DMV Club Season Preview: 15U Brings A New SuperTeam

The movement to the DMV area was not limited to the 17U age group. All of the High School aged groups got a good dose of chaos this offseason. One of the biggest changes came at the 15U level where some very elite players moved teams, and a team put the country on notice that they are coming for the National Title. Looking over some of the teams and the movement this club season:   Metro Travel 15:   Outgoing: [player_tooltip player_id='763154' first='Kendal' last='Lacey'], Sloanne Tann   Incoming: [player_tooltip player_id='753073' first='Aniston' last='Williams'], Emmerson Wolfe, [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton']   Yep, everything is nice and normal here, a couple players out a couple players in, nothing real surprising for a HS aged club team. And then you look again at those players coming in. Now last year's Metro 14s team was no slouch, they were double bidded and did some damage all year. [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'], one of the best setters in the region, and the Luscomb twins could do some damage. But then they grabbed a couple of the best players from the MDJRS team that finished 3rd at Nationals 2 years ago, and 3rd at AAU this past year. Emmerson Wolfe and [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'] are absolute monsters at the pins, both hit like a truck, play good defense, play all around, and can move around. Scarlett spent some time setting, but is best as a cannon at the net, and this is Carloyn's team, with her setting these two at the pins, they are going to be a problem for most everyone out there. Plus you still have [player_tooltip player_id='755672' first='Jaylin' last='Park'] at Lib, and the Luscomb twins who have played a few different spots between club and HS season. [player_tooltip player_id='753073' first='Aniston' last='Williams'] also comes over from that 14s team to give some more height at Middle, and adding three girls from the same team makes chemistry and cohesion easier to come by. Metro took a solid contender of a team, and made it a SuperTeam in one offseason. They are going to make some noise this year, make sure you see them while you can, it won't be long and we will be paying them for autographs.     Metro National 15   Outgoing: No one, they are new.   Incoming: Everyone.   This is the big wrinkle to the division, adding another top level team, creating 12-14 spots worth of movement at this upper level is what is really throwing everything around. This team got started with some REAL star power, and brought in a host of girls from MDJRS, and undefeated AACS, which should be a problem for the other upper teams in our region.   Metro kept Sloan Tann and [player_tooltip player_id='763154' first='Kendal' last='Lacey'] from the Travel team, added some height in [player_tooltip player_id='762826' first='Avery' last='Nierenberg'] from VA Elite, and [player_tooltip player_id='772034' first='Giselle' last='Conley'] from [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''], [player_tooltip player_id='762829' first='Angela' last='Zhang'], a Libero from MVSA and Setter [player_tooltip player_id='762823' first='Brie' last='Mouton'] from BAVA. The rest of the team came from Maryland Juniors in [player_tooltip player_id='749642' first='Sophia' last='Groshek'], [player_tooltip player_id='748492' first='Paetyn' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='748500' first='Katherine' last='Liu'], [player_tooltip player_id='809537' first='Azana' last='Saheed'], [player_tooltip player_id='753070' first='Avery' last='Lettinga'] and [player_tooltip player_id='783297' first='Aanya' last='Sinha']. A good chunk of these girls are from the undefeated AACS team this past HS season as well, so this is some top level talent, many of them worthy of being on the Travel team, but there are only so many spaces there because of talent they already had. This is going to be one of those cases where a team has two very competitive teams in the same age group I think, the 15s division is going to be something crazy to keep your eyes on in this region. The only question is the same one many of these deep club teams face, who is going to play where? In HS season, players often play out of position to fill a major need on a team, and then back to club season sometimes you end up with very deep teams, and there's just not space at one position and someone may get shifted to another. I'll be interested to see what happens on both of these teams because there's a lot of positional flexibility I think. Someone like [player_tooltip player_id='753070' first='Avery' last='Lettinga'] who could be one of the best pin hitters in the age group, but is so good in the back row she could play Libero.   [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 15 Nick   Outgoing: [player_tooltip player_id='746620' first='Sahana' last='Cushman'], [player_tooltip player_id='747302' first='Kayleigh' last='Francis'], [player_tooltip player_id='881831' first='Allison' last='Tan'], Peyton Walker, [player_tooltip player_id='763150' first='Samantha' last='Napiwocki'], [player_tooltip player_id='755134' first='Ava' last='Ewald'], Lila Michaelis   Incoming: Izzy Jeantel, [player_tooltip player_id='763157' first='Olivia' last='Li'], [player_tooltip player_id='895591' first='Aleah' last='Merrbaugh'], [player_tooltip player_id='893947' first='Annika' last='Warren'], [player_tooltip player_id='756340' first='Erin' last='Moir'], Francesca Bon Salle   [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] saw some movement as they brought in 6 new players to add to holdovers [player_tooltip player_id='763151' first='Sydney' last='Lewis'], [player_tooltip player_id='747031' first='Braylin' last='Coacher'], [player_tooltip player_id='755129' first='Lillian' last='Battcock'], [player_tooltip player_id='752431' first='Kayla' last='Chang'], [player_tooltip player_id='755132' first='Abigail' last='Battcock'], [player_tooltip player_id='747560' first='Elliot' last='Dorgan'], [player_tooltip player_id='787919' first='Charlotte' last='Booth'] and Rose Carrasco. There's some real talent in this group already, and they are adding four players 5'10 or taller in Izzy Jeantel from Tuscarora HS, [player_tooltip player_id='893947' first='Annika' last='Warren'] from Jackson-Reed HS in DC, [player_tooltip player_id='756340' first='Erin' last='Moir'] from Fairfax HS and [program_tooltip program_id='477082' first='American' last='Volleyball Club'], and Francesca Bon Salle from Mojo Elite. They also picked up a couple DS in [player_tooltip player_id='763157' first='Olivia' last='Li'] from MVSA and [player_tooltip player_id='895591' first='Aleah' last='Merrbaugh'] who played with superstar [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'] at North Hagerstown this year.   