Small School Classic Recap and Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a Saturday! I got to see the top division of the Small School Classic at Scottsdale Prep this weekend that had 7 top 10 teams from our preseason rankings. The tournament was designed to highlight the small school division as only schools 1A-3A were allowed to participate. Not only were there some exciting games that had some playoff atmosphere vibes, we got to see some amazing talent and some players who maybe aren't in the rankings yet, but really stood out.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tournament recap:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tournament was divided into two pools of 4, in pool A we saw North Valley Christian Academy run the gauntlet and finish 3-0 in pool play. On their way to an undefeated pool play record they took out Horizon Honors, ALA West Foothills, and preseason number 1 in Phoenix Country Day. In the other pool the pool came down to a 3 set match between Cicero Prep and Trivium Prep. A battle of district schools was to decide the fate of that pool as Trivium pulled out a tight one 2-1 to win the pool and advance to the finals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In bracket play PCDS took out Cicero Prep to finish in 3rd and 4th respectively. However the finals are where we were at… Trivium Prep vs NVCA. This match saw NVCA lead for a majority of the set 1 until midway through the match when Grace Layton had kills 3,4,5 in a matter of 6 points to put Trivium ahead for the rest of the set. In set 2 it was Trivium leading the whole time until NVCA started to make a fierce comeback, they were down over 8 points but managed to get within 2 before Trivium closed it out.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":885424,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/09/IMG_0278-1-rotated-crop-417x274-1757608320.jpg?w=416" alt="" class="wp-image-885424" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Champions: Trivium Prep</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:image {"id":885426,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/09/IMG_0276-rotated-crop-417x274-1757608358.jpg?w=416" alt="" class="wp-image-885426" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Runners up: North Valley Christian Academy</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player Standouts:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PCDS #14 Jodi Jones (Jr Hitter): We listed Jodi as just a hitter because Jodi was able to hit from all 3 locations on the floor at any given point. Truly Jodi has the biggest arm this weekend as her hits were loud and thunderous, and she was able to do it from all 3 spots as well. Jodi is a very athletic volleyball player who is fluid in her offensive movement but more impressively for us was her defense. Not many teams this weekend challenge Jodi but the ones who did paid a dear price and she continually was challenging all hitters at the net with her impressive physicality. She had multiple game changing blocks, and touches on balls we thought no one was going to be able to get. She is a physical presence but offensively and defensively for PCDS. Really stood out as the one of the best if not the best player at this tournament.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trivium Prep #6 Meili Maurice (Sr Libero): Meili stood out as probably the best libero at the tournament from what we were able to see. She was always all over the floor averaging over 10 digs a match (finished the tournament with 41) and seemed to have a calming presence about her even in hectic situations. It seemed like every time someone was about to get a monster kill or win a point she was there to get a dig or save the play. She did a tremendous job reading hitters on defense and anticipated where the ball was going when the block wasn't there. Overall she hit all 3 phases we look for in a libero with defense, serve receive, and serving. Had the whole package this weekend!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cicero Prep #15 [player_tooltip player_id='882808' first='Nicole' last='Damian'] (Jr S/OPP): We were excited to get to see Nicole live and in person at this tournament and she lived up to the POY award she received last year. The most impressive part about her game was not her big swings, massive blocks, or serving. What we appreciate the most was the other factors you like to see in all conference players, doing the little things to help her team win. She did a great job in defense, seemed to touch every ball that came near her, and was very loud and vocal to her teammates about things happening in the game. Most impressively after doing all of that and leading her team in kills she also was able to be the setter and lead her team in that aspect of the game as well. She is a very well rounded player who can hit, set, and play defense and that is what makes her stand out. She is easily one of the best players in the 1A-3A range and would put her up against some 4A-6A players, she has the tools to be at that level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NVCA #11 Madison Sherby (Sr OH): Madison is a transfer from Oregon who really lit up this tournament, currently committed to Arizona Christian, this 6 rotation pin did a great job leading her team to the finals. Over the course of the tournament she averaged 4 kills a set and had a hitting percentage over .300 in 3 of the 4 matches. As an OH to hit at a high efficiency and average over 4 kills shows how talented she is. From a scout's take we see a very fast and aggressive arm swing with the ability to not only beat the block if it is late, but also she can go through a block and tool it. She also did well with her defense and serve receive showing calm and poise in her serve receive. A true 6 rotational player and an absolute steal for ACU next fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other players who stood out:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PCDS #1 (Freshman OH) Emery Ossenfort</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PCDS #3 (Freshman OPP) Ava Jannega</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cicero Prep #14 (Junior MB) [player_tooltip player_id='882697' first='Kate' last='Harrigan']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trivium Prep #2 (Senior OH) Grace Layton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trivium Prep #14 (Senior OPP) [player_tooltip player_id='882705' first='Petra' last='Zepeda']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St Johns #11 (Senior OH) Kasey Tsinajinnie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NVCA #12 (Senior OH) [player_tooltip player_id='832197' first='Gabby' last='Rice']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. David #1 (Junior OH) Emma Hart</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Horizon Honors #9 (Senior OPP) [player_tooltip player_id='826843' first='Kennedy' last='Harbertson']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ALA West Foothills #2 (Senior OPP/S) [player_tooltip player_id='845294' first='Brynlei' last='Godwin']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ALA West Foothills #13 (Junior Pin) Lanie Joncas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->