Which Washington Teams are Rolling into March?

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">PNW squads have started strong!</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>February is coming to a close, and the Pacific Northwest has teams with Washington players performing at a high level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NPJ 18 FOREFRONT</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Forefront finished <span style="margin: 0px;padding: 0px">fifth at the prestigious Triple Crown Invite, a massive accomplishment for the team of players from Washington and Oregon.&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='231549' first='Laura' last='Eichert']</strong>&nbsp;holds down one starting outside position; her power game is a must against high-level opponents.&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='220494' first='Reese' last='Sheppard']</strong>&nbsp;is playing at the top of her game at the libero spot, and<strong>&nbsp;Zi</strong></span><strong>ah Sneva&nbsp;</strong>has been terrific when called on at middle blocker. NPJ Forefront currently holds a 10th place ranking nationally through the AES Rankings system. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Athena 18 Gold</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Athena 18 Gold went big, capturing an 18 Open Bid at the South East Qualifier in Atlanta, Georgia. The team finished third, winning the third-place match after dropping their only match of the tournament to eventual champion Houston Skyline Royal. Two Washington players are on the roster, and both are major contributors to the team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249444' first='Sydney' last='Dreves']</strong> has been unflappable defensively as a six-rotation outside, delivering big kills down the line in crucial moments. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249445' first='Kendall' last='Mairs'] </strong>rockets thundering kills from the right and can make any set happen when she rotates into the back-row setter spot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NCWVBC 18 Gold</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team out of Wenatchee in Central Washington just captured the championship of the Festival Fiesta Classic in Phoenix. Led by setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249189' first='Ava' last='Jo Berry']</strong> and outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='250402' first='Keira' last='Demirjian']</strong>, the team is stacked with players from winning high school programs across Central Washington. Middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='480831' first='Rylee' last='Jones']</strong> and <strong>Nikki Reed</strong> played with confidence and power in Arizona, and the team was without Chelan star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249310' first='Brynn' last='Hughbanks']</strong> for the tournament. Coached by Marni McMahon, the team feeds off the fierce competitiveness of senior Berry, and will be a tough matchup in the 18 Open Division at PNQ this March. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NPJ Seattle 18 National</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paula Schwan's squad gave NCWVBC 18 Gold all they could handle at the Festival Fiesta, finishing runner-up after a tight two-set battle. They have multiple team members who have been playing together for several years, and excellent chemistry has been one key to a hot start this season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='253254' first='Annika' last='Wright']</strong> has been dishing out sweet sets, and NPJ is powerful up the middle with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='268469' first='Gabi' last='Smith']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='268468' first='Holley' last='McFadden']</strong>. NPJ Seattle will also be in the 18 Open at PNQ along with NPJ Forefront and NCWVBC 18 Gold. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NPJ Salem 17 National</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Salem team finished 45th out of 108 teams at the Triple Crown. They are led in the middle by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='290227' first='Shaylee' last='Stephen']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='403351' first='Quinn' last='Pedersen']</strong>, two Camas standouts. The team will be in Spokane in the 17 Open at PNQ.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sudden Impact 17 Storm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greg Brown coaches the Storm squad, and they have started strong, finishing 3rd overall at the Matt Hartner Classic and 1st in the first 18 open PSR Power League. The team will take on back-to-back weekends of Open qualifiers in March, first in Philadelphia at NEQ and then in Spokane for PNQ. SIVBC has excellent setting from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249301' first='Maya' last='Quitiquit']</strong>, terrific libero play from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='251026' first='Kaitlyn' last='Nguyen'],</strong> and all the attackers needed: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='251052' first='Nohea' last='Alo']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='335612' first='Lauryn' last='Coleman']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='243688' first='Jasmine' last='Terry']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='243689' first='Selana' last='Morales']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='364043' first='Julianne' last='Lee']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='243691' first='Emma' last='Gutke']</strong> and more. Coach Brown has much to work with, and the team has not disappointed thus far. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->