State Line Tidbits: Exciting New News, USA, and Commits
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Though we are in a little of a “quiet period”, there are still many happenings going on in the volleyball world to track and keep the readers up to speed on. Boys Volleyball is OFFICIALLY here! That’s right, the Missouri…
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Continue ReadingThough we are in a little of a “quiet period”, there are still many happenings going on in the volleyball world to track and keep the readers up to speed on.
Boys Volleyball is OFFICIALLY here!
That’s right, the Missouri State High School Activities Association has approved boys’ volleyball as a sanctioned interscholastic sport beginning in the 2023-2024 school year. There will be one class state championship in the first year. This is a big deal as many schools across the state have been playing for years now. On the eastern side of the state, boys’ volleyball is not new but in the Kansas City area, schools started putting together “club” teams right before the pandemic and playing in the HOA-sponsored league. You will see some teams still do this as some transition to an MSHSAA-affiliated program, which also means they can play on MSHSAA teams (so no Kansas matches).
The pandemic put a little damper in the process but many schools and leaders have worked tirelessly to get this going. I officiated some boys games this spring and I will say they have a lot of work to do but the most important part is getting the young men out there learning and gaining experience. Once many more of the athletes give the sport a try, they will fall in love with it and some will be pretty successful in no time.
Parks make the final roster for the U19 Pan America team
Logan Parks Logan Parks 5'11" | S Blue Valley North | 2025 State #8 Nation KS , the do-everything player for Mavs KC and Blue Valley North made the final roster for the USA U19 Pan America team. The setter/opposite is one of the top-ranked players in the country and the top 3 in the Prep Dig Kansas 2025 rankings.
Commits
We have more commits coming in that we want to highlight. A couple of weeks ago defender Sophia Bond Sophia Bond 5'7" | DS/L St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State KS committed to Lehigh! She plays this season for Mavs 17-1. She wasn’t the only commit from this squad being joined by Remi Nuss Remi Nuss 5'6" | DS/L Blue Valley Northwest | 2024 State KS and Tatum Grimes Tatum Grimes 6'2" | MB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State #184 Nation KS . Nuss is going to go to the Big 12 at West Virginia University as a defender. MB and state champion Tatum Grimes Tatum Grimes 6'2" | MB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State #184 Nation KS has decided to play at Army.
Recent national champion Reese Bates Reese Bates 5'10" | DS/L Blue Valley SW | 2023 State KS switched commitments after a coaching change and will head closer to home in Indiana, attending Butler University. Dynasty 18 Black Tiana Simmons Tiana Simmons 5'11" | MB Blue Valley | 2023 State KS is crossing the river to play at Chaminade University in Hawaii. On the boys’ side, Ethan Kuertzer from HPSTL recently signed to play at Illinois Wesleyan. Also in the St. Louis area, Dana Grib Dana Grib 5'4" | DS/L Eureka | 2023 State MO of Rockwood Thunder 18 Navy will be attending Lindenwood Univeristy.
What’s On Deck?
June is typically reserved for high school summer league but there is still some club action going on. The Indy Cup 2023 Pre-Nationals tournament will take place May 21-22. The Power ‘]/Topeka Impact Pre-National Tournament will be on June 10th and 11th. In the next couple of weeks, I will also be taking a dive into rankings calculated from AES and breaking down some of the top teams from both the Gateway and Heart of America regions in the 15-17-year-old divisions.