USAV GJNC 16 Open Champions – MadFrog 16 National Green

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most difficult aspects of the club volleyball season is to earn the elusive bid to USA Volleyball's Girls Junior National Championship.&nbsp; This year, the prestigious event will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas from June 25^th til July 3^rd.&nbsp; Prep Dig will be covering the event from start to finish.&nbsp; This article will be highlighting the champions of the 16 Open Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MadFrog 16 National Green</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tournament is a grueling one that tests everyone multiple times due to the fact that every team has a legitimate shot at beating everyone.&nbsp; These teams are the best of the best and each of them has a story to tell.&nbsp; MadFrog 16 National Green just put their stamp on a fantastic story that culminated in them winning the biggest prize that there is in our wonderful sport.&nbsp; Let's take a look at how they accomplished it.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming in as the 17^th seeded team in a supremely stacked field, no one had MadFrog on their Gold Bracket list prior to the tournament starting.&nbsp; This is not to say that they weren't capable, but this age group definitely had its favorites to win it all.&nbsp; In my opinion, that is why this story is so good.&nbsp; This team has always believed in itself and been kind of the underdog compared to others this year.&nbsp; If there is one thing I know about sports, it is that you can never underestimate the heart of a champion.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On day one and two in Pool five, their only loss was to Vision 16 Gold and that match could have gone either way as all three sets were only won by a few points each.&nbsp; By coming out in second place, this reseeded them as the 8^th overall seed and they took care of business in their second round pool by going undefeated.&nbsp; This gave them a challenge match against Rockwood Thunder and once again, it went to three sets.&nbsp; I watched this match and in that third set I saw something that showed me exactly what I already knew.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='534291' first='Gentry' last='Barker'] is most definitely “HER”.&nbsp; Period!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volleyball is a true team sport and needs everyone to know their role and work together in order to accomplish anything worthwhile.&nbsp; This match was neck and neck the whole way through and so was the first half of the third set.&nbsp; However mid-way through it, Miss Barker took over and put the nail in the coffin from the left side pin that sealed the deal and gave this awesomely gifted squad a birth in the Gold Bracket.&nbsp; I'll get back to more of that story in a bit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MadFrog 16 National dispatched Mizuno Long Beach Rockstar in straight sets during the first round of the Gold Bracket and then had a very tough three setter against Tstreet 16 Andy that was won 15-13.&nbsp; The championship match saw a rematch of one of their first round matchups versus Arizona Storm 16 Thunder.&nbsp; Everyone knows that it is very difficult to beat a team multiple times in a row, and this one went to a deciding third set because of that fact.&nbsp; In the end, MadFrog showed the world exactly who it was…a champion who always believed in themselves.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their entire team has no holes in it from what I see and players who can play at the highest level possible in the future.  Let's take a look at just a few of them who shined when I watched during Nationals.  The first play of the national championship matchup was won with a big stuff block from [player_tooltip player_id='762460' first='Gabriella' last='McHenry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='534326' first='Isabella' last='Howard'].  This definitely set a strong tone for how the match would go.  Both young ladies had a wonderful tournament at the net on both sides of the ball.  Setter [player_tooltip player_id='504026' first='Dakota' last='Marie Richard'] was surgical in how she moved the ball around to all of her hitters evenly to keep the defense honest.  MadFrog utilizes their two libero system very well with [player_tooltip player_id='433561' first='Karsyn' last='Evans'] and [player_tooltip player_id='433667' first='Savannah' last='Sterna'].  Both provide lots of production from the service line and during both serve receive and defense.  They play off of each other very well and both understand teamwork more than a lot of players their age.  Abigail Lemp played a very big part on their defensive game plan against some solid attackers.  There were some big moments where she timed perfectly and pressed over the net very well to seal it away.  Her and Bella Howard were menacing at the net and battled so hard.  Offensively, Miss Howard throttled a few kills that got her team hyped up.  As did [player_tooltip player_id='511262' first='Gabriella' last='Skopljak'] from the right side.  Both squads have some killers who stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring and threw some haymakers at each other, but it was MadFrog who had the secret weapon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the season first started, we wondered how this team would look with the addition of the number one ranked player in the grad class, [player_tooltip player_id='534291' first='Gentry' last='Barker'], to their already stacked team.&nbsp; Her and Evans came over from what most believed to be the best team in the country in the age groups over the last few years, TAV.&nbsp; We wondered why they would leave such a stacked team that most thought would run it back again as they did the year before.&nbsp; Some volleyball publications have Gentry listed as only a four star player, but that is probably because they prioritize height over heart.&nbsp; I, on the other hand, know one thing about volleyball players as I have watched and analyzed them over the last 25 years…height doesn't matter as much as you think it does.&nbsp; Miss Barker can flat out attack the rock and she is what we call a true point scorer.&nbsp; Not only can she fly, but the force that she hits the ball with is extremely strong.&nbsp; If you study her mechanics, she also has a lot of different angles at which she attacks the ball, which makes it very difficult to block her consistently.&nbsp; She sees the block in front of her and due to her awesome court vision, she scores in a variety of different ways.&nbsp; Her addition to this team gave them a little more firepower in their belief that they could beat anyone.&nbsp; Gentry was named the Most Valuable Player in the nation at the end of this tournament for a reason.&nbsp; She has proven what we already knew.&nbsp; This young lady cannot be denied in her pursuit of her goals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are extremely proud of her and her team for what they earned.&nbsp; This entire team and their coaching staff proved that they were the best team in this tournament after four grueling days of tough competition.&nbsp; Please help us congratulate them on an amazing title that they earned together.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are many more amazing teams and players that will be written about.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; You can also DM me on Instagram or X by searching @CoachMikeDZ.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply reposting on X, Instagram or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->