Weekend Recap: Sunshine Qualifier and Heart Cup Challenge

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The weekend had many teams leave Kansas and Missouri and venture to the sun of Florida for the Sunshine Qualifier. Some teams don't do heavy qualifier schedules that played in the Heart Cup Challenge, a Heart of America region event. I got to see a few matches on day one and highlight some players who caught my eye. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heart Cup Challenge Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I popped out to Lenexa to see a handful of matches for the 17s divisions. The teams and players don't get as much coverage so I thought let's see how they look in person. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='776734' first='Cammie' last='Peters'] - MB - 2027 - St. Joe Storm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I liked Peters's athleticism coming from the middle for St. Joe Storm. She is aggressive at the net in the blocking game and gets touches on quite a few balls. I also was impressed by how quickly she got off the next to make herself available for the setter. She preps at Benton High School. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='774869' first='Keely' last='Grissom'] - L - 2026 - St. Joe Storm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grissom did a good job of getting touches on balls in the matches I spent some minutes at her court. She is a vocal leader of the back row and does a great job of using her voice on free balls and taking control. She attends Savannah High School</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='666303' first='Kalen' last='Post'] - OH - 2026 - Club MVP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I loved the arm on Post on the outside. There were many times her team needed a kill and she delivered powerfully. She is a player I saw remain poised regardless of the situation. In one instance she came up short on a tip attempt in a close match and came back with the hammer to finish the match minutes later. She is a player who raised her stock in my view. She is a 2026 player from El Dorado Springs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='774871' first='Lydia' last='Krabiel'] - OH/S - 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southland Aces got good play from Krabiel as I saw parts of a couple of matches during the day. She is a player who can do many things for her team on the court. She can flourish as a setter and take quality swings on the pin. She has over 1100 assists in her two seasons in a two-setter system for Belton. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sunshine Qualifier</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 17 National</strong> went 10-1 and captured the Liberty Division and a bid to nationals. They started the tournament winning five straight matches before dropping their only two sets of the tournament. They needed extra points in both sets to win the title, -27, -26. Kearney product [player_tooltip player_id='222062' first='Madison' last='Browning'] is one of the featured players on their team from the state of Missouri who had an impact over the weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Louis was represented with <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 17 Elite</strong> finishing runner-up and securing a bid in the USA grouping. Their sole loss came in the championship match to finish 9-1. They are a veteran team who will look to move up during the remainder of the qualifier season. This team features Baylor commit Abby Schoene and [player_tooltip player_id='220349' first='Teagan' last='Pocius'], who will be heading to William and Mary. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->