MAVA 15 Select wins UA Presidents Day 15-16 Open Crown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The loaded MidAmerica 15 Select team wound up winning the UA Presidents Day 15-16 Open in Knoxville and Sevierville going 8-1 over the weekend. The team is 23-4 on the season with two tournament wins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After going 3-0 on the first day, the team went 2-1 losing to K2 15 Elite out of the Knoxville suburb of Louisville, but came back on the third day to win the Gold Bracket. The team knocked off Vortez 15 Alfie National out of Chattanooga, 2-0 (25-10, 25-23).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team could be playing in the Pioneer Bid Tournament in Wilder on Feb. 28. The team will also play in the Bluegrass Tournament from March 6-8 in Louisville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MAVA 17 Select team moved to 19-9 on the season with a strong run to the 17-18 Open championship. The team entered the tournament with the second seed and lived up to it knocking off the K2 17 Elite team on the way to the title game. The team lost 2-0 (31-29, 25-18) to the top-seeded Bama Elite 18E Ninjas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pioneer Region Triple Crown Kansas City Results</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The KIVA 15 Red had the best performance of any Pioneer Region Team in Kansas City with a 7-2 run to finish 34th out of 132 teams. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue took 27th and [program_tooltip program_id='430243' first='NKYVC' last=''] 15-1 finished 35th with a 6-2 run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pioneer Region Triple Crown St. Louis Results</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The KIVA 16 Black team finished second out of 32 teams in the 16 Premier Division with a 6-3 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A number of teams finished third. That lists consisted of Alpha Performance A.71 at 7-2 in the 17 Premier Red with KIVA 15 Silver doing it in the 16 Club Red Division with a 5-4 record. Alpha A.51 team took third out of 24 teams in the 15 Premier Blue team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The KIVA 15 Black team took fifth out of 32 teams with a 5-2 record in the 15 Premier Red Division and the 15 White team took fifth in the 15 Open Division. The Alpha A.61 team wound up tying for ninth out of 32 teams in the 16 Premier Blue Division at 5-2 overall with [program_tooltip program_id='510734' first='Lexington' last='United'] 66 Elite finishing tied for 15th with a 6-2 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["790069"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":947100,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69951aac52840"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Secor (Pictured) has done a great job running the offense so far for 15 Select. She finds the right matchup and puts her hitters in position to make plays. She gets a number of players involved using outstanding court IQ. She will only continue to improve as the season progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["752987"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69951aac528ba"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ballard is finding her place on the 17 Select squad. Ballard calls for balls and makes things happen. She can hit balls off blocks for big points. Ballard is not afraid to also push balls off blockers to give them something extra to consider. She also runs effective tandems.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["896603"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69951b6b3bada"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Diaz is quickly turning into a solid hitter for the 15 Red team. Diaz uses her height to get on top of balls and pound them to different spots on the court. She is especially tough on ones and crosses. Diaz is also a sound blocker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["769212"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-699520c780e9c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hall is fitting in with the 66 Elite team. She takes really sound swings on the outside spraying the ball to different parts of the court. She helps take blockers away from her teammates. Hall is able to step in and run the offense if needed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note from the Writer</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky rankings, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->