Top IL Talent That Dominated the Central Zone Invite – 2025s

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Central Zone Invitational is one of the top early-season tournaments in the Midwest. Some of Illinois' top teams competed in Indianapolis this past weekend, and some came home with hardware. These athletes were impact players on their teams!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Please note: I watched live and did coverage virtually. I apologize for any errors - it can be hard to see numbers from BallerTV. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["203428"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Abby is a lethal pin hitter who impressed on a national level at Central Zone. 1st Alliance came in ranked #1 in the 16 Open and walked away with gold medals around their necks. Abby was a key piece of their offense and defense in their 8-0 weekend. She is one of the top athletes in her class. Abby fires on all cylinders in all six rotations and is an offensive weapon in the front and back row.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["288634"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Hannah is an all around athlete that I love watching play. She plays all six rotations - as a setter in the back row and right side hitter in the front. Hannah has a springy approach and a high contact point on offense. In the back row she is smart and savvy as a setter. She moves around the ball with seeming ease. Hannah is very well-rounded and was in impact player for 1st Alliance at the Central Zone Invite.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='367273' first='Alison' last='Ohlinger']","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"32561","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Rochelle Township","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='429175' first='VC' last='United']","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Allison is a high-level setter who runs the court well. I could see her in constant communication with her team even watching from afar. She saw the other side of the net well and adjusted her sets. She fed her hot hitters and set them up for success. Allison was quick to the ball and even quicker in her decisions. She is a player to watch in this class and had a huge impact throughout the tournament.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["189850"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Lauren was impressive in all of her skills but really caught my eye on serve receive. When she is on serve receive Lauren is focused and disciplined. She has simple movements and a clean platform. Her ability to help her team convert points on serve receive was key to their success over the weekend.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["288647"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Aniya is a balanced and impactful libero on the court. She picks up anything that comes her way and is disciplined in all of her skills. She never stops working on the court, whether it is defense, coverage, communicating with her team, serving, or serve receive. She is an athlete engaged with every moment of every play.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='311322' first='Bridget' last='Cassady']","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"Champaign Central","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='430006' first='Illini' last='Elite']","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"In the matches I saw, Bridget played all six rotations, and after seeing her play, I can see why. She has great court awareness and is equally as valuable on defense as she is on offense. She found ways to earn points on the court and worked hard to keep the ball alive on defense and serve receive.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='311321' first='Lola' last='Clayton']","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"32561","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"University High School","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='430006' first='Illini' last='Elite']","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_6_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Lola has clean form and is quick on the court. She moves the ball around well and is great at running down balls and making great plays out of them. Her hustle and grit on the court were obvious, even watching from two states away. Lola was also a competitive server and added value on defense as well.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_7_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='311409' first='Sarah' last='Nyamwange']","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_7_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_7_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_7_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_7_player_details_school":"Byron","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_7_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='429175' first='VC' last='United']","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_7_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"Sarah is a middle you can't miss in this class. She is aggressive at the net and puts up a great block. Her speed sets her apart. Her movement is fast, precise, and explosive, whether transitioning, taking her approach, or moving across the net to block.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_8_player_details_player_name":"Mary Deacy","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_8_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_8_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_8_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_8_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_8_player_details_club_team":"Michio Chicago","_player_evaluations_8_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_8_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_8_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"Mary can swing at a high level on either pin. She has a great line shot on the right side and manufactures points with her swing. She has a great approach and high contact point. Her ability to place balls well on both pins impressed me.","_player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":9,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63d83eccac04f"} /-->