Adidas Bluegrass Open Division Preview
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We have reached the eve of the annual Adidas Bluegrass tournament hosted by KIVA in Louisville, KY. It is typically one of the most competitive events of the early season in this area of the country. Here are some of…
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Continue ReadingWe have reached the eve of the annual Adidas Bluegrass tournament hosted by KIVA in Louisville, KY. It is typically one of the most competitive events of the early season in this area of the country. Here are some of the top teams from Ohio and Kentucky to keep an eye on in the Open-level division for U16-U18 age groups as a handful of the nation’s best teams will be in attendance.
U18
AVC 18 Red
This team has such great depth of talent and high quality competitive experience at each position. They get pin scoring from DI commits
Cadence Shea
Cadence
Shea
6'2" | MB
Saint Joseph Academy | 2022
State
#121
Nation
OH
and
Kathryn Randorf
Kathryn
Randorf
6'1" | OH
Gilmour Academy | 2022
State
#37
Nation
OH
on the left side and big production from the right in Nebraska recruit
Caroline Jurevicius
Caroline
Jurevicius
6'2" | OH
NDCL | 2023
State
#5
Nation
OH
.
Sabrina Gremm
Sabrina
Gremm
5'11" | OH
Gilmour Academy | 2022
State
OH
adds depth on the pin as
Kirsten Barrett
Kirsten
Barrett
5'9" | S
St. Joseph Academy | 2022
State
OH
fills the role to get them quality opportunities with their offense as the primary setter. Middle
Mya Sopata
Mya
Sopata
5'10" | MB
Nordonia | 2022
State
OH
has big elevation and can move the ball around while
Abbey Havrilla
Abbey
Havrilla
5'4" | DS/L
Magnificat | 2022
State
OH
provides good support with her ball control and defense in the back row.
NKVYC 18-1 Tsunami
This team is pin heavy with Oklahoma recruit
Taylor Preston
Taylor
Preston
6'2" | OH
St. Henry | 2022
State
#66
Nation
KY
, a high flyer and with ability to move the ball around to apply good pressure to the opposing defense. She will get a lot of opportunity at both pins and out of the back row.
Elena Dubuc
Elena
Dubuc
5'11" | RS
Turpin | 2022
State
OH
is a Wright State commit and continues to increase her productivity after moving to the left side following a primary role on the right a season ago.
Abby Schaefer
Abby
Schaefer
5'8" | DS/L
St. Henry | 2022
State
#174
Nation
KY
, a Western Kentucky recruit, is a critical piece to their ball control and defense, while the athleticism and crafty hands of setter
Cora Taylor
Cora
Taylor
S
St. Henry | 2022
State
KY
, a Butler recruit, can create good opportunities for her offense with her distribution skills.
Ava Kidd
Ava
Kidd
MB
Ryle | 2022
State
KY
and
Olivia Gentry
Olivia
Gentry
6'1" | MB
Milford | 2022
State
OH
do the work in the middle and both have increasingly developed in their contributions offensively to help support their pin work. Taylor, Schaefer, and Preston combined to help St. Henry win the most recent Kentucky high school volleyball state title this past fall.
Others to Watch:
- Circle City 18 Purple
- FaR Out 18 Black
- KIVA 18 Red
- Munciana 18 Samurai
- SPVB 18 Elite
U17
KIVA 17-Red
A couple of Texas commits anchor this team as 6’5 outside hitter
Sydney Helmers
Sydney
Helmers
6'4" | OH
Assumption | 2023
#35
Nation
KY
and 6’4 middle
Nya Bunton
Nya
Bunton
6'5" | MB
DuPont Manual | 2023
State
#7
Nation
KY
have big-time game. They have incredible length in addition to skills that make them highly effective in their roles and very difficult for opponents to contain. Setter
Whitney Woodrow
Whitney
Woodrow
S
Assumption | 2023
State
#120
Nation
KY
is 6’0 and has great size as well. The Fordham commit has great tools and does good work to get her big arms quality opportunities to swing. Also on the outside is 6’2 Olivia Fish, who can score points with good range and through a varied locations, while 6’5
Gabrielle Gerry
Gabrielle
Gerry
6'5" | MB
Assumption | 2023
State
KY
fills up big space at the net to help them sustain that formidable size through each rotation.
Union 17-1
Fresh off their Pioneer Region bid title this team has good momentum and should enter Bluegrass with good confidence in their ability to score points and defend. Setter Grace Purichia makes this team go as they rely heavily on her ability to make things happen on the offensive side in her distribution and ability to disrupt teams through her own offensive opportunities. Middle
Meredith Brown
Meredith
Brown
6'4" | MB
Mercy | 2023
State
KY
is 6’4 and active, as she has ability to put pressure on teams with her length and skills when their ball control is in place to get her involved. They get good pin offense from Alexis Caldwell while also relying on the contributions from Kiki Brown, Caroline Hilbrich, and Lauren Varga to keep create opportunities to be successful.
