NLQ “Live Eye” 2025s On The Rise

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At a large club tournament, especially one of the first large club tournaments of the season, I approach it like a college coach.&nbsp; There are the top players and the teams I am familiar with.&nbsp; I see the athletes from Milwaukee Sting and FC Elite play because they are close in proximity to me.&nbsp; Always fun seeing those athletes compete and seeing them transition from their high school teams to club teams.&nbsp; There are the top players in the country that I always enjoy seeing their progress - the likes of Abigail Mullen, Reese Messer, the Nebraska One squad, Northern Lights - I've seen those athletes multiple times the past few years.&nbsp; The stars always seem to shine.&nbsp; At tournaments like a Northern Lights Qualifier, I am looking for athletes where I have to look up their name.&nbsp; The athletes I don't know well, the new ones that are on my radar, the ones I have to double check the roster to get their name correct.&nbsp; There were plenty of new names I was able to see turn in some big performances this weekend from 17 Open and 17 USA.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">PHOTOS –&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=PrepDig&amp;set=a.976397284158141" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NLQ 2024 – The 17s</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":504805,"width":"419px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/DSC05260.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-504805" style="width:419px;height:auto"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tia Traudt - VCN 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to UNLV&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Traudt is a gamechanger for VCN out of Lincoln, Nebraska.&nbsp; She is a really physical outside attacker where she just hammers.&nbsp; I really enjoyed watching her go for the big swing where she could go hard cross, down the line, or tooling the block.&nbsp; Her movement is smooth and can do a little bit of everything in any rotation.&nbsp; VCN is such a scrappy team, they scored some big three set wins and they also took a set off of Houston Skyline who would go on to win the 17 Open title.&nbsp; She will head to UNLV.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Faith Venable - VCN 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to Omaha</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So athletic.&nbsp; From jumping to the lateral movement, Venable was a standout athlete for VCN.&nbsp; I saw her take some swings on the right side pin and was so impressed with how she could contact the ball high and knew how to find the deep corners.&nbsp; Omaha made the tournament this past fall as well as playing Nebraska in Memorial Stadium in front of 90,000.&nbsp; They have build their success on homegrown Nebraska athletes and Venable fits right into that mix.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":505780,"width":"471px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/DSC05164.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-505780" style="width:471px;height:auto"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Adeline Daniel - Sudden Impact 17 Storm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sudden Impact comes from Washington State where Adeline Daniel is a 2025 lefty right side who attends Bellevue Christian.&nbsp; She was a key attacker for this squad where she could swing from the right side naturally and even was able to terminate out of serve receive on the outside.&nbsp; She can establish great position on her block and has great hand to ball contact.&nbsp; When she connects, its a heavy swing.&nbsp; This is what I love about national qualifiers.&nbsp; Sudden impact might not of had the weekend they wanted, but Adeline Daniel was definitely and athlete I didn't know much about who I know would make an impact at the next level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gabi Martinez - Houston Juniors 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to Cal Baptist</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was watching Martinez swing on the outside and just thought, “Who is this kid?”.&nbsp; Super active arm, explosive jumper, and she could flat out score points.&nbsp; I knew about the likes of Jordan Taylor (Minnesota) and Sydney Barrett (Vanderbilt), but Martinez was lightning in a bottle.&nbsp; She is a commit to Cal Baptist and with her skill set she is going to be a next level impact player.&nbsp; Her explosiveness and the ability to make plays will really help this HJV team steal points out of system.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maggie Meister - Kairos 17 Alpha</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to South Dakota State</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meister didn't even have to touch a volleyball and I could see how athletic she was with how she moves and anticipates.&nbsp; Kairos as a club has some of the more polished and fundamentally sound athletes you will see at a national event.&nbsp; They are out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and are building quite a program.&nbsp; Meister has range, serious range where she can pick up any free ball, serve receive half the court, and anticipates extremely well.&nbsp; She is like a free safety in football where she can see what's going on the other side of the net and beat the ball to the spot.&nbsp; South Dakota State got a good one.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":505781,"width":"458px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/DSC05147.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-505781" style="width:458px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">IPVA 17 Black </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sydney Brandmeyer - IPVA 17 Black&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I notice attackers who aren't afraid to take a big swing.&nbsp; Brandmeyer is 6'2, long, athletic, and is aggressive with her approach to scoring points.&nbsp; She is a big time outlet for the IPVA squad out of the Des Moines area where they went up some of the big dogs this weekend.&nbsp; With the big block on the other side, it can be easy to tip or roll, playing it safe - not Brandmeyer, she was looking for deep corner or hitting it hard off the block.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":504782,"width":"470px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/DSC05193.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-504782" style="width:470px;height:auto"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Victoria Hill - GP 17 Rox&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to Appalachian State</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Victoria Hill has a chill vibe on the court, she plays with a smile - don't let that fool you.&nbsp; She is an explosive attacker and brings a ton of pop with her swing.&nbsp; Game Point out of Florida made the trip up North to Minneapolis and overall had a great weekend.&nbsp; The unfortunate circumstance for them they ran into two day three gold bracket teams on day one.