USAV Junior National Championships: 16O, 16N, 16U

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The build-up to Nationals continues, with a preview of the top three divisions in the 16-year-old age group. Here are the teams representing Missouri or the Kansas City region. As a reminder, teams on the Kansas side of the state line are included because players on their rosters reside in Missouri.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the East side of the state, <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 16 Elite </strong>will represent the Gateway region. And on the East side of the state in Kansas, <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 16 Black</strong> will do the same for the Heart of America region. [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] will be housed in Pool 2 when play begins on the 30th. They enter the tournament sporting a recorded record of 55-19 on AES. The Kansas City team clinched its bid at Show Me with a second-place finish. They have an abundance of arms on the outside, starting with [player_tooltip player_id='480396' first='Peyton' last='Kubik'] (Pittsburgh) and [player_tooltip player_id='436201' first='Riley' last='Riggs']. The team played well in the Summer NIT, placing third, and will look to carry that momentum into nationals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] will start play in Pool 3 as the 32nd seed. The St. Louis squad snagged their bid at the Northeast qualifier in April. 16 Elite has a talented roster led by recent Nebraska commit [player_tooltip player_id='475339' first='Shaye' last='Witherspoon']. The 6'3" pin has help, with [player_tooltip player_id='544668' first='Madelyn' last='Mannebach'] and [player_tooltip player_id='512874' first='Olivia' last='Cox'] being effective players on the court. Ball control will be crucial as they look to spread the ball around to their attackers. A 51-15 record shows this team can get hot and make some noise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 National</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top seed in the National Division will be out of St. Louis in <strong>HPSTL 16 Royal.</strong> Their attempts to join the Open fray fell just short with multiple 5th-place finishes. They will be among the favorites to capture the title when play begins. They have a lot of pieces to make it happen with multiple top-ten players in the state on their roster. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='544669' first='Gabriella' last='Schwoeppe'] will run the offense and utilize [player_tooltip player_id='475322' first='Kate' last='Sherry'] on the outside and 6'3" [player_tooltip player_id='544673' first='Marlee' last='Steiner'] in the middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 4th seed and another title contender will be <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 16 Johnson</strong>. They are another team that had top-ten finishes in the Open Division and will look to make a splash when play gets going next week. Recent Auburn pledge [player_tooltip player_id='446324' first='Sasha' last='Cromer'] will lead the offense from the setter position. [player_tooltip player_id='446328' first='Tori' last='Massengill'] is a highly ranked player in the state on the outside who can score points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] 16 Elite</strong> will be the final team from our coverage zone in the National Division and will begin play in Pool 3 as the 22nd overall seed. Like all of the teams in the National, their bid came from region play. With a record of 41-14 on AES, they can be a sleeping giant in their pool. They played a heavy open schedule and should be competitive. [player_tooltip player_id='485603' first='Charlee' last='Pollard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='472890' first='Jaden' last='Monroe'] are a couple of pin players capable of scoring points in multitudes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 USA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two teams are on deck to play in the USA Division, starting with the 4th-seed <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='515466' first='Pohaku' last=''] 16-1 </strong>out of Kansas City. Their bid was picked up at Show Me in their backyard. Early in the season, they went to Sunshine and played in the Open Division, not doing too badly, finishing 14th. North Kansas City's [player_tooltip player_id='485639' first='Nora' last='Ottis'] helps anchor the defense behind the block. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL 16 Orange</strong> went to the Big South qualifier and emerged with a national bid. They have 44 wins on the year and will begin their chase for a title in Pool 6. [player_tooltip player_id='776729' first='Ava' last='Schuette'] and [player_tooltip player_id='485616' first='Kaitlyn' last='Ahn'] are a couple of players ranked in the Missouri 2027 rankings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->