<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are 13 clubs in total competing in the American Division. Our first break down will include the six clubs in the 14 to 15 age group. Then we will hop to the 16-17 age group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">American Division 14</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Jazz</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AES Ranking</strong> - number one Regionally, 110 nationally</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How They Qualified </strong>- Hard to grasp that the number one team in the region will only play in the American Division. They could only come in 5th place in the Chesapeake Regional Bid Championships. As the first seed in the tournament they finished second in pool play. This put them into a bracket with second seeded [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'], who then beat them in the quarter finals, taking the third set 15-13. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] would go on to win the championship taking the National Bid while MVSA took their USA bid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MVSA later snagged a reallocated National bid moving American Red to the USA. This moved [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Jazz up from the Freedom to the American bid. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Jazz played in three Open Qualifiers but fell short of grabbing a bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Player to Watch</strong> -</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["849196"],"_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-6a29794124302"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I watched her a little in a tournament when she was 13 playing in the Chesapeake Showdown. Her outside hitting was too much for MVSA Force as the [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 13 team won the showdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In their third set against [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] her ace gave [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] a 13-12 lead. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] then lost the next three points to give [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] the win. It appears she can play both pins, transitioning well with quick feet to get her in an excellent position to hit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I'll probably see a lot more of her since she plans on playing for Paul VI. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Players Ranked</strong> - no actual rankings but players currently on the watch list include middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='785509' first='Pia' last='Pardikar']</strong>, libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='875280' first='Hailey' last='Page']</strong>, left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='944759' first='Nyla' last='Mclaurin']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">East Coast Black</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AES Ranking </strong>- 12th in Region and 235 nationally</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How They Got There</strong> - Only three teams competed in the Old Dominion Regional Bid Championships. East Coast finished second losing to 540 Volleyball Elite in pool play and bracket play. They played in the Sunshine Classic Qualifier finishing 9th in the USA Division out of 32 teams. East Coast did win their first tournament of the year, the Virginia Beach Crawl and their last tournament, the Coastal Clash.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Player to Watch -</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["897643"],"_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-6a2988426d7ae"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I have yet to see [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] Black play but I hope to see them in Indy. Julia is a six rotation left side player who stands six foot. She won an MVP award as an 8th grader. Definitely worth a watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Players Ranked</strong> - no players from the class of 2030 have been ranked but setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='983815' first='Natalie' last='Fisher']</strong> appears on the watch list.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bay Area Volleyball Club (BAVA) Waves</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AES Ranking </strong>- 20th Regionally, 607 nationally</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How They Got There</strong> - They finished third in the Chesapeake Regional Bid Championship. They reached the semifinal but lost to [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] in three, falling in the third set 15-9. They beat American Red in the third place match 27-25, 27-25. Even though BAVA won the third place slot it was American Red that was bumped up from the American to the USA Division to take the spot of MVSA Force.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["957106"],"_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-6a2988426d81d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Briar made a strong impression against [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Pricilla in the opening match of the playoff bracket in the Chesapeake Regional Bid Championships. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Priscilla had won the opening set 25-9 but BAVA bounced back to win the second set 30-28. The third set went to the wire but an ace by Briar gave [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] the 14-13 lead. Later in the set she put away the game winning kill from the back row for the 16-14 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">American Division 15</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bay Area Volleyball Club Blaze</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AES Ranking</strong> - 12th Regionally and 258 Nationally</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How They Got There</strong> - They finished 6th in the Chesapeake Regional Bid Championships, losing in a third set quarter final match to Metro National 15-13. They were bumped up when Virginia Juniors earned a Liberty Bid and [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] captured an Open bid. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] came into the tournament with a USA bid and when they upset [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] in the third set of the finals 15-13 that opened up another spot. BAVA played in the USA Division in two qualifiers but failed to earn a bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Player to Watch:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["932773"],"_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-6a29ce90d7c04"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It appears all the talented liberos play up a year. Add Jemma to that group. While the class of 2030 is not ranked yet Jemma would stand out as one of the top liberos in the class of 2029, mush less the class of 2030. She has that consistency with her passing, a hustle to her defense and that aggressiveness that the ball is her. That is an attitude all liberos should own.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It would not surprise me to see Jemma make the varsity team for Crofton her frosh season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Players Ranked</strong>: setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='766895' first='Neely' last='Olish'] </strong>(18), libero/defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='781700' first='Gianna' last='Bonnett']</strong> (29), left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='763138' first='A'vielle' last='Lewis']</strong> (32), right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='903827' first='Moraie' last='Butler'] </strong>(92), libero/ds <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='763461' first='Ayva' last='Agno']</strong> (93), libero/ds <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='783298' first='Olivia' last='Wheeler']</strong> (96), left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='961813' first='Hannah' last='McKinstry']</strong> (128),</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Libero Huskies</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AES Ranking</strong> - 25th Regional ranking and 1037 National Ranking</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How They Got There</strong> - Their 7th place finish would have left them without a bid but after Virginia Juniors, [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'], and [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] moved up or earned additional bids Libero sneaked into the American Division. Libero played in the American Division in the Northeast Qualifier finishing in 25th place out of 75 teams and 25th out of 64 teams in the Show Me..</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong> - While I have watched Libero Huskies 16 play a number of times I have yet to see the Libero Huskies 15 play. Always fun to watch a new group of players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">540 Volleyball Club Elite</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AES Ranking</strong> - 13th Regionally and 172 Nationally</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How They Got There </strong>- Only three teams competed at the 15 age level in the Old Dominion Regional Bid Championship. 540 finished third but [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] White turned down their bid. This is a better team than what participated in the Regional. They finished first in three tournaments, including the Shamrock Showdown. They also finished third in the East Coast championship Beast of the East. 540 competed in two qualifiers, finishing fifth in the Liberty Division in the Northeast Qualifier and 17th in the 17th in the Sunshine Classic Qualifier.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Player to Watch</strong>: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["778444"],"_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-6a29ce90d7cbf"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I've watched her in a tournament when she played middle. Later in the year I watched her when she hit left side. It doesn't matter where she plays. She dominates the game from either position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Her best position for the future lies in the left side. She is extremely athletic with a nice vertical. Zari currently lists at 5'8" but a couple inches of growth would make her ideal for the position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last year she made the roster on the Colonial Forge varsity team. Colonial Forge lost only one match all season, that was a quarter final regional match to Colgan, which eliminated them from advancing to the State Bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Players Ranked</strong> - setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779119' first='Isabelle' last='Thompson']</strong> (51), middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779114' first='Lacie' last='Rayford']</strong> (54), left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='541319' first='Gabrielle' last='Rodrigo']</strong> (63), left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748077' first='Kaelyn' last='Lee'] </strong>(123), Libero/ds <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='879248' first='Paige' last='Stoll']</strong> (137), Libero/ds <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962641' first='Dalinna' last='Hess'] </strong>(WL) left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='963139' first='Journi' last='Carter']</strong> (WL)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->