Going Gauntlet | Team Profile: 1st Alliance 17 Gold

Prep Dig has a growing presence in the competition space with several branded tournaments offering great competition and overall experience. The "Prep Dig Gauntlet" is a marquee event annually and one that continues to increase in strength of competing teams, some of the best regionally and nationally across multiple age groups and divisions. This year's event takes place June 6-7 in Menomonee Falls, WI. Stay connected to PD as several teams will be profiled in preparation for this banger of a tournament.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Team Profile: 1st Alliance 17 Gold</h2>   Gauntlet Division: 17 Elite   USAV Region: Great Lakes   Key 2026 Results: Triple Crown NIT (13th); Great Lakes Power League (3rd 17/18); MEQ (3rd); Windy City NQ (5th); Salt Lake City NQ (5th)   Overview: The premier club in Illinois, 1st Alliance has a high volume of participation as well as success across all of their programming. Their strong training and competitive traditions recycle themselves year after year as their athletes grow their skills, physicality, and competitive experience and maturity. Their top 17U team has performed well across their tournament schedule this club season. An early statement was made with a top-15 finish at the Triple Crown NIT, considered the best national-level event consisting of the best of the best teams that takes place in February. The GL Power League 3rd place finish in the 17/18 division is evidence of their dominance in the GL region. Qualifying for the USAV GJNC in the 17 Open division with a 3rd place finish at MEQ, they followed that up with two 5th place finishes at the Windy City and Salt Lake NQs, positioning them well to earn a favorable seed at the USAV national championships set to begin at the end of June. Here is a look at some of their key athletes.    Kroth (*pictured) is one of two athletes on this team currently ranked (#98) among the Prep Dig 2027 national rankings. The key characteristics of her game are in her athleticism and movement that help her develop big arm speed and range. As one of the best terminal options in Illinois as a primary pin hitter, Kroth is a point scoring juggernaut as evidenced by her 849 total kills over the past two high school seasons, which amounts to a 5.4 k/s average over that span. She is committed to North Carolina.     The Dayton commit is ranked #162 nationally by Prep Dig as one of the top middles in Illinois. At 6'4, Wilson adds a dimension most teams don't feature with her length. Her game continues to grow in how assertive her approach work and arm can be through quick options through different locations. Once at Dayton, she'll benefit from a bigger runway for momentum build and lift that will get her higher and able to increase the range and impact of her arm even more.     The versatility of Carroll's game is such a big asset through the front row. Her development as a middle and pin include seamless shift between any action that involves movement off of one foot or two when hitting, and in how well she can defend at the net to get up and across the net quickly. Committed to Xavier University, she can contact the ball high in the air with good force of contact to get the ball onto the defense quickly.     Burridge brings big effort through her three rotations as a middle with intentional work to create a quick offensive option for her setter. She runs her middle routes in front of her setter very fast at a near zero-step tempo as she does a good job to be up and open to be able to strike the ball as soon as it arrives in her zone. Her development off one foot behind her setter is improving as the American University commit is also a big factor defensively with quick hand penetration to slow the ball down when blocking.     The primary libero for this team, Kowalski's tools are key to igniting this team's offense. She shines defensively as she brings tenacity to her effort, which starts with how well she reads point flow. As she tracks the ball, she can identify space to fill with an expectation to receive the ball that often results in keeping the opposing attack off the court. She develops great angles to dig high and off the net while also displaying good quality in her emergency skills to create something playable in tougher moments.    Additional Contributors | Position | PD Illinois Rank | Commitment   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='435344' first='Aubrey' last='Martinez'] | OH/DS | #19 | Ball State</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='529823' first='Natalie' last='Bochantin'] | S | #27 | Uncommitted</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='443058' first='Delilah' last='Roman'] | OH | #37 | Eastern Michigan</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='443081' first='Tiernan' last='Naus'] | S | #72 | Uncommitted</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='435844' first='Emmi' last='Bozarth'] | MB | #123 | Uncommitted</li> </ul>

Prep Dig has a growing presence in the competition space with several branded tournaments offering great competition and overall experience. The "Prep Dig Gauntlet" is a marquee event annually and one that continues to increase in strength of competing teams, some of the best regionally and nationally across multiple age groups and divisions. This year's event takes place June 6-7 in Menomonee Falls, WI. Stay connected to PD as several teams will be profiled in preparation for this banger of a tournament.