Recruiting IA, IL, and WI Athletes at MEQ 16 USA

I am excited to see a lot of these 2028s go toe to toe at the MEQ 16 USA Division. I'll be courtside watching a lot of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin athletes in this division where there are plenty of them that I just need to see more of, as well as see some new players. Some of these teams already have their bid to nationals and will look for an upgrade this weekend. Here are some athletes I've seen live over the past year that coaches can take note of when recruiting the 16 USA Division. They might not be able to start their recruiting journey until June 15, but they can start getting on the radar!    WI Juniors punched a ticket to USAV from the Badger Region Qualifier with a 3rd place finish. This is a high powered team of athletes from Wisconsin and Illinois who are going to be in the hunt in the 16 USA Division in Indianapolis this weekend. A setter to put on the radar who preps at Carmel Catholic is Charlotte Sheperd who is so dynamic. She is someone the other side of the net has to respect as an attacking threat in the front row. She's on the scouting report for the other team. I think this team could turn some heads and could play some big matches come day three.     So much athleticism and physicality. [player_tooltip player_id='951874' first='Ines' last='Fischer'] will be one to watch for 1st Alliance 16 Silver where she is a 2028 pin hitter. She plays mostly on the right side, but she can score points on the outside or right side. There is a heavy swing that she brings to the court and can set a big block that the opposing outside hitter has to be aware of. With her ability to score in multiple spots it really stresses the defense and opens things up for everyone on 16 Silver.     The way [player_tooltip player_id='522629' first='Kelly' last='Ryan'] runs the offense is impressive. The Class of 2028 setter who preps at Marist and runs the show for 1st Alliance 16 Silver has great footwork and hands. She gets her feet to the ball that allows her to run multiple tempos to all of her attackers. There is a high IQ about her game where she is so fluid and smooth. This team already has a bid to USAV Nationals and are battle tested. They will have their eyes on the prize for a chance to play in gold on Sunday.     I was able to see the [program_tooltip program_id='432158' first='Attack' last='VBC'] 16 Select team play at the Winter Classic in Milwaukee back in January. This is a high powered squad where they aren't afraid to take big swings. [player_tooltip player_id='750142' first='Katy' last='Zumerchik'] is an outside hitter to put on the radar for attack where she knows how to score points. She brings physicality to the net where shes going to create chaos on the other side. She swings big and can go hard cross, down the line, or high hands. I'm excited to see this team play again knowing the first impression they made on me back in January.     [program_tooltip program_id='428591' first='FC' last='Elite'] 16 Navy will be taking on the 16 USA Division at MEQ this weekend. An athlete to know on the outside is [player_tooltip player_id='501817' first='Kensley' last='McCauley']. She has been a small school standout for Laconia where she was named Player of the Year for her conference as a sophomore. Her ability to play at a quick pace where she is fast to the ball allows her to beat the block. She is a six rotation player who can put points up on the board and could be one to score out of the backrow as well.     Another athletic outside hitter to know from [program_tooltip program_id='428591' first='FC' last='Elite'] is [player_tooltip player_id='808008' first='Leah' last='Oldenburg']. Her game has been on the up and up this past year, breaking through the Neenah varsity lineup and really finishing the high school season strong. Her ability to score points is what sets her apart. She has a high contact point with her swing that allows her to change up the angles of her shot. I think she is bound to breakout to another level into the rest of the qualifier season and beyond.     This [program_tooltip program_id='432160' first='[program_tooltip program_id='432076' first='[program_tooltip program_id='430137' first='[program_tooltip program_id='429142' first='MVP' last='']' last='']' last='']' last=''] 16 Blue team out of the Milwaukee area has been fun to track the past couple of seasons. They are typically in the hunt for a high gold bracket finish. [player_tooltip player_id='583939' first='Mikayla' last='Martin'] is a key player for this team where she runs the show as a setter. She gets her feet to the ball and has fast hands to feed her middles to push to the pins. She can also defend her position well and has positive on court intangibles. Will be fun to watch Martin and her squad represent Wisconsin this weekend!     What a scrappy athlete for Madtown 162 National. Sydney Repinski is a libero who actually preps at Winona Cotter out of Winona, Minnesota and plays club volleyball for Madtown in Sun Prairie. She sets the tone from the service line and knows how to command the backrow. She is able to handle a high volume of serve receive and knows how to keep the ball in system on a hard swing. There are a lot of really good athletes on this team who will be ones to keep tabs on throughout the rest of the season to get to camp this summer.     [program_tooltip program_id='431948' first='Iowa' last='Rockets'] are always a mainstay among Iowa Region programs where their teams are going to be in the hunt for a bid to nationals. They will be in 16 USA this weekend with a setter that needs to be on the radar. [player_tooltip player_id='730426' first='Hazel' last='Schluckebier'] preps at Iowa City High and brings a dynamic style of play to the court. She could be used as a right side attacker, but her trajectory is being a setter at the net level. She has length and athleticism that allows her to get her teammates in a position to terminate. When she is in the front row the other side needs to always be aware of what she can do especially when she jumps. Iowa's Class of 2028 is deep and Schluckebier is definitely among one of the best setters in this class.     This is a mismatch nightmare for the opposing side of the net. [player_tooltip player_id='730449' first='Kylee' last='Suhr'] is one who will be rising in the Class of 2028 as a middle blocker. She plays much bigger than 6'0 where she finds a way to elevate to another level. She is able to score on a variety of tempos in front of and behind the setter. She also knows where to find the open spots on the other side and is a point scoring machine. If Rockets can be in system and get the ball to Suhr they will be tough to stop.     [player_tooltip player_id='808653' first='Erin' last='Steege'] is your small town multisport athlete who does a little bit of everything for any team she is involved in. She will be suiting up for Six Pack 16s this weekend out of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area taking on MEQ 16 USA. Steege commands the backrow, she knows how to read her attackers, anticipate the play and make things look easy.     Tempo 16 Royal is a small club out of Waterloo, Wisconsin with plenty of talent on their roster. Some are from the Class of 2029 which would be [player_tooltip player_id='931569' first='Eden' last='Kieselhorst']. I was able to see this team play at the Prep Dig Resolution in Appleton back in January and Kieselhorst was one to watch. She is a 6'1 athletic setter who can find a way to impact the game at the net with her attacking and blocking, defends her backrow position well, and is able to put the ball on the money for her attackers. This team could be a scary matchup this weekend in Indy.     One of the top liberos in the Class of 2028 out of Iowa is [player_tooltip player_id='742600' first='Piper' last='Hodge'] of Iowa Select 16 Mizuno. She was part of the Davenport Assumption state championship team this past fall and her 16 Mizuno team had already claimed a bid to nationals from the Iowa Region Qualifier. There is a lot of firepower from this team out of the Quad Cities, but when they are in system with a first contact from Hodge they are tough to stop.

I am excited to see a lot of these 2028s go toe to toe at the MEQ 16 USA Division. I'll be courtside watching a lot of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin athletes in this division where there are plenty of them that I just need to see more of, as well as see some new players. Some of these teams already have their bid to nationals and will look for an upgrade this weekend. Here are some athletes I've seen live over the past year that coaches can take note of when recruiting the 16 USA Division. They might not be able to start their recruiting journey until June 15, but they can start getting on the radar!