The Winners and Prospects at the Shamrock Showdown

St. James hosted their St. Patty's day tournament, the Shamrock Showdown. That weekend also included the first big week of qualifiers for the 15-17 age groups. For the Shamrock Showdown the focus steered towards the class of 2027. This appears to be a group of talented girls that need to be addressed, now that the club season winds down. When the club season ends these girls will start preparing for their frosh high school seasons.   Below are the top prospects and teams from the 14 and 15 Under Divisions. Next week the older age groups will be discussed.   14 Open   MVSA Force   MVSA Force rolled through the competition, finishing unblemished at 5-0 (12-0). They battled with Blue Ridge the last set of the day, winning 29-27 to take the championship.   The most impressive player of the tournament, Ana Woods, actually belongs to the class of 2028. She contributed kills from the three meter attack line as well as the left side. Her 5'11" height allowed her to put up good blocks at the net. She led the team in kills, digs, ranked second in aces and carried the top serve receive ranking for the team. Definitely a player who will make an impact in the future.   Other players who impressed were libero [player_tooltip player_id='438049' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic'], right side [player_tooltip player_id='438053' first='Lucille' last='Deraleau'], setter [player_tooltip player_id='438058' first='Vivian' last='Ngan'] and middle [player_tooltip player_id='438089' first='Kenley' last='Jacobs']. If the name Djordjevic sounds familiar that is because her sister Ema ranks as one of the top prospects in the class of 2025. Ana chooses the libero position because she stands shorter than Ema, but plays the game with the same enthusiasm and team first attitude. Vivian normally sets a 5/1 using her strong hands to push the ball outside. She also runs quicks to the middle.   Lucille played right side but showed her versatility by producing kills from either pin. Kenley led the team in blocks and contributed to kills in the middle from quick sets. Another player to watch is [player_tooltip player_id='438091' first='Catherine' last='McIntyre']. She played left side and produced some good service runs, leading the team in aces for the tournament.   Blue Ridge   They had a fun battle with Virginia Juniors to get into the finals, winning 25-22, 23-25, 15-11. They also took MVSA to 29-27 in the second set of the finals. Breeze Johnson stands out as one of the more impressive players on this team. She carries significant height that allows her to make an impact at the net. She moves quickly to the ball, has good hands, but still needs to try to platform set less. At the 14 level the passing can be a little sporadic so setters are constantly chasing the ball.   Blue Ridge always seems to carry solid liberos on their roster and Katherine Maddon plays the position well. [player_tooltip player_id='435748' first='Aaliyah' last='Green'] hits left side and can be especially dangerous hitting the ball down the line. [player_tooltip player_id='437982' first='Audra' last='Baker'] plays a strong middle.   Virginia Juniors   Juniors lost to both MVSA Force and Blue Ridge. They probably had the second most impressive player at the 14 level in left side Katherine Lewis. Her height and athleticism shined for that age. She played six rotations and hit effectively from the three meter line. [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] played right side but showed the ability to hit from both pins. Her older sister Samia hits left side and ranks number eleven in the class of 2024.   [player_tooltip player_id='438070' first='Camryn' last='Coulther'] wore the libero jersey, putting together a couple of good service runs. Setter Addyson Lee impressed me with her ability to calmly run the offense.   15 Open   Blue Ridge   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/skylar-norris.jpg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-352202" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: provided by coach</figcaption></figure>   For the first four matches Blue Ridge rolled through their opponents, not giving up more than 15 points. In four of their first ten sets the opponents scored in single digits. The gold bracket playoffs were a different story where both matches went three sets. Blue Ridge won the third set against Liberty Elite 15-12 and in the finals defeated MVSA Charge 15-6.   For Blue Ridge, this is their fifth tournament. They have won two of them and finished not less than third in the other three. They will be competing in the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships this weekend, a first for them.   Left side [player_tooltip player_id='309027' first='Skylar' last='Norris'] (pictured above) led Blue Ridge with 20 aces and 40 kills in the tournament. She hit at a .377 clip and played all six rotations. Her performance got her a nomination for Prep Dig Player of the Week. At 6'3" [player_tooltip player_id='309032' first='Samantha' last='Stephens'] brings a dominating presence to the middle or right side. Her left handed swing fits perfect for the right side. She belongs to the class of 2025.   