GJNC Preview: Evansville United 16 Black
As a general rule, if you stay in Central Indiana long enough, you get around to ALL of the teams from the state. I promise, I tried to see this team live on multiple occasions this spring, but could never sync…
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Continue ReadingAs a general rule, if you stay in Central Indiana long enough, you get around to ALL of the teams from the state. I promise, I tried to see this team live on multiple occasions this spring, but could never sync up my schedule with theirs. That being said, with a second-place finish at Hoosier regionals, the 16-1s out of EU earned their American bid in the beginning of this month, losing to eventual region champ Team Pineapple . Here are nine of the eleven (two are from Illinois) that contributed to this team’s success.
THE LITTLES
Normally, I talk about the big kids, the attackers, the ones who get it done with their physicality. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this trio of ball-control masters first. All three are fully capable of wearing the special jersey at any level, and all three can defend all three back row positions with ease. Riley Baker (’24, 5-2 DS/L, Reitz Memorial) is the smallest of the bunch, but seems to cover the most ground by staying on her feet the longest. Her defense radius makes her seem much taller than in real life. Elsie McCutchan (’24, 5-5 DS/L, Evansville North) is a left-back genius and can pass half of the court in serve receive by herself. Michele Greenwell (’24, 5-5 DS/L, Castle) has feet that don’t stop and hits the floor regularly to do the dirty work that “the bigs” just can’t do.
THE BIG
There’s one, and it’s obvious. Anna Herman (’24, 6-3 MB/RS, Vincennes Rivet) can be a plug-and-play M1 no matter where she lands because of her size alone. It’s not just size with Anna, however. She has a faster-than-average transition for kids her age and size, and uses her length to make most blocks irrelevant. Defense is not an issue with this one, either, simply because she takes long strides to go from pin to pin.
THE POSSIBLE PINS
I say possible because the remainder of the attackers on this squad are so interchangeable. Reagan Siewart (’24, 5-10 MB/OH, Reitz Memorial) is the M2 on this squad, but her strength and shot-making ability lead me to believe that she could help a team out on a pin somewhere in the future. Ava Englert (’24, 5-11, RS/OH, Jasper) has all of the shots in the book for a right side, and sets a great block against opposing outsides. Katie Kopshever (’24, 5-11 OH, Castle) is a prototypical six-rotation outside who already has state championship experience when she carried her Castle squad to a 4A runner-up trophy this past fall. Her length and whip-action of an arm allow her the terminal pin that most colleges covet.
THE SETTERS
Yes, there are two, and both do well for their squad. Reese McCutchan (’24, 5-9 S/DS, Evansville Memorial) and Megan Harpenau (’24, 5-10 S/RS, Castle) are the 6-2 duo that play like twins. Both set with high hands, have quick feet to get to every second ball, and are regularly in-system with their hitters regardless of where the ball is passed. The consistency with which they locate their sets allows the hitters around them to get better. Let’s hope they keep this up at GJNCs.