Tracking the '27s at Nike Presidents Day in STL

Missouri is the place to be this weekend with two large scale events going on both sides of the state with Triple Crown in Kansas City and the Nike Presidents Day Challenge in St. Louis.  We are going to zoom in on some of the 2027s in St. Louis who I have seen play live this season or last year.  The 2027s are entering an exciting year of recruiting where they can officially start the process with calls on June 15 of this year!  Here are ones to watch in the 16 Open and Premier Divisions.     Sophia Austen headlines Iowa United who is in their first year as a club out of the Iowa City area. This 161 Elite team has some highly ranked athletes from the Iowa Class of 2027 where they are well balanced, deep, and extremely athletic. Austen is a six rotation outside hitter who is an elite point scorer. She can serve receive, pass, and score in a variety of ways with her power and finesse. She was a key piece to the Iowa Rockets 15R squad last season who were the 15 National Division runner up finishers. This will be a fun season for Austen and her teammates as it could be an exciting recruiting experience for them this summer.     Kyla Mitchell is one of the top middle blockers from the Class of 2027 in Illinois. She has impressive length and athleticism where she is a big time point scorer. At 6'3 and a long wingspan she poses a big time problem at the net for opposing attackers. She is able to get out of her block in transition and can hit a variety of tempos in front of and behind her setters. This team was always a threat in open level play last year as 15s and will be ones to watch this weekend in St. Louis.     I had notes on Kambria Santiesteban-Burns from the Central Zone Invite in Indianapolis at the end of January where her NIVA 16 Purple team made it to the Saturday afternoon gold pools. Santiesteban-Burns has a true all around game where she can do a little bit of everything really well as a six rotation outside hitter. Her defense is a major highlight to her game as well as her ability to score points. They will be in the hunt in St. Louis, this is a loaded 16s field and the first two days of pool play will be a gauntlet.     I was able to see Boiler Juniors 16 Gold at Central Zone a few weeks ago where they knocked off Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold in the opening round of the 16 Open Gold Bracket. This team played with plenty of energy and had no fear when it came to going against top competition. One athlete I was really impressed with was Jada Cripe who was a high flyer on the outside. She could pack a punch with her swing too where she just kept finding ways to score points. Another athlete to watch on this team is Kinley Young who can cause a lot of problems for the other side of the net as a middle blocker.     This 1st Alliance 16 Black squad is going to be one to watch because they are so well rounded and balanced. A player to know out of the middle is Abigail Faber who is 6'3, athletic, and real physical. She has textbook blocking fundamentals where everything begins with her footwork, she also knows when to cheat to the outside to seal the block and work relentlessly to be available out of the middle. She isn't afraid to take a big swing and cause chaos on the other side either.     What I enjoy about watching Circle City middle blockers is that they are so fundamentally sound and extremely well trained. When you have an athlete like Milana Mays, it proves to be extremely lethal. Mays preps at Fischers High School in the Indianapolis area where she has a blend of physicality and finesse. She can hit all the tempos in front of her setter and is lethal off one foot behind the setter on the slide. This Circle City 16 Purple squad took a few lumps at Central Zone a few weeks ago, but I know they will be in the hunt come day three of Presidents Day in St. Louis.     This Class of 2027 is extremely deep for Milwaukee Sting. This 16 White team has athletes who are coming off a big 15s year and successful high school seasons. Laina Kirsch was a standout last season as a 15s at multiple Prep Dig Events. The 2027 setter has all the tools to get the ball to her attackers in favorable conditions. She will find the one on one match up on the pin and can run the middles off a quick tempo. They will be competing in the 16 Premier Red Division.     Helena Otto will be one of the key defenders for MVP 17 Blue Smack out of the Milwaukee area. She is coming off a successful season at Wauwatosa East High School. Her movement looks effortless on the court where she anticipates well to beat the ball to the spot. She is also able to clean up any chaos to put up a great second ball. This team will be competing in the 16 Premier Red Division where their first opponent will be against IVBA 16 REN.     Amorina Compean-Costello is a Wisconsin prep out of Brookfield East High School who is the libero for VC United out of Rockford, IL. She brings plenty of athleticism and physicality to the libero position where she creates so much energy on her side of the net with big plays and positive intangibles. I was able to see her live at Central Zone a few weeks ago where she is the energizer. She isn't afraid to make the big play while also making those tough plays look routine for her squad.     Hattie Galloway will be pulling some double duty as a multisport athlete where she is also a key part to the Iowa City High basketball teams. She will be a key part to Iowa Rockets 16R who is coming off a big weekend where they swept their home event. Galloway has the athleticism and physicality to go toe to toe with any middle in this event. 16R has two solid contacts in libero Edie Miller and her twin sister Hadley Miller who is a setter/pin combo player. When this group has their full squad they are always a tough matchup.

Missouri is the place to be this weekend with two large scale events going on both sides of the state with Triple Crown in Kansas City and the Nike Presidents Day Challenge in St. Louis. We are going to zoom in on some of the 2027s in St. Louis who I have seen play live this season or last year. The 2027s are entering an exciting year of recruiting where they can officially start the process with calls on June 15 of this year! Here are ones to watch in the 16 Open and Premier Divisions.