Circle City Pre-Nationals Scrimmage

<p>With the USAV's national tournament for girls just a few days away many clubs are making final preparations by adding more competitive experience. Circle City is hosting a collection of high performing teams this Saturday that, as it will feature several Division I committed athletes, it also includes scheduled attendance by recruiters representing some of the nation's best DI programs from the ACC, Big10, and SEC to name a few conferences. Here are some of the teams participating and key athletes:</p> <p><strong><em>Circle City 17 Purple, 16 Purple, 15 Purple</em></strong><br /> Circle City's 17s team has some dyanamic pin action and are effective with their ball control, defense and middle action. They are led though by a 2024 setter in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110509" first="Macy" last="Hinshaw"]</strong>, uncommitted and playing up an age class. She is steady and does a great job of running a balanced offense for a team that has been ranked among the best nationally all season long. The 16s group has a clear offensive standout in outside hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110503" first="Ava" last="Utterback"]</strong>. She is a high flyer and can terminate with big-time authority. She benefits from savvy distribution from 5'10 setter [player_tooltip player_id="110513" first="Emery" last="Moore"] as both, along with Hinshaw from the 17's, are ranked in PD's top-10 for the class of 2024 in Indiana. Circle City's 15s team is just as dynamic as a team and has the tools to compete well against this colletion of teams on Saturday with most being from an older age group. Middle <strong>Reese Dunkel</strong> has big potential as a college prospect and gets a lot of offensive opportunity while also putting up a big and fundamentally sound block. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="152943" first="Logan" last="Bell"]</strong> has a big arm as well and scores a lot of points at the pin. </p> <p><em><strong>NKYVC 17 Tsunami, 16 Tsunami</strong></em><br /> NKYVC's 16-1 squad has had a terrific season thus far from start to finish including their most recent runner-up result at the JVA SummerFest event in Columbus. Middle [player_tooltip player_id="107399" first="Julia" last="Hunt"] continues to garner a lot of elite-level college recruiting attention. Their pins are solid as [player_tooltip player_id="107423" first="Alivia" last="Skidmore"] and [player_tooltip player_id="114565" first="Sydney" last="Barrett"] score a lot of points before being replaced in the back row by the solid defensive skills from [player_tooltip player_id="139275" first="Kaleigh" last="Frietch"] and [player_tooltip player_id="107418" first="Macy" last="Lentz"]. Every athlete on this team has next-level impact potential with what they bring to the floor. It will be fun to see how they compete against this collection of teams on Saturday. The 17-1 team recently finished third at the same SummerFest event and are approaching nationals with good momentum. Two uncommitted athletes that deserve some attention include middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="141698" first="Courtney" last="Stava"]</strong>, who has been playing some of her best ball late in the season, and DS/L <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="68144" first="Chloe" last="Fortner"]</strong>, who has continued to get some good interest from colleges for her ball control and defensive range. </p> <p><em><strong>Union 17-1 UA</strong></em><br /> Union's 17s are set to compete in the 17U National division at the upcoming GJNC in Indianapolis. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85899" first="Grace" last="Purichia"]</strong> (pictured; committed to Jacksonville State) is fun to watch. She runs a good offense and frustrates opponents often with her ability to score off her own arm or hands at the second contact on the ball as she is very offensive minded. At 6'4, middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="106690" first="Meredith" last="Brown"]</strong> is a key piece and helps balance the good pin action they get from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="118341" first="Alexis" last="Caldwell"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="157440" first="Maddie" last="Hagan"]</strong>. Hagan, along with Brown, helped guide Mercy to the Kentucky state championship match where they earned a runner-up finish. </p> <p><em><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='431827' first='Elevation' last=''] 17 Goller</strong></em><br /> Also set to compete in the 17U National division at the national tournament. A couple of uncommitted players to keep an eye on include [player_tooltip player_id="141722" first="Audrey" last="Armbruster"], a versatile setter and hitter, as well as [player_tooltip player_id="153889" first="Amelia" last="Nott"], a middle with big upside to her game given her length and ability to elevate well to attack and defend. They are led a few DI committed prospects and have good depth at all positions that may help them make a good run over the long duration of the GJNC. </p>