Heart of America GJNC 15 Open and National Participants
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We are starting our national previews and will continue throughout the month leading up to the big dance. Today we start with the Open and National teams in the Heart of America region. Open Pohaku 15-1 We’ve discussed this squad…
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Continue ReadingWe are starting our national previews and will continue throughout the month leading up to the big dance. Today we start with the Open and National teams in the Heart of America region.
Open
Pohaku 15-1
We’ve discussed this squad a couple of times this season as they have been one of the more consistent teams across the country in 15 Open. They opened many eyes early in the season at Triple Crown with a 5th-place finish in the field of 104. They showed it wasn’t a fluke by winning Power League with a perfect record. Pohaku traveled north to Northern Lights and went 6-2 before finishing the qualifying season with a 3rd-place finish at Show Me and a 5th-place showing at Lone Star. This team has a deep roster that includes setters Abby Truong and Kylie Groves Kylie Groves 5'4" | DS/L De Soto | 2026 State KS . Pins Julia Anisimova Julia Anisimova 5'9" | OH Shawnee Mission Northwest | 2026 State KS , Grace Martin Grace Martin 5'11" | OH St. Thomas Aquinas | 2026 State KS , and Willow Weninger Willow Weninger 6'1" | RS Blue Valley Southwest | 2026 State KS have been good this spring.
Dynasty ‘ last=”] 15 Black
Dynasty ‘ last=”] finished 3rd in a highly contested Power League behind Pohaku and Mavs 816 15-1. Before Power League, they started their year playing up in the 17s division in the MLK tournament fighting their way to a 5th-place finish. Triple Crown proved to be the test they wanted as they competed against some of the top teams in the country and walked away with a 19th-place weekend. Red Rock Rave produced a 4-4 record and 9th place finish. Like Pohaku, they took the Northern Lights route and also went 6-2. They came back home to Show-Me and had a tough tournament that ended with an 11th-place finish before earning their bid in Texas a week later at Lone Star. 15 Black rolls out a couple of liberos in Annalyse Cisneros and Selah Simien Selah Simien 5'5" | DS/L Northeast Kansas | 2026 State KS . Wynnie Sprague and Parker Kimball Parker Kimball 6'2" | MB Park Hill | 2026 State MO have been dependable middles and have shown extreme growth this season.
National
Mavs 816 15-1
The Power League runner-up snatched a National bid with a strong three-play-date performance. They went 14-1, with their lone defeat coming to the hands of Pohaku. The first major tournament for this team was Triple Crown, where they left with a 5-2 record. Mavs joined Dynasty ‘ last=”] out west but struggled to get wins leaving with only two in seven matches in the Open division. After earning their National bid through Power League, they continued to search for an Open bid and just missed one at Show Me where they finished 5th. The trip to Texas would conclude their qualifying season and they would be locked in for National at Junior Nationals. Defense and ball control are key for this team with Mirando Como and Maycie Martin navigating the back row. Macy Sims Macy Sims 5'9" | MB Shawnee Mission East | 2026 State KS , Morgan Sims, and Chesnie King Chesnie King OH Grain Valley | 2026 State MO are a few of many capable point producers along the front line.
Mavs KC 15-1
Joining their sister bunch in the division will be Mavs KC 15-1 come late June. Their 4th place finish in Power League results in a bid after Pokaku and Dynasty ‘ last=”] earned Open bids in qualifying tournaments. They played most of their qualifying tournaments in the USA Division after finishing middle of the pack in Triple Crown. A second-place showing in the region bid event earned a bid in the American division for nationals. A 5th-place finish at Show Me had them on the brink of securing a USA bid. They would finally break through with a runner-up performance at Far Western however, their National bid trumps the USA. The front line will look to be key with touches at the net defensively with Gillian Walton Gillian Walton 6'0" | MB Shawnee Mission West | 2026 State KS and Phoenix Fogel Phoenix Fogel 6'0" | MB Belton | 2026 State MO holding down the middle. Offensively, setters Isabella Sohl and Rebekah Slaughter will attempt to find the weak spots in the defense.