinois to be playing in some big day three matches with bids on the line.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='225752' first='Catherine' last='Burke']</strong> is a physical middle for this squad who is committed to Penn State.  Two other athletes to keep an eye on will be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138662' first='Ava' last='Schabes']</strong>, a setter committed to Colgate and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='225756' first='Ava' last='Nepkin']</strong> who is committed to Loyola (MD).  FC Elite 18 Elite was a final four finisher in 18 Open last year and earned their bid at this event.  They will return one of the top 2025s in Wisconsin in Michigan commit, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='122483' first='Ella' last='Demetrician'].</strong>  Sting 18 Gold returns a strong core of their 2022 National Division Championship team and will add one of the top setters in the Class of 2025 in<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='122568' first='Lilly' last='Wagner']</strong>. This team will be extremely deep with a lot of firepower. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>California - Here They Come</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love seeing California teams come to the Midwest to play.  The teams are always so polished, well trained, and many of these kids have been playing their whole lives starting with the beach where you can see their shots and defense reflect a beach style game.  Absolute, Coast, Sunshine, and Wave are heading to the Midwest.  These are some of the top clubs in the country and will be looking for any early bid. For 17 Open in 2022, Coast finished 3rd, Wave was 13th, Sunshine 21st, and Absolute at 27th.  They know what its like to compete at the Open level and the expectation is to get those bids whenever they compete.  Coast will have a loaded roster of athletes who are back including <strong>Brooklyn Briscoe (UCLA), Noemie Glover (Oregon), Claire Little (BYU), and Cate Schnell (Tennessee). </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/LineShotVBall/status/1495816655334641664?s=20","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/LineShotVBall/status/1495816655334641664?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The Power of the Mideast</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When it comes to Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio - its all power and these teams have a big sense of pride when it comes to competing at the highest level.  Circle City and Legacy have key players who will be starting their college careers early, but still have a cupboard full of talent.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='85932' first='Ava' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='106295' first='Ella' last='Chapman']</strong> of Circle City will both being heading to Florida Gulf Coast where liberos <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='85921' first='Molly' last='Urban'] and [player_tooltip player_id='85924' first='Ella' last='Hemmings']</strong> are going to Louisville and LSU.  Legacy has two newcomers to their club that include right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66330' first='Ella' last='Schomer'] </strong>who will head to Wofford and an absolutely electric pin in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='66314' first='Kennedy' last='Louisell'] </strong>who previously played on the West side of the state for FaR Out, she is committed to UNC Greensboro. Ava Sarafa, one of the top setters in the country will be back for Michigan Elite, she's heading to Kentucky.  REV out of Indianapolis had a huge finish in 2022 where they nearly took home the 17 Open AAU National title.  They are in the filed, as is Mintonette and AVC out of Ohio.  Watch for a really physical attack from Mintonette .81 where they will still have <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114513' first='Eloise' last='Brandewie'] (Ohio State) and [player_tooltip player_id='114523' first='Ella' last='Durham'] (San Diego). </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1487417380087250947?s=20","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/1487417380087250947?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Who Are The Favorites? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I believe three bids will be awarded this upcoming weekend.&nbsp; This early in the season, the teams who are accustomed to playing together typically have the advantage.&nbsp; It's hard not to look at the California teams who have a strong core of their athletes returning this season, especially Coast.&nbsp; They have so much firepower and ball control where their tempo they play at will be a huge advantage (although an 8 AM CST match could be a tough match for them).&nbsp; Out of the Midwest, I can see Mintonette making a strong push with their experience and physicality.&nbsp; They have a lot of pieces and depth to be a top national contender.&nbsp; I believe FC Elite, MKE Sting, and Adversity will be in the hunt day two and will need to win some key matches to have a chance on day three. Some other clubs that I'm keeping an eye on are Rockwood Thunder out of St. Louis because they always compete at a high level, Top Select out of Florida who was a 17 Open team last year, and Club V out of Salt Lake City.&nbsp; I'm still exploring some rosters and will have a little more clarity in a few days when I properly research and see a schedule come out as well.&nbsp; Bottom line, this is a gauntlet of some of the best volleyball in the country.&nbsp; These bids will be well deserved.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->