Previewing the 2023 Girls 18 National Championship

For most, this will be their last tournament before heading for college. For some, they have played as teammates on the same club for the last five years. After this tournament they will be teammates no more. It would be nice to end their club career with a national championship. A final hurrah for eight teams.   Metro (Open)    How They Earned Their Bid: They got an early Open Bid with a third place finish in the Florida Fest Qualifier. They also finished second in the JVA World Challenge, second in the Northeast Qualifier, third in the Ohio Qualifier and eleventh in the Windy City Qualifier. Not many teams in this tournament can say they have triple qualified.   Players to Watch: For the top ten rankings in the class of 2023 six play for Metro. [player_tooltip player_id='181178' first='Milan' last='Rex'] (Virginia) and [player_tooltip player_id='181183' first='Pam' last='McCune'] (DC) are Gatorade player of the year award winners for their states. Milan may be one of the more complete volleyball players in the country. She ranked as the top hitter in high school, leading Alexandria City to a Class 6 State championship. She passed, played defense and provided offense with her hitting in the front and back row. For Metro she set for them in the back row and hit in the front row, at times even setting in the front row. She does it all. Pam played middle in high school (St. Johns) but showed her versatility by playing in the back row to pass and play defense. For Metro she yields to a libero.   [player_tooltip player_id='181185' first='Brielle' last='Kemavor'] is the other middle. Her team Colgan fought with Alexandria City in the finals for the State Championship that went five games. Brielle blocked a few of Milan's spikes but for Metro she is the recipient of her sets. Brielle was named to Volleyballmag.com's Top 50 for 2023.   [player_tooltip player_id='238859' first='Sydney' last='Bryant'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181097' first='Safi' last='Hampton'] are the two left sides. They have similar games with good verticals that allow them to sky over their blockers. Sydney led Flint Hill to a VISAA State championship and a high school top 25 ranking by USA Today. They are both six rotation players who bring the offense from the front row or back row. Safi ranks as the top player in the class of 2023 while Sydney ranks five.   [player_tooltip player_id='338971' first='Francis' last='Torres-Esperanza'] can play either right side or left side. With Safi sidelined at the start of the season she became the main terminator for Metro from the right side. She will probably come in for setter [player_tooltip player_id='181196' first='Arleigh' last='Hanson'] in the front row. She gives the team lots of options depending on matchups or slumps.   [player_tooltip player_id='181208' first='Gabby' last='Allen'] is a solid libero who gets overlooked because all of the offensive weapons. Laura Detwiler can also be a defensive option. If an offense comes to fruition someone has got to pass.   Paramount (Open)    How They Earned Their Bid: They also got an early Open Bid with a second place finish in the Ohio Valley Qualifier. While Metro has played in a number of opens Paramount is still relatively new to this level. This will be their first Open as an 18 team. They finished third in the Mideast Qualifier so you can say they double qualified. They have struggled in the last few tournaments with a 19th place finish in the JVA World Challenge, 11th in the Northeast Qualifier and a 14th in the Windy City. They have stacked their roster with some of their 17s to have success in this tournament.   Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id='181098' first='Grace' last='Maria'] was injured shortly after earning a bid for Open. While Grace can provide a potent offense with her left side hitting, she was used as a 6'1" libero in the Mideast Qualifier. [player_tooltip player_id='181201' first='Hannah' last='Howard'] played left side last year but moved to libero this year. At 5'8" that will probably be her Division I home at UMBC. Grace and Hannah for the most part are used in a two person serve receive. They can cover a lot of court.   [player_tooltip player_id='181179' first='Chloe' last='Wilmot'] set Alexandria City to a Class 6 State Championship. She may be the top setter in the class of 2023. Milan ranks ahead of her only because of her ability to crank up the offense. Chloe set a 5/1 for Alexandria City but for Paramount she shares setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='209176' first='Madeline' last='Stewart'].   [player_tooltip player_id='181205' first='Helen' last='Frankovich'] comes in for one of the setters. At 6'3" she powers balls past the block. A very difficult player to stop. Hannah and Helen will be teammates at UMBC next year. [player_tooltip player_id='181105' first='Lauren' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209181' first='Sonja' last='Meyer'] are two other players who play right side. They also appear to have added [player_tooltip player_id='209795' first='Harlan' last='Wyche'] to the roster, who played middle for their 17 team but has hit as an outside for her high school team South Lakes.   Paramount has options at middle with [player_tooltip player_id='233486' first='Elysa' last='Pulliam'], [player_tooltip player_id='240022' first='Maya' last='Van Wyngaardt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181187' first='Tiffany' last='Moore']. They can also use Harlan there. [player_tooltip player_id='180294' first='Kiylah' last='Presley'] has also been added to the roster. She played middle for Paramount last year for the 16s and this year was used as a left side. She may be used as both with [player_tooltip player_id='181102' first='Rylah' last='Robinson'] as another left side option. Last year Rylah was voted to the Junior National 17 All Tournament team as Paramount advanced to the gold bracket.   The defense has some incredible back row players. In addition to [player_tooltip player_id='181201' first='Hannah' last='Howard'] at libero you have [player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill'], who played libero for them last year and [player_tooltip player_id='209185' first='Carly' last='Zimmet'], who almost any team would love to have as a libero. Tiana Brasby also plays a solid back row.   