For being Freshman, this team boasts 7 players over 6 feet tall, and 3 more at 5'9 or taller. There's some serious height here for that age, which will be interesting to see how they stack up against some of the other teams of their age. It's right around this point girls start hitting their growth spurts so things can change drastically in a year, but that's still a lot of height for a whole team full of 2029's. They've got 3 clear DS on the team, and I've seen two of them in person already, they are legit, but that's going to mean a few of these OH are going to be playing 6 rotations, and how their back row defense is will be a major impact on their season, but I think that goes for pretty much every team.   BAVA 15 Blaze   Outgoing: [player_tooltip player_id='763461' first='Ayva' last='Agno'], [player_tooltip player_id='762823' first='Brie' last='Mouton'], Rachel Davis, Alayana May, [player_tooltip player_id='783299' first='London' last='Turner']   Incoming: Kadence J, Khloe S, Moraie B, Serene K   This is about the normal kind of movement you expect at this age group believe it or not. For whatever reason once you hit the HS groups, you tend to see more movement year to year, this age group in particular. Many times it's when you've had girls for the younger developmental years and once they start playing with different players in HS, you see some try to team up certain places, some just want a fresh look, some want a bigger role. Lots of reasons, but happens over and over. Sometimes the moves make sense, and work out, sometimes it's a big loss for the club, sometimes the player finds out the grass isn't greener, for whatever reasons, this is a season of change typically.   This team had a lot of success last year, and has some real talent in there. [player_tooltip player_id='781700' first='Gianna' last='Bonnett'] is stellar in the back row, she held her own playing for AACS Varsity this season. [player_tooltip player_id='763146' first='Jemma' last='Peterson'] has been a major bright spot as well, and is projected as a major player when she hits HS next year, showing more of that back row depth, along with [player_tooltip player_id='783298' first='Olivia' last='Wheeler']. I know a few HS teams and a couple club teams that would be excited for that back row. In the front, [player_tooltip player_id='787925' first='Camryn' last='Bedell'] got some good time at Broadneck this past season and showed flashes of a great hitter. As she finishes growing, and gets some of that advanced polish that comes with age and experience she's going to be tougher of a player every tournament. Olish Neely is a middle that showed potential at the summer Prep Dig Showcase, she got some time and experience with Broadneck during HS season as well and will be a key to watch during this season as Middles can really change the game, defensively, and offensively depending on their agility level. Hannah Mckinstry got some good time with Severna Park Varsity this season, and is going to be a high level weapon, she's got some real skill at the pin and like the other front row players here, as she develops more this season is just going to get more interesting to watch. Overall, this team made some splashes, went to nationals last year, lost some players, brought some new players in, but still has some real talent to make another run this season.   A couple other big names saw some big movement after having successful seasons last year, with so much change it pushes things into the unknown. [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] had a bid, had a good year, and then turned over half the team. They still field [player_tooltip player_id='765114' first='Maddie' last='Meiring'], Eileen Kim, and a few other returners, but are going into the wait and see pile for now. They could easily be a strong contender this season, or maybe take a step back with so much turnover, it will show out early this season I'm sure. The other big hitter with a lot of change is MD Juniors, they got hit with a LOT of turnover on this team, they still have some star power in [player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas'], but how the rest of the team fills out, we will have to wait and see. The beauty of club season though, you may write a team off and think they are due for a drop, and then they surprise you and excel. There are a lot of players out there waiting for a chance at the top levels, and having movement like this opens opportunities. The right coaching, the right chances, the right combinations, and all of a sudden a team explodes and succeeds. So before you go writing teams off, give them a chance, you may be surprised, that's why I'll still be watching these two teams closely during the season, you don't count out the top tier clubs.

The movement to the DMV area was not limited to the 17U age group. All of the High School aged groups got a good dose of chaos this offseason. One of the biggest changes came at the 15U level where some very elite players moved teams, and a team put the country on notice that they are coming for the National Title. Looking over some of the teams and the movement this club season: