CZC: What I Liked On Saturday

<p>In a follow-up to the series of Central Zone Invites that invade the Indiana Convention Center, a smaller, more local tournament called the Central Zone Championships includes teams on a more regional level. On Saturday, I had the opportunity to reflect on a few players I saw. Here’s what I found:</p> <p><strong>Circle City 15 White</strong></p> <p>Making it to the gold bracket was a tall task for this undersized team, but they still did well enough to perform. Although looking slight, libero <strong>Liv Tarter (’23, DS)</strong> was responsible for the lion’s share of serve receive and defense, and helped propel this program into the upper echelon of teams in the 15/16 division. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110493" first="Abby" last="Sollenberger"] (’24, MB, 6-0)</strong> was a huge part of their offense, as her size and strength made many differences in multiple matches. Setter <strong>Macy Chafin (’24, S, 5-8)</strong> ran a nice 5-1, and got to a ton of balls the average setter just can’t. I like her footwork and hands, as she had to deal with a ton of out-of-system balls all weekend.</p> <p><strong>Munciana 15 Warriors</strong></p> <p>Another undersized team playing with the big girls, the Warriors were led by <strong>Lillian Stanton (’24, S, 5-7), </strong>a fast and accurate setter that ran a 5-1 as best she could with the ball control provided. Her middles, <strong>Annie Canada (’24, MB, 5-10) </strong>and <strong>Jenna Kerrigan (’24, MB, 5-9)</strong> were major factors in their offense, and were clearly the most athletic players on Munciana’s squad. Both can attack from in front of or behind the setter well.</p> <p><strong>Circle City 16 White</strong></p> <p>Also making the gold bracket on Sunday was this squad, led by setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85949" first="Kelsie" last="Hankins"] (’23, S, 5-8)</strong><strong>, </strong>who I’m pretty sure is incapable of having a ball handling error. Her hands were among the best on the weekend I saw, and ran a great offense with accurate, hittable balls consistently. I’m a big fan of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85942" first="Elizabeth" last="Pelfree"] (’23, MB, 5-11), </strong>who used her size to her advantage and attacks high and deep. Spitfire outside hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85950" first="Shelby" last="Clements"] (’23, OH, 5-6)</strong> is also listed as a DS, but her jumping ability can make her a six-rotation outside at a small college near you. </p>