Wisconsin Prospects at Northern Lights - 17 Open

There may not be many teams from Wisconsin competing at the Northern Lights Qualifier this weekend, but there is still plenty of talent available competing in the 17 Open Division. FC Elite out of the Appleton area will be one of the teams with a real shot of getting an Open Bid. They are a three seed in their pool, but with eight Division 1 players, the talent is strong with a group that was one of the tops in the National Division last year in Minneapolis for USAV Nationals. Wisconsin Volleyball Academy will also be competing in the Open Division, but will have a loaded pool with Colorado Juniors, Dallas Premier, and EC Power (Pennsylvania). Both of these teams play the majority of their competition in the Milwaukee and Chicago area and heading to Minneapolis will give them a great chance to be seen my coaches in the Northern Sun Conference which is one of the top volleyball conferences in NCAA Division 2 with the likes of Concordia - St. Paul, Minnesota-Duluth, Winona State, and Southwest Minnesota State. FC Elite 17 Navy Adrianne Hagen - Hortonville High School - 6’2 Middle Blocker Class of 2019 Hagen has an incredibly high ceiling with the potential to play any front row position. With plenty of offensive weapons on FC Elite 17 Navy heading to Arkansas, Loyola, and Marquette, Hagen may not get a ton of swings, but puts up a large block. Touching just under 10 feet, Hagen is due for a breakout season on the high school circuit at Hortonville. Hagen would be a solid catch at the next level with her height, athleticism, and versatility. The best years for Hagen have yet to come and this will be a weekend where she will get some solid looks. Tiffany Plaaman - Appleton East High School - 6’0 Middle Blocker Class of 2019 Plaaman is able to play a little bit of everything, but is mostly in the middle for FC Elite. Her physicality is the strength to her game being able to go pin to pin and put up a large block. The training and competition she goes up against week in and week out has helped improve her game to know how to compete against some of the top hitters in the state. Plaaman and Hagen are both in the Fox Valley Association and like Hagen, Plaaman will be due to have a solid year for the Patriots of Appleton East. Last year she had over 200 kills and a hitting efficiency over .300. Grace Mans - Fort Atkinson High School - 5’11 Setter Class of 2019 Mans has the all around game that makes her a solid, contribute early type of Division 2 player. Mans could go the Division 2 or small Division 1 route with her size and athleticism at the setting position that allows her to run a 5-1, and also the backcourt skills to compete as well. Mans has been a great addition to this team as a setter along with Caroline Dragani, a setter who can also swing from the right side that has committed to Portland State. The pool FC Elite is in will be highlighted by Houston Juniors, but they will also have Michio Chicago which was 9-7 at the Great Lakes Power League(GLPL) as the two seed which is the same record as FC Elite had at GLPL. WVA 17 Black Gabby Murray - Appleton Xavier High School - 6’2 MB/RS Murray has played a little bit of everything for WVA this year, starting with her natural position of middle blocker, but can also play on the pin. Murray is long with an extremely high touch and has played national level club volleyball her whole career. With her experience and ability to play multiple positions Murray is a solid pick up at the next level. A high academic athlete as well, Murray’s defense at the net and serve are a major strength! Rachel Aasby - Lourdes Academy - 5’9 OH Class of 2019 Aasby is a six rotation outside that has plenty of tools to help her team. From the variety of shots she can hit on the outside, to her backcourt defense and attacking Aasby is one who can pile up points in a hurry. The options that Aasby has for college could be playing on the pin or even a higher level at libero. She has always been a part of winning teams, playing for Lourdes Academy who has made three consecutive trips to the state tournament, finishing runner-up the past two seasons. Jenna Chaussee - Chilton High School - 5’9 OH Class of 2019 Player of the Year in her conference, All Area, and Honorable Mention All State, Chaussee has the resume with a lot of success after a solid Junior year for Chilton. With over 400 kills on the pin, Chaussee is a point scorer much like her counterpart Aasby, with a hard shot down the line or a roll over the block for the kill. Chaussee is also a solid threat to score for her team out of system. Chaussee is a leader on her team and also has high school setter, Alysha Brickl teaming up with her for WVA who mostly plays defensive specialist and back up setter for WVA. Playing Up For WVA Cece Huhn, a Northern Colorado recruit that is a go to player for WVA 17 Black, will be playing with WVA 18 Black at the National Tournament in Anaheim this weekend which leaves a void in the middle for WVA 17 Black at Northern Lights. Hattie Bray from WVA 15 Black will be playing up. Another middle from the Class of 2021, Natalie Johanknecht, will be playing for WVA 17 Red. Hattie Bray - Wautoma High School - 6’1 MB (Playing For WVA 17 Black) Class of 2021 This will be a solid challenge for Bray playing two levels up on a new team against some of top talent not only in the region, but in the nation. Bray is a high flyer out of the middle putting up a solid block and has a repertoire of shots with power to the deep corners. An athlete out of the Class of 2021, Bray is also running track right now. This will be a welcomed challenge for her and a chance to show a new crowd what she can do against some of the big clubs at NLQ. Natalie Johanknecht - Oshkosh West High Schoo -l 6’0 MB (Playing For WVA 17 Red) Class of 2021 Johanknecht teams up with Bray on WVA 15 Black, but is also being called up to play for WVA 17 Red this weekend. WVA 17 Red is competing in the American Division. Johanknecht will add a spark with her quick hops, high snap, and quick movements from pin to pin. Playing up a division is always a great experience for these younger players to get a chance what level they can be working towards. Bray and Johanknecht will be playing at the Badger Region High Performance Camp this summer.