New Club Rises Out Of Wichita Area
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<p>A new volleyball club in the Heart of America Volleyball region competed at the Heart Challenge Cup in Lawrence on March 4-5.</p>
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<p>The Kansas Rise is a first-year organization made up of players in south-central Kansas. The Kansas Rise 17-1 club finished the two-day tournament in Lawrence with a 4-2 match record.</p>
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<p>Prep Dig scouted one of those four wins, a 25-17, 25-19 win over the [program_tooltip program_id='430209' first='Midwest' last='Juniors'] 17-1 team in Saturday's Pool Play.</p>
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<p>Here is the third scouting report from the Heart Challenge Cup.</p>
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<p>Emma Geier, 5'10”, OH, Andover Central, ‘24</p>
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<p>Geier is a confidant player. She was the top performer on this team. She had eight kills, two serve receptions, and two digs. The Jaguar outside hitter played on a loaded 2022 Andover Central squad. She finished her junior campaign with 106 kills which ranked fifth on the 5A State Tournament qualifying team. Geier should play a more prominent role in the Jags' system in 2023. Area college coaches should keep a close watch on this prospect.</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='557374' first='Kai' last='Hallman'], 5'9”, MH, Northwest (Wichita), ‘25</p>
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<p>Hallman was one of two athletes “playing up” who performed well. She had six kills and two blocks in the Saturday morning victory. She is a physical player and has a lot of volleyball ahead of her. She did not play varsity for Northwest, a team losing a stacked senior class. Coaches should watch the progression of this young athlete.</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='758220' first='Victoria' last='Hepburn'], 5'10”, MH, Kingman, ‘25</p>
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<p>A tall young player to watch is Kingman's, [player_tooltip player_id='758220' first='Victoria' last='Hepburn']. She had three kills and two blocks for the Kansas Rise. She did see some limited varsity action in 2022 but should play a larger role in 2023. She was playing up and did not at all appear to be intimidated. She can jump and would benefit from adding some upper-body strength.</p>
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<p>Two other players who appear to be on their way to being college-level prospects are Berean Academy, Setter Anna Smith, and Maize South's opposite-side hitter Lilly Mitchell. The future for the infant Kansas Rise club is bright.</p>
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A new volleyball club in the Heart of America Volleyball region competed at the Heart Challenge Cup in Lawrence on March 4-5.
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