What Athletes and Teams Stood Out on Day 1 of PD ChiTown Classic?

We're kicking off the first weekend of May with the Prep Dig ChiTown Classic held at Top Flight Volleyball Academy in Elgin, IL with teams from five states representing. Shoutout to FIVA 18U who made the trip from Florida and brought quite an athletic squad to town. What teams and athletes stood out? We have it here!   <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/1786787223695745206 </div></figure>   Top Flight 17 Elite   The length and athleticism is dangerous on this team where they are well rounded and extremely dynamic. One of the key point scorers is Leah Freeseman, the Campbell commit can do it from the front and backrow when it comes to scoring points. [player_tooltip player_id='219110' first='Jorah' last='Rutter'] was impressive as a setter and right side combo player where she had a major presence. Teams had to know where she was in every rotation and what she was going to do. A new player I hadn't seen play is 2026 pin attacker [player_tooltip player_id='260926' first='Elizabeth' last='King']. She is long with a really high contact point and snap. She would be one for college coaches to take note of heading into the summer evaluation period. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='260914' first='Brianna' last='Gritzman'] brought consistency and steadiness to the backrow. When she is able to make contact first, it's usually good things for Top Flight.   <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/1786771581722644893 </div></figure>   Belusa United 18 Cyclones   [player_tooltip player_id='522816' first='Gabby' last='Piazza'] is one of the top players in the entire tournament, and she has a solid squad surrounding here in Belusa United 18 Cyclones. The 2024 outside hitter is committed to Ferris State, a D2 school in Michigan that is consistently competing for a national tournament spot. I saw her first at this event last year and was very impressed. She moves effortlessly and is a flyer on the pin. When she is able to get a swing, it usually means good things for Belusa United. She can take it any angle and knows how to use the block to score points as well. Her setter, [player_tooltip player_id='522815' first='Ava' last='Valentin'] makes everything work for this team.  She has great footwork and smooth hands where she always knows she can go to Piazza, but she will look to keep things balanced.   FIVA 18U   This Florida squad comes to Chicagoland with plenty of fire and energy. They are a well balanced team with multiple attackers who can score points. Gina Fontanez has a violent swing. She's not afraid to let it rip from the outside or right side. Asia Rogers is an outside hitter who had plenty of length and athleticism where she was lethal scoring points down the line. Libero Aliyah De Jesus was a major spark in the backrow. She was automatic in serve recieve.    Impulse 17 Red   Impulse 17 Red was impressive this morning and will be heading to the gold bracket on Sunday. They rely on solid ball control starting with Libero Kenna Brosseau. She has such a relaxed platform and is efficient with her movement. Setter Isabella Mendall is a lefty who can play all the way around. She has good length where she can be offensive or establish a strong block. The right side is Journey Slone. She has a big vert and plenty of strength where she was scoring points on her swing and with stuff blocks.   <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/1786821089353507011 </div></figure>   Ignite 16 Elite   This team was so fun to watch where they have plenty of firepower from all positions.  They finished second in their pool to Top Flight 17 Elite, losing a three set thriller to end the day.  They have two big swings on the outside in [player_tooltip player_id='514786' first='Avery' last='Mullin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='489977' first='Kayla' last='Dudek'] who aren't afraid to go big.  Mullin also came up with some big blocks on the morning as well.  They have two setters who are dynamic where they can attack as well. [player_tooltip player_id='514784' first='Abigail' last='Parrish'] was super smooth with how she could run the offense where [player_tooltip player_id='381125' first='Lucinda' last='McCollum'] was able to set, but was also a dangerous left handed right side who was terminal.  They will be in the gold bracket on Sunday.    Club1 17 Skronkstrong   This team was playing a bit short handed with only seven active players today, but they still had plenty of firepower on their side of the net. Brooke Simon Chenelle and Adrianna Larsen score  in bunches for this tea where they could go from both pins.  Setter, Kaelyn Adkins was quite the athlete where she made plenty of dynamic plays as a setter defensively, dishing, and even taking a few of her own over the net to score points.    Other Names To Know:   Erin Riley - Top Flight 17 Sigma   Catherine Dejitko - Top Flight 17 Sigma   [player_tooltip player_id='260924' first='Delilah' last='Ostrye'] - Top Flight 17 Sigma   [player_tooltip player_id='260926' first='Elizabeth' last='King'] - Top Flight 17 Elite   Bailey Jackson - Club1 17 Royal    Kira Cailteaux - Club1 17 Royal    Alyssa Westphal - Club1 17 Royal    Ella Smith - Impulse 17 Red   [player_tooltip player_id='522610' first='Katelyn' last='Schneider'] - WI Blaze 17 Black    [player_tooltip player_id='522357' first='Breanna' last='Greisbach'] - FVP 18 Wheels

We're kicking off the first weekend of May with the Prep Dig ChiTown Classic held at Top Flight Volleyball Academy in Elgin, IL with teams from five states representing. Shoutout to FIVA 18U who made the trip from Florida and brought quite an athletic squad to town. What teams and athletes stood out? We have it here!