Prez Day StL Athletes Under The Radar: 17 Premier

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moving right along in our preview of the Saint Louis President's Day tournament, we cover some teams and athletes that aren't getting as much publicity as they should. Here are six athletes from three rosters that are looking to make this tournament a huge recruiting boon for their futures.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">CVBC 17-1 Ballers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cougar VBC, located in Seymour (about halfway between Indianapolis and Louisville), has had a long history of volleyball success. Drawing from a lot of volleyball-centric schools in the area, one program in particular comes to mind. Both <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='160069' first='Addison' last='Darlage'] ('25, 5-5 S, Trinity Lutheran)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='157945' first='Carson' last='Bowling'] ('25, 6-0 MB, Trinity Lutheran)</strong> are major cogs in the wheel that drive both this roster and their high school's success over the years. Addison is a smart and quick setter that locates the ball well and would be a great addition as a 6-2 setter in a school looking for one. Carson is a bruiser of a middle that can hit all of the angles and has a strong upper body to out-athlete her opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ignite 17 Elite</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Instead of south on I-65, let's go north to the other end of the state. Drawing from "the region" on most of their rosters, Ignite has had a ton of their own success over the years, and this season will be no different. Two long-and-lean attackers for this squad are <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='509315' first='Brooke' last='Cawthon'] ('25, 5-10 Pin, Hobart)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='509317' first='Alayna' last='Panepinto'] ('25, 5-11 MB, Crown Point).</strong> The similarities are eerie---both have length to max out their attack point, both defend their positions well, and both are quick enough to do a little of everything they can as front-row specific players. Both are also two-footed attackers, meaning each get to the spot of the set quickly and choose their angles once they get there. Alayna is probably more of an M2 because of this, but Brooke can attack from either pin with ease.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Metro VBC 17 Black</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of moving to opposite ends of the state, going down the new-and-improved I-69 to Evansville has us talk about a couple of small but mighty outsides that are worth the watch. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='509321' first='Camden' last='Hiatt'] ('25, 5-8 OH, Evansville North)</strong> is a strong outside that has all of the shots and the smarts to get her team out of trouble, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='509319' first='Reese' last='Ashby'] ('25, 5-8 OH, Reitz Memorial)</strong> uses more brute strength and hits a heavy ball to terminate. Each can play all the way around, and each could be used in a variety of ways at the next level. I'd like to see a little more shoulder flexibility from both, but that should come with time and experience.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->