GJNC Preview: 16 USA and Liberty

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are two days away from the big volleyball party in Las Vegas. We are previewing the teams representing the state of Missouri at this year's national tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">16 USA</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two teams will compete in the USA division when play gets going on Wednesday. We'll start with <strong>Invasion 16 Black</strong>. Invasion earned their bid in April at Show Me. They will begin their play in Pool 5. They have demonstrated all spring they are a team that can compete against high-level teams and will rely on the right arm of [player_tooltip player_id='357615' first='Piper' last='Bahr'] on the left pin and behind the ten-foot line. She is a dynamic player who can carry a team on her back for spurts. This team also has solid play in the middle with [player_tooltip player_id='490113' first='Kali' last='Ademac'] and [player_tooltip player_id='496502' first='Rhys' last='Zinn']. Setter Kamryn Hinnenkamp is a player we've watched develop over the last year and runs the show.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joining Invasion in the USA will be <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 16 Elite</strong>. They are a team that can be in the mix on the final day after playing a competitive Open schedule this spring. They dropped to the USA division later in the season and earned their bid at the Northeast Qualifier. They will start as the 12th overall seed and play in Pool 2. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='222076' first='Abigail' last='Schoene'] will look to find scoring opportunities for players like [player_tooltip player_id='207581' first='Jillian' last='Raterman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='220349' first='Teagan' last='Pocius']. When this team is on they are a fun team to watch and they will work hard to limit mistakes, which has been their Achilles heel at times. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">16 Liberty</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 16 Navy</strong> will start their tournament run in Pool 1. They were the winners of the Northeast Qualifier in late April, going 10-1. I saw them play in Lawrence last month and you can see they found themselves late in the season. They have a tandem of setters, [player_tooltip player_id='207580' first='Audrey' last='Hackney'] and [player_tooltip player_id='490583' first='Lucy' last='Ellsworth'] who can run the offense. 6'0" OH [player_tooltip player_id='222578' first='Georgia' last='Hite'] will look to play a factor offensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two Kansas-based teams with Missouri players will join the Liberty division with <strong>PVA 16 Elite</strong> and <strong>Mavs KC 16-2</strong>. The Mavs earned their bid at MEQ with a second-place showing. Park Hill's [player_tooltip player_id='490206' first='Ava' last='Daneff'] is one of their Missouri players and will see time on the outside. Park Hill South's defender [player_tooltip player_id='490201' first='Brynna' last='Fox'] is one of their key defenders in the back row. Fox's high school teammate, [player_tooltip player_id='261302' first='Jocelyn' last='Heckman'] is one of the setters on the team looking to make life easy for their hitters. Mavs will start in Pool 4. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PVA will be in Pool 1, joining Rockwood. They won Show Me in Kansas City in early April, floating between USA and Liberty during their qualifier season. They have tons of talent representing the Missouri side with class top ten middle [player_tooltip player_id='484824' first='Khylie' last='Remmenga'] leading the way. She is an athletic and bouncy player who will turn heads with her play. One of the top defenders in the class, Notre Dame De Sion's [player_tooltip player_id='292716' first='Addison' last='Mcneive'] is also featured on this team and will be spotted in the libero jersey. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->