KC and Windy City Kickoff 18 Qualifers – Who Gets Bids?
Let the Qualifiers begin…for the 18s. This weekend there will be Qualifiers in Chicago and Kansas City to kick off “Bid Season” – and for the 18s it comes fast and furious. Play will start Saturday and conclude Monday. Here…
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Continue ReadingLet the Qualifiers begin…for the 18s. This weekend there will be Qualifiers in Chicago and Kansas City to kick off “Bid Season” – and for the 18s it comes fast and furious. Play will start Saturday and conclude Monday. Here will be a few athletes, teams, and storylines to watch this weekend in Kansas City and Chicago.
Who Went To College Early?
The first weekend out is a little bit like a middle school dance – everyone looking across the court to see if this athlete or that athlete is still there? Who is still dancing? For Colorado Juniors, they won’t have Izzy Starck who is at Penn State. Same goes for Emerson Sellman, she is starting her journey at Ohio State. Skyler Pierce who has been one of the key parts of Dynasty is off to Nebraska while former Dynasty teammate and Wake Forest commit Cy Rae Campbell is playing for KC Power. Ava Falduto who is the decorated libero from 1st Alliance in Chicagoland will join Starck at Penn State this semester. Ava Utterback, the springy outside from Circle City is starting the semester at Louisville.
The Top Seeds in Open?
1st Alliance 18 Gold will be the early favorite where they have plenty of day three gold, championship experience. They might also have the best outside hitter combination in Illinois Gatorade POY Ellie White (Michigan) and Grace Nelson (Kansas). The QB1 of this group and also a right side attacking threat is Calli Kenny (Marquette). An attacker on this team who could bring a lot of depth and can score points at will is Katherine Scherer who is committed to Maryland.
Colorado Juniors 18 Sherri will come into Kansas City as the top seed. This team is a little bit of a different look with with no Izzy Starck (Penn Starck), Paityn Chapman (Tennessee), and Ella Vogel (Florida). Corrie Anderson is a long athletic pin who will be heading to Dayton. Out of the middle will be a very physical attacker in Grace Langer who will be heading to West Virginia.
What Teams Are In The Hunt?
Windy City
FC Elite 18 Elite – Ella Demestrician (Michigan) will be playing her fourth year of 18s and leads a very deep and balanced team from the Appleton, WI area. They have made it a routine to qualify for USAV 18 Open where they finished in the final four in 2022. They will have other outside hitters in Annalisse Patchett (Western Michigan) and Marin Grossman (Lewis). What will give this team an edge is their ability to defend and serve receive. They will have libero, Olivia Baierl (Illinois State) and Peyton Carlson (Class of 2026).
MKE Sting 18 Gold – This group has been playing together since they’ve stepped on the court. Their core group has played hundreds of matches and their team chemistry will be something that will lead them early on in the season. The setter/middle duo of Lilly Wagner (Maryland) and Anna Bjork (Notre Dame) is no secret. They will also have a lot of explosiveness on the pin with Melia Johnson (Ole Miss), Sophia Wendlick (Creighton), and Olivia Kwiatkowski (Troy). Clare Luoma will command the backrow, she is a Clemson commit.
Adversity 18 Adidas – There are teams coming from both coasts, but I think the Wisconsin and Illinois teams might have a homecourt advantage. Adversity is out of Chicagoland and have plenty of high level athletes. One of the top right sides in the field could be Ana Vetter (Wake Forest). Her progression over the high school career has been so impressive. She is lengthy, explosive, and is a six rotation lefty right side who can score from anywhere.
Kansas City
KC Power 18-1
This group has played together for a while and the catalyst to this group is setter, Janelle Green (Cincinnati). She brings so much intensity and fire to the court, it’s contagious. This squad also has a future Iowa State duo that will be scoring on the pin in Rachel Van Gorp and 2025 commit Alea Goolsby. FIU commit Jillian Huckabey will be on this squad and the libero who has been commanding the backrow is Mya Bolton who will be heading to Michigan State.
Kairos 18 Alpha
Kairos is going to be sneaky good, really good. They have produced some top tier players nationally, most notably in Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly. They have another core group soaring up with their 18 Alpha team. They will have a setter/libero combo that are committed to Illinois in Taryn Kirsch and Sophia Randall. A 2026 prospect to put on the national radar would be Gabi Zachariasen. As a sophomore, she is coming off an undefeated season for her high school team and was just named South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year.
Six Pack 18-1
Six Pack is an interesting one. This squad is out of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area and many of their athletes are in the heart of their basketball season where some are playing with top ranked teams in their class. The defending 17 National Division champs are led by Payton Petersen who has already had a big month by playing in the Under Armour All American game and was name Iowa’s Gatorade POY. Her high school volleyball and basketball teammates, Maryn Bixby and Jadyn Petersen are also on this team. These two are committed to Northern Iowa and all three of these athletes will be going for their fourth straight state basketball title.