Libero [player_tooltip player_id='320814' first='Alycia' last='Miller'] also performed well. Last year she set for the team. As a libero she still sets but mostly out of system sets. She showed good hands for setting and a good platform for passing. They can use Alycia in the libero role because they carry two quality setters in Katie Zittle and Blanca Hutzler.   MVSA Charge   MVSA swept through the competition in their first four matches. They battled Blue Ridge in the Shamrock Showdown finals, but ultimately fell in the third set 15-6. They also have a good track record for placing high in tournaments.   [player_tooltip player_id='322107' first='Eden' last='Tardy'], the left side, leads this team. Last year she played for Metro 14, but diminished playing time forced her to move to MVSA. [player_tooltip player_id='325599' first='Raegan' last='Lentz'] brings great enthusiasm to the court. She may be one of the top middles in the class of 2026. She stands 5'11", bringing an automatic kill every time she swings at the ball.   Other players who impressed include the two right sides, [player_tooltip player_id='325601' first='Sydnee' last='Peters'] and Fallon Gyapong and setter [player_tooltip player_id='325600' first='Taryn' last='Su']. Su plays some scrappy defense from the setter's position. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='346817' first='Celiana' last='Caraballo'] and defensive specialist Elly Vanlandingham control the back court with spectacular defense. Vanlandingham brings length to the defensive position standing 5'10".   Liberty Elite   Their only loss in the tournament came with the two set loss to Blue Ridge in the semifinals. They came back and swept VAVA for the second time to take third place.   At 6'2" [player_tooltip player_id='352829' first='Parker' last='Sutherland'] brings an intimidating presence to the middle. She also showed off some sweet hands with an assist. Her excitement over the achievement shows she does not do this with great regularity. She runs a quick middle and moves effortlessly from pin to pin. You also have to love her enthusiasm on the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='325602' first='Alexa' last='Smith'] has got to be one of the better liberos from this class. She covers a lot of court with her movements, making spectacular one handed saves. She anticipates well and always seems to be in the right spot before the ball hits the floor.   Others who stood out were middle [player_tooltip player_id='436117' first='Sydney' last='Turner'], who also brings great length to the court. Sophie Everhart is the big gun from the left side. She also contributes solid passing from the back row. The other left side Jayanna Ware brings some juice on the ball with a strong wrist snap. Additionally, Liberty carries two quality setters in Kylie-Anne East and [player_tooltip player_id='346814' first='Adyson' last='Seymour'] who orchestrate the offense well.   Finally, Adysen Groves may be the smallest girl on the court, but she shows tremendous hustle. She made an incredible one handed save from behind the service line to keep a rally alive.   Mideast Qualifier Happenings   There were three teams that did well in the Mideast Qualifiers in Indianapolis. All three finished third in their respective divisions.   First, you have Paramount, who took an unconventional route to double qualify in the 18 open. Their top hitter, the 6'1" [player_tooltip player_id='181098' first='Grace' last='Maria'] moved to the libero position. For her high school Bishop O'Connell she passed at 2.3 and played incredible defense. An injury still prevents her from hitting outside. They moved their normal libero [player_tooltip player_id='181201' first='Hannah' last='Howard'] to outside. For Mussleman High School she won Gatorade Player of the Year two years ago for her outside play.   Paramount uses these two in a two player serve receive so this kept the option open. The switch seemed to work well as they rolled to a third place finish in the open.   East Coast Power Marble finished an impressive third in the American Division. They won their first two games in the gold bracket before eventually losing to the bid winner Invasion Blue in three sets. They lost the third set 15-9. For East Coast they had never had a team play in a gold bracket for a qualifier. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='348735' first='Audrey' last='Monlux'] got a nomination for Prep Dig Player of the Week for her efforts in getting the team to the Gold Bracket.   Finally, from the Old Dominion Region, River City Volleyball Academy finished in third place in the 17 Select Division. They won all of their seven matches and 14 sets, until a loss to Vital 17-2 Royal in the semi-final of the gold bracket. They lost the first set 25-14 and the third set 15-11. [player_tooltip player_id='190541' first='Hannah' last='Ball'] ranks number six in our class of 2024 and is the highest ranked player from the 17 team.

St. James hosted their St. Patty's day tournament, the Shamrock Showdown. That weekend also included the first big week of qualifiers for the 15-17 age groups. For the Shamrock Showdown the focus steered towards the class of 2027. This appears to be a group of talented girls that need to be addressed, now that the club season winds down. When the club season ends these girls will start preparing for their frosh high school seasons.