22′ Blue and Gold Invite: Tournament Results and Standout Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last week, Wheaton North High School hosted its annual Blue and Gold Invitational. Twelve high schools competed at this year's tournament which began Wednesday, August 24th with pool play and concluded with the tournament champions on Saturday, August 27th. Benet Academy is the 2022 Blue and Gold Invitational champions and has secured a flawless beginning to their season, now holding a 5-0 record. The two-day tournament brought great competition between high schools all over the Chicagoland area, and gave teams the opportunity to play a team they might not see during their conference season. Finishing in the top three in the tournament, Benet Academy, York Community High School, and Wheaton North High School brought many players who weren't afraid to show off their athleticism and lead their team to the top of the bracket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Benet Academy 5-0</strong> (Lisle, Il)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Benet has built on its name and program over many years and clearly upheld its expectations this last week of matches, especially coming out on top at the Blue and Gold Invitational. Sophomore libero, Aniya Warren set the defensive standard for Benet's backcourt defense with her athletic body control and pursuit in keeping the ball off the floor. She has a great natural read on hitters and as a libero playing middle back, shes put in a great position to let her freely read the hitter and make me moves based on those reads. To build on their fantastic backcourt defense, the University of Texas at San Antonio senior libero/DS, Peyton Turner, brings strong serve receive and grit which can frustrate any hitter up against Benet. Finally, the 6'1" freshman setter Ellie Stiernagle, was in charge of the offense this weekend and lead her hitters to the top of the bracket with her smart setting decisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>York Community High School 5-1</strong> (Elmhurst, Il)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York showed up fighting on both Wednesday and Saturday of the tournament. They showed a great deal of promise throughout their matches which will make them an exciting team to follow throughout the rest of their season. Emelyn Stettin is a Junior setter for York who has the ability to transfer balls long distances to open up the range that her hitters can swing on. She does a great job on defense and can pick on hitters' tendencies well, so she can make early defensive moves and dig quality balls for her team. Jessie Trapp was the player that really turned heads for York as a rostered setter, she produced on the outside taking big swings and was not afraid to show off her athleticism. She might look smaller than the others on her team, but don't underestimate her size, or else she rack up double digits in kills like she did multiple times at the tournament. Her confidence on the outside was contagious for York and it was a huge piece to the puzzle in bringing them into the championship match against Benet Acadmey.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wheaton North High School 4-2</strong> (Wheaton, Il)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wheaton North held their ground throughout the tournament and finished 3rd overall. Much of their success came from senior outside hitter Audrey Brcka. Audrey is a 6'1" outside hitter who isn't afraid to use her height to bury the ball if she is given a hole in the block in front of her. Although she can use much of her height to her advantage, she has a hitting range that is filled with drop shots, as well as tips that can be placed all over the court with her great hand control. For those playing against her, she keeps them on her toes and guessing what her next move will be. She racked up double-digit kills in two of the three matches she played in on Saturday, which shows just how consistent, yet smart and aggressive she can be. Another piece of Wheaton North's success is a 6'3" middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id='442870' first='Olivia' last='Zamis']. Zamis is only a sophomore, but she is happy to take charge in the front court with her great block size and aggressive lateral movements. Shes a middle blocker that doesn't give up and is always working hard to close the block for her defenders behind her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->