Northern Lights Qualifier Preview 17s
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Qualifier season is officially here for the 17s and Minneapolis has no shortage of teams ready to bring home the first bids to their regions. Here are the Kansas and Missouri teams taking aim for a spot at nationals. Open…
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Continue ReadingQualifier season is officially here for the 17s and Minneapolis has no shortage of teams ready to bring home the first bids to their regions. Here are the Kansas and Missouri teams taking aim for a spot at nationals.
Open
Well, I said I was going to back off on my pressure of Dynasty 17 Black this season. It didn’t last long as the second overall seed will have targets on their backs all season. We haven’t done our preview yet of this team but we know they are loaded across the board with Carlie Cisneros Carlie Cisneros 6'0" | OH Liberty North | 2024 State #7 Nation MO and Skyler Pierce Skyler Pierce 6'3" | OH Olathe Northwest | 2024 State #4 Nation KS as six rotation pins. Reese Messer Reese Messer 5'11" | S St. James | 2025 State #6 Nation KS is one of the top setters in America. Abigail Mullen Abigail Mullen 6'3" | RS Liberty | 2025 State #3 Nation MO plays up on this team and has developed into a nice six-rotation pin herself. This year Cy Rae Campbell Cy Rae Campbell 5'11" | MB Heritage Christian | 2024 State #45 Nation KS is playing with her age group for the first time in years.
Pool 3 features Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite. We just talked about them yesterday in our 17s club previews. Their team has pretty much stayed intact for the last few years with a few additions and subtractions. Maya Witherspoon Maya Witherspoon 5'11" | OH Lafayette | 2025 State #44 Nation MO plays up and holds her own well. Jordan Smith Jordan Smith 6'4" | OH Francis Howell Central | 2025 State #59 Nation MO is another player who plays up and provides good size to the front line. The team is in good shape with dynamic setters Morgan Dumm and Alyssa Nelson Alyssa Nelson 5'8" | S Wildwood | 2024 State MO . They will be the second seed in their pool behind a strong Nebraska Premier team.
Pohaku 17-1 is making a run in the open division and will be in pool 4. Ava Spachek Ava Spachek 5'11" | OH St. James Academy | 2024 State KS is one of the better pins in the city in this age group after having a good year at St. James. Riley Ourth Riley Ourth 5'7" | DS/L Olathe West | 2024 State KS and Ava Martin Ava Martin 5'10" | S Bishop Miege | 2024 State #77 Nation KS are two plays we also feel you need to keep an eye on heading into the weekend.
Prediction: Dynasty gets their bid and walks away top dog.
USA
Sevens pools are the game plan in the USA division. Dynasty 17 Blue will be in pool 1. They went 3-4 in the 17 club division at MLK in Kansas City. Addisen Horn Addisen Horn 5'8" | S Olathe Northwest | 2024 State KS and Geneva Musolf Geneva Musolf 6'1" | MB St. James | 2025 State KS are a couple of the many names to know. The highest-seeded team from our coverage area will be Rockwood Thunder 17 Navy in pool 6, where they sit as the top team. They had a strong showing in Gateway Power League. Aaliyah Elliott Aaliyah Elliott 5'9" | MB Burroughs | 2024 State MO , Megan Skaggs Megan Skaggs 5'5" | DS/L Lafayette | 2024 State MO , Madison Swehla Madison Swehla 5'10" | RS St. Joseph's | 2024 State MO , Lily Schnuck Lily Schnuck 5'11" | MB John Burroughs | 2024 State MO , and Laila Person Laila Person 5'10" | RS Kirkwood | 2024 State MO have been killing it too. 🙂
SKC 17-1 is in pool 3 and is an up-and-coming team. Fisayo Afonja Fisayo Afonja 5'10" | MB Baldwin | 2024 State KS is a talented player who will take her talents to Brown after high school. Defender Hallee Shepherd is a standout in the back row. Invasion 17 Black will be in pool 7. We discussed their team earlier today in our club preview and their third-place finish in the 17 club grouping in Kansas City a couple of weekends ago.
Prediction: Rockwood Thunder 17 Navy will succeed and grab a bid.
Liberty
Dynasty 17 Gold has the second seed in pool 1 entering the tournament after a 5-2 showing in the 17 club division in Kansas City. In the same position in the next pool, you will find Club North Mizuno 17 Jessen. Tatianna Murray is an explosive middle to keep an eye on after a strong season for Platte County.
Mavs 816 17-1 made the HOA Power League and will make the journey to Minnesota starting off the action in pool 4. Eva Dominguez and Gabriella Morgan are a couple of talented players on this roster. Mavs 816 17-2 decided to carpool and join the action with their sister team and will be one pool away to start the tournament. They went 5-3 in the MLK tournament. Londyn Cage has looked good on the right side and Kinsley Patton and Elise Lewis have shown they can be key players.
417 Juniors 17-1 draws a high seed and will be on top of pool 6. Reagan Baade Reagan Baade 5'8" | OH Ozark | 2024 State MO and Rilynn Finley Rilynn Finley 6'0" | MB Republic | 2024 State MO are household names to know. Mizuno Club North 17 Ang gets the number one seed in pool 7. Autumn Erickson Autumn Erickson 6'1" | MB Staley | 2024 State MO , Jarangelie Ayala, and company should be in the mix for a bid. The final pool will house PVA ‘ last=”] 17 Elite. Fiona VanDyke Fiona VanDyke 6'1" | RS Lawrence Free State | 2024 State KS had a good high school season and will be key to this team’s success this weekend. Gretel Robbins Gretel Robbins 5'11" | RS Pembroke Hill | 2024 State MO and Lauren Croom Lauren Croom 5'7" | S Blue Valley Northwest | 2024 State KS should be factors as well.
American
We have quite a few teams heading north for bids in the American division. We won’t be able to go into great detail but here is what we have to start off. 417 Juniors Columbia will be on top of pool 4. We highlighted their team today in our 17s club preview. They went 4-4 in Kansas City at MLK. PVA ‘ last=”] 17 National will be in pool 5 as the second seed. Mizuno Club North 17 Ana is the top seed in pool 7. Pool 9 will feature Kansas United Volleyball 17-1. They were 4-3 over the MLK weekend. Summit Volleyball 17-1 will be in the mix coming from pool 10. Adidas Legacy Jrs. 17-1 will round out the bunch in pool 12.