Prez Day StL Preview: TI Elite 16.1

Kyp Harasymowycz February 17, 2022 @ 08:30 AM

President’s Day tournaments are the best recruiting grounds around the country. A ton of teams converge into one city on hundreds of courts, all at high levels of play. That statement is not lost on this squad, who have a great mix of size and skill players that make their successes obvious. This particular group can be found on courts 68 and 69 in the morning wave on Saturday at the America’s Center in downtown Saint Louis. ’24, [player_tooltip player_id="171390" first="Sophia" last="Poehlein"], 6-1 OH, Zionsville ’24, [player_tooltip player_id="110519" first="Isabelle" last="Poehlein"], 6-2 RS, Zionsville Normally, I would have separate write-ups for twins, but this pair is individually identifiable. Sophia, the right-handed one, can attack at a high level and is putting a ton of work into her serve receive and defense. She has the size and strength, and has worked extremely hard putting the entire skill set together. Isabelle, the lefty, has a whip of an arm and can terminate on both offense and defense. And the size!!! You can’t teach 6’+. ’24, [player_tooltip player_id="171386" first="Niki" last="Skudrzik"], 5-11 OH, Fishers It seems that Niki has always been on an elite team at TI since, well, forever. Her skill set, volleyball acuity and size put her in the highly-sought-after category, and is regularly in high-pressure matches in both high school and club. I like her length, her smooth play and her physicality, as she should make an impact as either a three- or six-rotation outside at the next level. ’24, Gabby Scheil, 5-6 S, Roncalli A recent transfer from Academy and younger sister of Abbey (soccer signee at Division III Trine), Gabby continues her family’s athletic prowess with impressive footwork and playing bigger than her frame. She can run a 5-1 with the best of them, and is not a liability in the front row. Gabby can get to tight passes just as easily as out-of-system balls, and makes every pass better. ’24, [player_tooltip player_id="171362" first="Aly" last="Kirkhoff"], 5-6 DS/L, Roncalli Does Roncalli ever run out of defenders? It always seems like there’s a parade of them waiting in the wings once the big one (read: [player_tooltip player_id="85811" first="Emma" last="Halter"], Texas) graduates. Aly should do just fine in carrying the torch for both the Royals AND her TI squad. Her smooth footwork is equalled by her quiet upper body in serve receive, and she is always in the right position to take care of that first contact. None of this team’s early successes are possible without that first contact, and with Aly easily controlling half of the court in serve receive, here’s my advice to opposing teams: STOP SERVING HER. YOU WON’T SUCCEED.