Battle for the Throne!

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend the rankings ended with a bang! The 17s division championship between Peak 17-1 Elite and Charge 17 UA was the grand finale to the event. Both teams are currently ranked in the top 150 IN THE NATION and for very good reason. Both lineups include multiple college commits with plenty more coming. As soon as the preceding match finished, a crowd began to form around the court. All seats were taken within seconds. The crowd was filled with parents, players from other teams and everyone who just loves volleyball. Let's take a look at how it went and the players on both sides.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Semis: Peak 17-1 over Charge Tulsa 17UA 25-9 25-17 and Charge 17UA over Rise 17-1 25- 13 25-22</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finals: Charge 17UA over Peak 17-1 25-17 25-19</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest factor that stood out to me in this match was the defense from Charge 17UA. Both from the front line blocking and the back row digging. There no stopping players like [player_tooltip player_id='301377' first='Skylar' last='Brady'] and [player_tooltip player_id='744539' first='Landry' last='Key'] on the outside. The question is how much can you try and slow them down. Both had great attacks throughout the match, between skylar hitting the cross court short and Landry workling high hands. With players like [player_tooltip player_id='301381' first='Rachel' last='Megna'], [player_tooltip player_id='220246' first='Mayli' last='Whetter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='301378' first='Lanee' last='Heflin'] Peak 17-1 was sure to be in system often. Heck, even if they did pass off, [player_tooltip player_id='301380' first='Olivia' last='Branum'] is so athletic and gifted, she would still track down the pass and give her hitters a great ball. Tack on hitters such as [player_tooltip player_id='666282' first='Kamryn' last='Jackson'], [player_tooltip player_id='286286' first='Kelsi' last='Wilson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='284932' first='Tyra' last='McKinnie'] and you have a well oiled machine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the likes of what they were up against, it is even more impressive what Charge 17UA was able to do. Valyn Donahoo, [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='284928' first='Annie' last='Hopkins'] are all elite blockers. Annie and Valyn had muliple solo stuff blocks that were things of beauty. [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] had multiple timley kills and the game ending ROOF! The back row for Charge really had the blockers backs. [player_tooltip player_id='317563' first='Taylor' last='Rattay'] and [player_tooltip player_id='709450' first='Sophia' last='Devlin'] had several show stopping digs. Although they lost the rally, Taylor had back to back monster digs to keep the rally alive. It defienlty fired her teammates up and drew applause from the crowd. Dont let me even thin kabout leaving out [player_tooltip player_id='314473' first='Pierson' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='741817' first='Bree' last='Hughes'] when it comes to digging. Bree had multiple effortless looking digs off of the opposing middles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the defense able to keep Peak 17-1 at bay, Charge 17UA was able to settle into a groove offensively. [player_tooltip player_id='253948' first='Ella' last='Hale'] and [player_tooltip player_id='335928' first='Maryella' last='Weaver'] on the outside was churning out solid attacks left and right. Lots of teams tend to be pretty outside hitter dominant but Charge 17UA has hitters at all positions that are a force to be reckoned with. When the entire net and every hitter is being used, it is tough for a defense to set up well. Valyn had some brilliant cut back shots down the line from the right side. Meanwhile, whether it was an up tempo 1 or 3, or it was a higher set 2. The middles were firing on all cylinders. [player_tooltip player_id='740712' first='Miley' last='Simo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='284928' first='Annie' last='Hopkins'] had to have hit some seriously high efficiency numbers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I really hope these two teams meet up again this season. It will be a matchup you will not want to miss!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->