GJNC Preview: 16 American and Freedom

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are on to the American and Freedom divisions in the 16s age group. All play will begin Wednesday with pool play. Here are the teams from Missouri competing over the four days. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">16 American</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have two teams representing the Heart of America region with Club North 16-1 and Dynasty 16 Black. Both teams earned their bids from their region bid play. The Gateway region will also have two teams joining the party. Finesse Volleyball Academy 16-1 were the winners of MEQ in March. [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 16 National grabbed the region's bid from tournament play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FVA 16-1</strong> recently traveled to Florida and earned a third-place finish in the 16 Aspire division out of over 150 teams. They went 12-1 and will look to carry that momentum into Las Vegas this week. Ava Matthews and Avery Beer run the offense and will look to spread the ball to hitters Jersie Thompson and Kinley Jany. You can find them in Pool 5. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 16 National </strong>has mentioned will enter after winning the bid dedicated to its region. They were on the doorstep of snatching a bid during qualifier play, finishing third at Windy City. They will start their play on Wednesday in Pool 1. [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] features one of the top setters in the 2026 class in [player_tooltip player_id='232326' first='Claudia' last='Jones']. She is a confident player on the court who has great set placement. We will look for her to get her middles established early to free up the outsides. MB [player_tooltip player_id='222077' first='Kateryna' last='Elefson'] is a player ranked just outside the top 60 in the class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top overall seed in the division will be <strong>Dynasty 16 Black</strong>. Dynasty has been up and down but plays a heavy Open schedule, so they are capable of capturing a national title. They played portions of their season missing some key players but now back healthy, they are a team to watch. This team features Park Hill South's OH Sydni Lafasciasno and Park Hill pin [player_tooltip player_id='357577' first='Addyson' last='Staples']. [player_tooltip player_id='222060' first='Elizabeth' last='Scanlon'] of St. Teresa's has many skills and can play many roles on this Dynasty team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Club North 16-1 </strong>will begin in Pool 8 when the first whistle is blown on Wednesday. Their qualifier season was primarily in the USA and Liberty divisions where they found marginal success. [player_tooltip player_id='357573' first='Vada' last='Brattin'] is one of the top defenders in her class in the state, so watch for her in the back row to keep the floor clean. [player_tooltip player_id='485579' first='Mikayla' last='Fox'], a class of 2027 player who plays up is a featured pin. They also run out a solid middle combo in Olivia Nzioki and Finley Rieke. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">16 Freedom</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>High Performance 16 Orange</strong> will play in the Freedom division courtesy of their region's bid. They will begin the tournament as the fourth overall seed in the tournament. They were just outside a bid at MEQ, finishing 3rd in Liberty. [player_tooltip player_id='222071' first='Ginnie' last='Normile'] and [player_tooltip player_id='222580' first='Grace' last='Holtz'] are a couple of players to keep an eye on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the other side of the state, <strong>Summit 16-1 </strong>was the winner of the bid from the Heart of America. They have multiple top-five finishes under the belt in the American division during qualifier play. They have 49 wins to their credit and will play in Pool 8. [player_tooltip player_id='542207' first='Grace' last='Lowry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='542204' first='Ashlynn' last='Wilkowski'] are pins who can deliver kills in bunches. [player_tooltip player_id='542205' first='Bryleigh' last='Martin'] in the middle is a player who made big strides this year and earned a top 75 placing in our most recent rankings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->