ASICS President’s Day Classic Preview: VCN 16 Black

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are to the halfway point of February which means the ASICS President's Day Classic in Omaha is upon us. Teams from all over will descend upon the Omaha Metro for the 3 day tournament with championship play on President's Day Monday. Let's take a look at VCN's 16 Black competing in the 16 Club Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16 Black has quite a few returners from their 3rd place finish in the Liberty Division at USAV National Championships in Las Vegas last July. They won the 15 Club Division at President's Day last year so are wanting to find the podium again in 2025.Let's take a look at this year's 16 Black and what we may see this weekend! They have had a strong start to the club season already in Power League. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's get started with the setters. Waverly's [player_tooltip player_id='521254' first='Kolbee' last='Kroemer'] has really grown as a setter. Her confidence took off last year in 15 Black's incredible run to the podium last year. She has quick hands and strong wrists and her ball placement has really improved. She has a beautiful back set. Kroemer can also step in as a serving specialist and can play good floor defense. Love her energy and competitiveness on the floor!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fairbury's [player_tooltip player_id='735209' first='Taryn' last='Hinman'] is a 5'3” setter who racked up 728 set assists and 39 ace serves for the Jeffs last fall. She also played libero the previous year so she plays great floor defense as well. Hinman also has a great deep float serve that is hard to handle. She has quick feet and distributes the ball well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next let's look at Middle Blocker [player_tooltip player_id='521251' first='Sabrina' last='Kepler'] from LIncoln Southeast. Kepler has long levers and moves really well. She is a great blocker and has gotten stronger each year at the net. Her strength is running the slide. She has continued to improve each season!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another middle who is new to the club scene is 6'0” [player_tooltip player_id='773374' first='Nasya' last='Anderson'] out of Grand Island Northwest. Anderson is really athletic and can get up and put the ball down. She is very strong and has been a great addition to 16 Black. If they can run a fast tempo and keep the connection with the setters strong this weekend, Anderson could be a game changer in the middle.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middle [player_tooltip player_id='521283' first='Katelyn' last='Krikac'] is also another strong middle who has long levers. The Lincoln East product gives more depth in the middle and can also swing from the pin. She too is really athletic and moves well. She appeared in 27 sets for the Spartans Varsity last fall and look for her stock to continue to rise throughout the club season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln Northeast's [player_tooltip player_id='516370' first='Delaney' last='Vohland'] has been anchoring down the right side for 6 rotations. Vohland has a great jump serve and is really smooth on serve receive. She too has long levers and moves well in her 5'11” frame. She has a strong block and can hit line shots or a great cross court shot. She can do a little bit of everything for 16 Black!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another pin hitter is Seward's [player_tooltip player_id='498977' first='Jackie' last='Eberspacher']. She has racked up 374 kills in her career as a Blue Jay so far. She is strong and has great court sense. She too has a lot of shots and can tool the block as well. Eberspacher is also a strong blocker as well and will make it difficult for opposites to find the open court.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5 '11 " Outside [player_tooltip player_id='452566' first='Elaina' last='Roger'] is a powerful pin hitter who can swing through and tool the best of blocks. She brings a ton of energy and passion to the floor. She is the type of player who can swing the momentum for a team. She has a great shot to hit the deep corner that is hard for defenders to read and get up.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tri County's [player_tooltip player_id='499000' first='Olive' last='Clark'] 472 kills in her young career on the pin. She has a really strong serve and is a great six rotation player. She has great court sense and is very smart on the outside. She can rack up the kills by taking smart shots. Clark is also a strong defender too and has 525 digs for the Lady Trojans.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='521256' first='Emmalyn' last='Quinn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='521233' first='Ella' last='Twarling'] will hold down the back court for 16 Black. The duo did an outstanding job last year for 15 Black and continue those duties for the 2025 season. Quinn is strong in serve receive and has a great jump float serve which is hard to read from the lefty. She reads hitters well and has great hands out of system. She is not afraid to catch the opponent on their heels with a sneaky two handed dump. She has a ton of experience coming off being Waverly's starting Libero in their semi final finish in the Class B Tournament last November. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Twarling is quick and a strong defender. She is not afraid to put her body on the floor and get balls up. She too has nice hands for out of system balls and a strong jump float. She is also very vocal and brings a lot of energy to the floor. Both girls have taken turns wearing the libero jersey and being defensive specialists. Ball control is strong with these two holding down the back court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16 Black will open up the afternoon wave at UBT at 3:00 tomorrow to kick off the ASICS President's Day Classic. Look for them to try to defend their 2024 Club Championship. Stay tuned for more updates! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->