Virginia Juniors (National)    How They Earned Their Bid: They won the Chesapeake Regional Qualifiers without losing a set. The tournament was missing both Paramount and Metro, who had already won Open Bids, but there were some strong teams they had to beat to earn their National bid. They have played in some qualifiers with less than stellar results, 23rd in Ohio Valley (USA), 13th in Northeast (USA), 49th in Mideast (USA) and a 29th place finish in the JVA World Challenge Open Division.   Players to Watch: They appear to have strengthened their outside position with the addition of [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'], a 6'1" outside who played for their 17 team this year. She also led Colgan to a State championship in her sophomore year in high school and the finals of her junior season. She gives the team more length at the position. [player_tooltip player_id='224016' first='Kezia' last='Francis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181107' first='Alana' last='Simmons'] were the main left side hitters that got them their bid. Kezia also hit left side for Colgan making it a reunion for them.   [player_tooltip player_id='209180' first='Jasmine' last='Okeoma'] plays a solid middle, especially with her blocking, standing 6'3". She will be returning from a European trip where she will be playing with her future Auburn teammates just prior to the Nationals. [player_tooltip player_id='231675' first='Simara' last='Alexander'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181184' first='Chelsea' last='Colter'] are two others that can play middle or right side.   At times Juniors has used [player_tooltip player_id='200199' first='Ava' last='Ray'] as a back row setter and [player_tooltip player_id='181180' first='Kelsey' last='Holmes'] as a front row setter. Lately they seem to be using Ava and [player_tooltip player_id='238096' first='Sage' last='Duggal'] as back row setters. Both set a 6/2 for their Riverside High School. When they set Kelsey stays in the front row as a right side hitter. At 6'0" she can put up a good block without worrying about setting.   The defense is strong with libero [player_tooltip player_id='239270' first='EllaMae' last='Fitzgerald'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209182' first='Sofia' last='Hardy']. These two are sometimes used in a two person serve receive. They have also brought up [player_tooltip player_id='181239' first='Lanie' last='Goff'], who was their libero for the 17 team.   Beach Elite Black (National)   How They Earned Their Bid: Like Virginia Juniors they won their Old Dominion Regional Qualifier. They finished 29th in the JVA World Challenge Open Division and 45th in the Mideast Qualifier (Open) and 15th in the Northeast Qualifier (Open).   Players to Watch: Right side [player_tooltip player_id='233484' first='Aulie' last='Huff'] ranks as the top rated player in the class of 2023 who does not play for Metro or Paramount. At 6'1" she brings excellent arm extension and a powerful left handed swing to the right side. She can spark an offense.   At 5'9" [player_tooltip player_id='245595' first='Reagan' last='McGee'] is a smaller left side, but she can put the ball down. She led her high school Norfolk Academy to the finals of the VISAA state championships, where they were the only team to take a set off Flint Hill. [player_tooltip player_id='245596' first='Alden' last='Roberts'] was the 5/1/ setter for Norfolk Academy. For Beach Elite she will share setting responsibilities with Brooke Cunningham.   [player_tooltip player_id='246933' first='Jessica' last='Christman'] and Adrienne Peji are strong defensive options.   Vienna Elite (Freedom)    How They Earned Their Bid: They finished third in the Chesapeake Regional Qualifiers. They finished 13th in the Northeast Qualifier (Liberty). They have placed well in travel and regional tournaments but their smaller size hurts them when they play against the elite teams that have length.   Players to Watch: They are not a team that will beat you with strong hitting. Vienna Elite relies on a strong defense and good passing. Middle [player_tooltip player_id='309029' first='Prinzez' last='Zeck'] is the one player you have to respect when she gets set. She stands 6'1" but has the athleticism to put the ball away. Her main sport in high school was basketball. She may be the one uncommitted player from the teams above that would be worth a look. [player_tooltip player_id='273061' first='Aileen' last='Richardson'] stands just 5'7" but she plays opposite Prinzez as the other middle. She brings a good vertical and quickness to the position.   The outsides [player_tooltip player_id='314723' first='Emma' last='Sawruk'], [player_tooltip player_id='209168' first='Zaylie' last='Tamashiro'] and [player_tooltip player_id='314724' first='Marla' last='Scott'] do not hit the ball hard, but they locate their hits well. Marla has a lefthanded swing for the right side while Emma and Zaylie are six rotation left sides. [player_tooltip player_id='209169' first='Emily' last='Dunn'] also has a quick arm swing and good vertical to do damage on the right side.   [player_tooltip player_id='209175' first='Trisha' last='Guevara'] plays a fearless back row as a setter. She stands her ground and digs anything coming her way, no matter the velocity. [player_tooltip player_id='314725' first='Madeline' last='Schamaun'] sets in the front row. At 6'1" blockers need to watch her for her ability to hit or dump the ball over.   The defense stands as their strength with libero [player_tooltip player_id='238097' first='Angelina' last='Barrera'] and defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='239319' first='Emma' last='Cortez'] covering the back row.   Non Virginia Teams Also Qualifying   MVSA Chaos (Patriot)   Columbia Black (Freedom)   East Coast Power Delaware (American)

For most, this will be their last tournament before heading for college. For some, they have played as teammates on the same club for the last five years. After this tournament they will be teammates no more. It would be nice to end their club career with a national championship. A final hurrah for eight teams.