Volley Palooza 17s Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be the 6th year for Volley Palooza. This tournament tends to be used as a great tune up before Regionals the following week. It is not uncommon to see tough teams play up a division in hopes of being pushed and prepared. We see that with a handful of teams such as TPV 14-1, Elevate 15.1 and Virago 14-1. Let's take a look at the 17s division and some top players to keep and eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elevate 17.1 and Virago 16-1 look to probably be the top two teams headed into the weekend. Both teams are ranked inside the top 600 of the nation in their respective age groups. Elevate is coming off a top 10 finish out of 100 at the Show Me National Qualifier. While Virago 16-1 is coming off winning the Southern Challenge and finishing 43 out of 164 at the Far Western National Qualifier. Both teams will be looking to finish the weekend with a ton of momentum and take a shot at winning regionals!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elevate 17.1</strong>: Led in the back row by standout DS and top 10 in the rankings at her position,[player_tooltip player_id='297074' first='Emily' last='Whitten']. Any team will find it tough to get past the playmakers in the front row. Players like, Broken Arrow transfer [player_tooltip player_id='740998' first='Kelsey' last='Patton'], Oologah's [player_tooltip player_id='742729' first='Ruby' last='Hall'] and Coweta OH, Baylee Belt. This team is well rounded and well coached.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virago 16-1</strong>: Led by a strong serve and serve receive game, mixed with an up tempo style offense, they are a tough team that has 6 top 5 finishes this season. The offense is run by setters [player_tooltip player_id='734999' first='Makenna' last='Layton'] of Broken Arrow and [player_tooltip player_id='285769' first='Grace' last='Baughman'] of Claremore and 7th overall setter in her class. Both are also hitters for this team and both hit right side AND outside depending on the rotation. [player_tooltip player_id='736660' first='Emma' last='DeArmond'] of Catoosa, [player_tooltip player_id='764331' first='Maggie' last='Leach'] of Bishop Kelley and [player_tooltip player_id='736675' first='Madison' last='Godding'] of Oologah are huge contributors as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Upset Seekers:</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Charge South 17-1</strong> and <strong>Ignite 17-1</strong> will both have plenty to say about either team making it to the championship. With their only 3 pools being released tomorrow, 2 of these 4 teams will end up in the same pool right out of the gate. Virago 16-1 beat Charge South 17-1 at the Early bird while Ignite 17-1 beat Virago in the semis. Charge South having 30 wins this season and being ranked just outside the top 600 tells you they will be hot on their heels! Players like [player_tooltip player_id='740042' first='Ryan' last='McIntyre'] and [player_tooltip player_id='739969' first='Sabrina' last='Kirkpatrick'] for Charge were impressive early in the season, while players like PraSiah Hunt and [player_tooltip player_id='767642' first='Bailey' last='West'] were solid too for Ignite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> There are a ton of big things on the horizon here in Oklahoma. We have our 2028 Rankings and our very own Stock Up Showcase coming soon. We also are less than two months away from schools beginning their summer leagues and therefore we will start seeing and covering high school teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->