New Club Rises Out Of Wichita Area
A new volleyball club in the Heart of America Volleyball region competed at the Heart Challenge Cup in Lawrence on March 4-5. The Kansas Rise is a first-year organization made up of players in south-central Kansas. The Kansas Rise 17-1…
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Continue ReadingA new volleyball club in the Heart of America Volleyball region competed at the Heart Challenge Cup in Lawrence on March 4-5.
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.
Prep Dig scouted one of those four wins, a 25-17, 25-19 win over the Midwest Juniors 17-1 team in Saturday’s Pool Play.
Here is the third scouting report from the Heart Challenge Cup.
Emma Geier, 5’10”, OH, Andover Central, ‘24
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.
Kai Hallman, 5’9”, MH, Northwest (Wichita), ‘25
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.
Victoria Hepburn, 5’10”, MH, Kingman, ‘25
A tall young player to watch is Kingman’s, Victoria 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.
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.