15U AES Gateway Top 5

Wrapping up the glance at the AES rankings for the region and identifying the top 5 programs heading into the postseason. We shared in other writings, AES isn't necessarily the voice of junior volleyball but it is a system in place that generally does a good job of keeping accurate results for those who participate in events where AES is the scheduling system. Also, it allows the team the opportunity to add results. We understand the placement could be skewed based on who plays Open vs America at qualifiers but we shall proceed. We do a region search and then add "National Rankings". For example, in just a regional search, a totally different team could be the top team. So for now, we will use it to identify the top teams based on records and percentages in the Gateway Region.   HPSTL 15 Orange   HPSTL has two teams in the mix with Orange having the highest ranking nationally at 65. They hold a 52-14 record in the system. They have an ample number of top 5 finishes between bid events and qualifiers. They earned their national bid at MEQ in the Liberty Division with a second-place finish. [player_tooltip player_id='490238' first='Kathryn' last='Teepe'] is one of the setters on this roster making things happen.   [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 White   [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 White has a 54-16 record, good for a top 100 ranking at 98th. They are showing finishing every event in AES in the top 10 this year. This is not counting any tournaments where TM2 or Sportswrench were the platforms of choice. They earned the region's bid for the Freedom Division at nationals this summer. The team has found success as Rachel Breidenbach runs the offense from the setter position.   [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Navy   15 Navy follows up the White team at 110 in the national rankings while holding a 38-19 record. They played quite a few qualifiers in the USA Division and found local success in their region's bid event where they walked away with an American bid. [player_tooltip player_id='207580' first='Audrey' last='Hackney'] is a name we know in the setter position. She is also joined in the role by [player_tooltip player_id='490583' first='Lucy' last='Ellsworth'].   HPSTL 15 Royal   The highest-ranked team in actual region events comes in at 160 in the national rankings. We talked about this in our opening. 15 Royal essentially dominated local play but plays a tougher national schedule, which answers to their ranking. They have a 31-27 ranking overall in the system but 16-0 regionally. They have four top-fifteen finishes in Open qualifiers. They. missed on an Open bid but will represent the region in the National Division. [player_tooltip player_id='221231' first='Elena' last='Ruble'] and [player_tooltip player_id='222580' first='Grace' last='Holtz'] run the offense.   [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 15 National   Rounding out the national top five is [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 15 National at 198th. Their 40-12 record includes three tournament championships in the year. They also have a 5th-place finish in the American division at MEQ. Ava Wessel and [player_tooltip player_id='232326' first='Claudia' last='Jones'] are two 2026 setters on this roster helping the offense flow smoothly.   [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Elite   We mention [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Elite due to them being the second team in the region rankings and acknowledging their Open level play. They have a record of 38-32 and an 11th-place finish on their resume at MEQ. They will play in the National division at Juniors Nationals. Watch the offense to flow via solid passing and then decision-making from setters [player_tooltip player_id='222076' first='Abigail' last='Schoene'] and [player_tooltip player_id='224817' first='Elizabeth' last='Koenig'].

Wrapping up the glance at the AES rankings for the region and identifying the top 5 programs heading into the postseason. We shared in other writings, AES isn't necessarily the voice of junior volleyball but it is a system in place that generally does a good job of keeping accurate results for those who participate in events where AES is the scheduling system. Also, it allows the team the opportunity to add results. We understand the placement could be skewed based on who plays Open vs America at qualifiers but we shall proceed. We do a region search and then add "National Rankings". For example, in just a regional search, a totally different team could be the top team. So for now, we will use it to identify the top teams based on records and percentages in the Gateway Region.