Central Zone Championships: ’26s and ’27s To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend, Capitol Sports Center (Circle City's home) and Armstrong Pavilion (Decatur Central High School) will play host to the CZC's, a collection of 15s and 16s teams. Over the two days this weekend, we get to see some local and not-so-local teams go head-to-head for bragging rights going into the massive Central Zone Invitational on the first weekend of February (more on that tournament at a later date). Here are ten athletes from five rosters and three clubs that will be putting their best foot forward for this end-of-January club tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rev 16-1 Fury</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 16s team at Rev might have the best top-to-bottom talent in the entire club. Two pin attackers come to mind immediately in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='327227' first='Hayden' last='Mandsager'] ('27, 6-0 Pin, Cathedral)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='217453' first='Rose' last='Mahin'] ('26, 5-10 OH, Franklin Community).</strong> Hayden is a big and physical pin attacker that can put balls away from either pin. I've seen her do her thing on the right side in high school, but her size can dictate to schools at the next level where she might go. Rose is a heavy-armed and high-flying outside that's a full-time six-rotation attacker in the making. Her jumping ability easily makes up for a shorter stature, and she plays with a maturity far older than she seems.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Circle City 16 Purple</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of top talent at the 16s level, Circle's 16-1 is oozing with talent and athleticism. My favorite attackers from this squad are <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='221478' first='Josie' last='Imes'] ('26, 5-10 OH, Zionsville)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226810' first='Ella' last='Warrick'] ('26, 5-9 OH, Linton-Stockton).</strong> Josie is more than paving her own path, and is becoming indispensable as a full-time six-rotation outside. Her ability to do anything she wants anywhere on the court, coupled with her sheer athleticism, is making her a big time recruit for this class. Ella has that "gym rat" mentality about her, and is constantly studying video off-court to make her on-court abilities <em>that</em> much more effective. Think of her as another coach on the court, albeit a high-flying and heavy-attacking one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rev 15-1 Fuego</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 15s team at Rev has talent AND size to burn. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502098' first='Caroline' last='Wilmering'] ('27, 6-0 MB, Chatard)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502100' first='Madden' last='Showalter'] ('27, 6-0 MB, Westfield)</strong> might be relegated to the right side occasionally in their futures, but for now, expect to see them defend from pin to pin and terminate over smaller blocks regularly. It's not just the size for these two---they play much faster than freshman at this level should.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">NCISVBC 16-1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I caught a glimpse of this squad a couple of weeks ago at the Early Bird. Although undersized as a whole, there's some hidden gems mixed in within this roster. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='499444' first='Izzy' last='Adams'] ('26, 5-8 S, Benton Central)</strong> should be running the 5-1 offense with ease, and is just as offensive as she is defensive---a nice combination to have when scoring points will be at a premium against bigger competition. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='499448' first='Rilee' last='Clifton'] ('26, 5-5 DS/L, Lafayette Jefferson)</strong> is a fearless libero with aspirations to never take off the libero jersey for the remainder of her career. I like her willingness to hit the floor and do the dirty work that rarely gets overt attention. In other words, she does her job without the flash.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rev 15-3 Gators</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lesser-known roster will have their work cut out for them because of their size. However, don't sleep on this team's athleticism. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502102' first='Sajae' last='Parker'] ('27, 5-8 MB, Pike)</strong> is as athletic and strong as you can be as an undersized freshman middle. I would not be surprised if she's eventually moved to the right side because of her ability to out jump any and all opposing pin attackers. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502104' first='Molly' last='Liter'] ('27, 5-9 Pin, Cathedral)</strong> is a new name for me, yet her volleyball acumen has been there for a while. She's able to put balls away from either pin and can block with length that makes her look taller than she is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->