Elevation 17-Goller
The gems and strength of this team are in setter
Lindsey Green
Lindsey
Green
5'11" | S
Ursuline | 2023
State
OH
and middle
Brooke Bultema
Brooke
Bultema
6'3" | MB
Ursuline | 2023
State
#36
Nation
OH
. Green is a savvy and confident floor leader that can set good tempo through all positions. Bultema has the ability to be a game changer with her arm and on the defensive side given her athleticism and length. Other key elements are in the ball control and defensive work as
Ava Wolfer
Ava
Wolfer
5'7" | DS/L
MND | 2023
State
OH
and Creighton commit Sydney Breissinger can frustrate opponents. After a solid showing at Central Zones earlier in the season, they opened the high-level NIT event as part of the power pool designation but struggled to find success. Their pin action and balance in the middle opposite Bultema will be necessary for them make a big impact among a top quality field in Louisville. Look for middle
Campbell Robinson
Campbell
Robinson
6'2" | MB
Milford | 2023
State
OH
and pins
Nicole Sargent
Nicole
Sargent
6'1" | RS
Centerville | 2023
State
OH
,
Ninah Miranda
Ninah
Miranda
6'0" | OH
Lebanon | 2023
State
OH
, and
Audrey Armbruster
Audrey
Armbruster
5'11" | S
MND | 2023
State
OH
to increase the quality of their contributions.
Others to Watch:
- A5 17 Mizuno Angel
- Circle City 17 Purple
- Dunes 17 Black
- FaR Out 17 Black
- NKYVC 17-Tsunami
- Team Pineapple 17B Harris
- Top Select 17 Elite Blue
U16
Elite VBTC 16
The presence and athleticism of
Alec Rothe
Alec
Rothe
6'3" | MB
Dublin Scioto | 2024
State
#14
Nation
OH
is a big factor for this team as she has the ability to be dominant on both sides of the ball. Touching 10’5 in her approach work, she is at 9’11 in her blocking movements, playing well above the net. However, they cannot rely on her alone given the superb quality and depth of talent at this age group. Outside hitter
Hailey Campagna
Hailey
Campagna
5'10" | OH
Shekinah Christian | 2025
State
#131
Nation
OH
and the athletic and versatile
Olivia Heitkamp
Olivia
Heitkamp
6'1" | RS
New Bremen | 2024
State
#185
Nation
OH
offer good support on the pins with ability to terminate and defend.
NKYVC 16-Tsunami
One of the best teams in the country in this age group, if at full strength they should contend well to win this event. They have yet to play with their full roster as standout pin attacker
Alivia Skidmore
Alivia
Skidmore
OH
St. Henry | 2024
State
#64
Nation
KY
has been out with an injury. She has since returned only to see this team recently lose their other high performing pin hitter in
Sydney Barrett
Sydney
Barrett
6'0" | OH
Kings | 2024
State
#119
Nation
OH
. It is anticipated that Barrett will return in time for this tournament and if so, they will be highly dangerous. Middle
Julia Hunt
Julia
Hunt
6'1" | MB
Holy Cross (Covington) | 2024
State
#11
Nation
KY
is one of the most coveted U16 prospects across the country right now and will benefit greatly from the full strength of this team’s pin action.
Macy Lentz
Macy
Lentz
5'10" | S
St. Henry | 2024
State
KY
and
Lilly Gillespie
Lilly
Gillespie
5'8" | OH
Turpin | 2024
State
OH
also contribute well on the right and left sides and with their passing, while setter
Abby Yoder
Abby
Yoder
5'10" | S
Kings | 2024
State
#101
Nation
OH
runs the show as
Elizabeth Tabeling
Elizabeth
Tabeling
5'7" | DS/L
St. Henry | 2024
State
#127
Nation
KY
anchors the ball control and defense with terrific success.
Tri-State 16 Blue
This team has good potential for success with at every event given the strength in the pin action and the ball control and defense they showcase through their back row personnel. Outside hitter
Reese Wuebker
Reese
Wuebker
5'10" | OH
Centerville | 2024
State
#57
Nation
OH
is a high flying and electric attacker and is complemented well by the length and skills of
Sophia Adkins
Sophia
Adkins
6'0" | OH
Mercy McAuley | 2024
State
#71
Nation
OH
as her counterpart. Addy Brus and
Kelsey Niesen
Kelsey
Niesen
5'9" | DS/L
Roger Bacon | 2024
State
OH
help in the offense and passing aspects well.
Dakota Henry
Dakota
Henry
5'5" | DS/L
Kings | 2024
State
OH
is solid in the passing and defensive phases that helps kickstart their offensive tempo and variability.
Maria Drapp
Maria
Drapp
5'9" | S
Mercy McAuley | 2024
State
OH
is a highly capable setter as she can push the speed of the offense from a broad location of the floor, which can create good space and opportunities for her attackers.
Others to Watch:
- A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe
- Circle City 16 Purple
- FaR Out 16 Black
- KIVA 16 Red
- Sports Performance 16 Elite
- Top Select 16 Elite Blue