&nbsp; Give this team time and they will be playing in those day three gold pools as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brooke Hardy - Idaho Crush 17 Bower&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I tried doing a deep dive to see if Brooke Hardy was committed anywhere and no luck - my assumption is that she is uncommitted.&nbsp; This 6'2ish middle blocker was lethal all weekend for Idaho Crush who finished second overall.&nbsp; She is highly efficient where she can find the seems and deep corner.&nbsp; Crush has some powerful pins, including 2026 Bellamie Beus, but with the Hardy in the middle the other side has to respect the entire front line.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1751262317495431271?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1751262317495431271?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kate Hayhurst - Idaho Crush 17 Bower</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to Kansas</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kansas strikes again! The Jayhawks had a top five recruiting Class of 2024 and they are starting to fill in some key pieces in the Class of 2024.&nbsp; A long, athletic right side in Kate Hayhurst has a lethal left handed swing and she is contacting the ball extremely high.&nbsp; Like I mentioned with Hardy, Hayhurst allows Crush to stretch the offense where the defense really can't cheat from one side to another.&nbsp; If teams leave Hayhurst to attack against an outside hitter one on one, my money in on Hayhurst to put the ball away over and over again.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='169896' first='Ellie' last='Witthaus'] - Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to Maryville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Witthaus will be continuing her career close to home at Maryville who is a D2 program who is starting to build a solid program with local talent. Picking up the likes of Witthaus is a huge get.&nbsp; Whithaus can score from both pins and shows a lot of strength and athleticism.&nbsp; I was able to see her score on the outside as well as the right side where both of those seems looked really natural to her.&nbsp; She could be a six-rotation player at the next level.&nbsp; This Rockwood team has a lot of balance and was still in the hunt on day two.&nbsp; They are always a team to watch when it comes to qualifiers because they thrive in big matches.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":504808,"width":"517px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/DSC05271.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-504808" style="width:517px;height:auto"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gabrielle Clinkscale - Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockwood Thunder won a thrilling three set match on Friday over Nebraska Premier to send them into the gold pools for Saturday.&nbsp; An electric outside for this squad was Gabrielle Clinkscale. She has great movement, can attack out of system, and is able to clean things up when plays get chaotic.&nbsp; Her arm has some pop and is really active as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hayden Hart - Nebraska Premier 17 Gold&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Committed to Oral Roberts</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So much pop in the swing of Hayden Hart who is a middle blocker for Premier 17 Gold.&nbsp; The 5'10 middle blocker is a fast twitch style middle blocker where she has a fast arm, quick snap, and she finds the floor on the opposite side of the net.&nbsp; She works in transition to make herself available for her setters with multiple tempos.&nbsp; She will stay in the Summit League where she will have plenty of matches close to home committing to Oral Roberts.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Taylor Bonner-Williams - Houston Stellar 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Bonner-Williams takes an approach she is jumping off a trampoline.&nbsp; Her athleticism is something special.&nbsp; I was able to see the a lot of the 17 USA gold pools on Saturday where the Texas teams were dominant.&nbsp; Bonner-Williams was able to hit at a variety of angles, can take a high IQ swing out of system, and score points.&nbsp; This will be a fun team to follow all season long.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":504778,"width":"474px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/DSC05183.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-504778" style="width:474px;height:auto"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Olivia Eike - Iowa Impact 17s</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Iowa Class of 2025 rankings will be updated soon and there are plenty of Iowa Impact athletes that will be rising in the rankings.&nbsp; Eike I saw play on the right side, maybe even middle this past fall, but this past weekend I got to see her play on the outside this past weekend and she showed a lot of athleticism, physicality, and scoring ability.&nbsp; With being part of a new club the seeding can always be a mystery, but Iowa Impact 17s will be one to rise at the USA Division.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Addison Menefee - Houston Juniors 17 Premier&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Houston Juniors 17 Premier team is going to win a lot of matches.&nbsp; They will be at Triple Crown over Presidents Day and they will have plenty of 2025 talent that would be a great pick up at the next level.&nbsp; She is a terminator on both pins, she has plenty of physicality and athleticism to play against high level players.&nbsp; Her swing has plenty of pop where she can go with a variety of angles or she can tool the block.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Macey Nehring - Iowa PowerPlex 17 Mendieta&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Iowa Power Plex 17 Mendieta was the 17 USA Runner Up and got their bid to Vegas.&nbsp; One position that I feel can be overlooked is the DS.&nbsp; Nehring was the DS for this PowerPlex squad where she came in and nailed her role where she could provide a tough serve, be a steady athlete in serve receive, and bring a spark to the court.&nbsp; This team that will most likely be playing in the open division here on out.&nbsp; The Iowa Class of 2025 is extremely deep across the board.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>London Warmuth - Iowa PowerPlex 17 Zoss</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Uncommitted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So athletic.&nbsp; Warmuth played middle this past weekend for PowerPlex 17 Zoss who actually defeated their fellow club foe in PowerPlex 17 Mendieta on day two.&nbsp; Some of her highlights for high school had her playing on the outside.&nbsp; Either way, she is an athlete - she has a high motor where she was causing a lot of problems for the other side of the net with her reach and activity.&nbsp; She is one who is going to improve quickly when she starts playing more volleyball this season.&nbsp; She might be a steal at the next level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->