Five Athletes Who Showed Out At WCNQ 18s

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just got home from a long weekend in Schaumburg, Illinois, where the Windy City National Qualifier (18s) was played. There was a ton of great ball and plenty of congratulations to go around for teams hailing from Indiana. [program_tooltip program_id='430155' first='Team' last='Pineapple'] 18 Black finished fourth in the super tough Open division. Circle City's 18 Black finished fourth in the USA division, losing a tough third-place match against Arizona Sky, 16-14 in the third. KeAloha 181 Nazare' finished tied for third in Liberty. Finally, Ignite 18 Elite finished fifth in the American division. Overall, Indiana was well represented in each of the gold brackets this past weekend. Here are five kids from three different rosters that really increased their stock value in the opening qualifier of the club season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 [player_tooltip player_id='172345' first='Skylar' last='Kritzmire'], 5-10 OH, Roncalli, Team Indiana</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Skylar is a springy three-rotation outside that did quite well against the massive blocks she saw on day 1 of pool play, leading her TI 18.1 team to a pool win on Saturday. She used her combination of her hammer arm and some smart shots to put balls away against Vision (Northern California), specifically. Vision, mind you, finished third overall and earned an open bid to GJNCs. If she can do that against amazing NCAA Division 1 signees a year older than her, I can't wait to see what she can do against kids in her own graduating class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'24 [player_tooltip player_id='171379' first='Jayla' last='Miller'], 5-9 RS, Purdue Poly, Circle City</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For a while now, I've listed Jayla as an "athlete". She can play either pin, but was definitely in her element by day 3 as a right side for her 18 Black squad. The bigger Madtown squad that they beat on Monday could definitely put balls away, but Jayla was a big reason why they couldn't put enough balls away. Jayla slowed down shots from bigger kids to make things easier for the defense behind her, and quickly transitioned to be ready to attack and score points. Jayla is a smart and athletic player who can play either pin at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 [player_tooltip player_id='173245' first='Isabelle' last='Brown'], 5-9 S, Avon, Circle City</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I would like someone, ANYONE, to tell me why this young lady is still available to be recruited. Don't tell me her size is an issue, because she gets up to get tight passes and make them hittable for all of her hitters. Don't say that she doesn't defend her position well, because her relentless nature makes that point moot. You're wrong if you say she can't locate the ball well----how did her undersized squad finish so high in the 18 USA division this past weekend? You could do far worse than Miss Brown at the setting position in the class of '25, and she's still available if you want a plug-and-play setter in the fall of '25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 [player_tooltip player_id='228395' first='Riley' last='Hoaks'], 5-9 S, Benton Central, NCISVBC</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of plug-and-play setters still available, here's another one from Northwestern Indiana. Riley ran a great offense for her team this past weekend. Her location was exceptional, she got to a ton of out-of-system passes and made those setting choices in-system. She also has a younger-than-average roster around her, which you wouldn't know at first glance because of her leadership abilities. In short, Riley really showed out this past weekend against some serious competition that made her look <em>that</em> much better going into the rest of the club season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'27 [player_tooltip player_id='499064' first='Ella' last='Miller'], 6-0 OH, Benton Central, NCISVBC</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yes, she's a freshman, and against some inferior competition at the Early Bird shootout, she stuck out as a positive force for this team. Fast-forward to this past weekend in Schaumburg, and you got to see her nature against older, bigger and more experienced competition. She held her own in serve receive, being used as a primary passer. She has a high attack point, which added to her point-scoring abilities when she was able to tool blocks---or better yet, go over them altogether. She was also tough behind the service line, which you wouldn't expect from a freshman, let alone a six-rotation freshman playing kids two and three years older than she. Ella is someone we'll be keeping an eye on moving forward, and the sky's the limit for this rising star.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->