<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Mideast Qualifier (MEQ) is split this year, with 12’s through14’s divisions and three of the 15’s divisions competing this weekend (March 15-17) in Saint Louis. The 15 Open division and all 16’s through 18’s division will be playing March 22-24 in Indianapolis. Nine Badger Region teams will be competing across the three divisions this weekend. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It should be a fun and competitive weekend of volleyball for each of the teams. Now that we are mid-season, connections are being formed on the court and the intensity of play is increasing. MEQ is always well run tournament with a high level of competition. Three divisions at the 15’s age level will be playing this weekend so we will break out teams playing by their division.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are a few teams I have not had the opportunity to see play yet including RVA G15 Navy and Wisconsin Premier 15 White in the American Division and RVA G15 White and 360 VA 15-1 in the Select division. I am excited to see all teams play this weekend and to have the chance to see the four teams play which I have not run into at a tournament yet. </span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>15 American </strong></span></p>
<p><strong>Midwest Penguins 15 Red</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a well-rounded team with dedicated athletes who enjoy competing at a high level and having fun while doing it. Setters <strong>Grace Pasqua</strong> and <strong>Gabby Winzenreid</strong> move the ball around well and have a lot of potential. Middle <strong>Chrissy Minz</strong> has a lot of power. Libero <strong>Ariana Refinski</strong> sets the team up for success in the back row.<strong> Lauren Baker</strong> is an outside hitter who talks a lot on the court and moves well to the ball. </span></p>
<p><strong>Wisconsin Premier 15 Teal </strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a talented young team who has had a successful season. They placed second in the Badger Qualifier and third in the Adidas President’s Day Spectacular 15/16 Premier division. Right side <strong>Alyssa Gaeth</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #50) is a talented hitter and overall smart player. She puts up a strong block on the pin. Outside hitter <strong>Taylor Larson</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #48) has a strong arm swing and is scrappy on defense. <strong>Sophie Doll</strong>, also an outside hitter is another strong blocker for this team. </span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>15 USA</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>Midwest Penguins 15 Black</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This team placed 3rd at the Badger Qualifier and 5th at the Adidas President’s Day Spectacular. Each of the athletes brings something unique to the team. Setter <strong>Cora Riffle</strong> is fast and gets to every ball. <strong>Faith Powers</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #46), the other setter has clean, fast hands and places the ball well. Lefty right side <strong>Aoife Treacy</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #32) has a fast, powerful swing and makes good connections with her setters. The team is quite strong on defense as well with <strong>Emily Nielson</strong> and <strong>Taylor Hedrick</strong> as their defensive specialist and libero. </span></p>
<p><strong>Milwaukee Sting 15 Black</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This team has a lot of energizers on their roster. They have competitive energy on the court from the first point to the last. <strong>Brooke Porter</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #35) is a 6-rotation outside hitter who is fast in transition and has a powerful cross-court shot. <strong>Katie Gund</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #38) is fast and scrappy yet still controls the ball well. Their passers are the definition of opposites attract. I have seen both play libero. Either way, they are talented and connect well on the court together. <strong>Aerene Lim</strong> has great ball control and near perfect form, while <strong>Sophie Illman</strong> is scrappy, talks a lot, and gets a touch on every ball. The team's energy on the court makes them very fun to watch. </span></p>
<p><strong>Milwaukee Sting 15 White</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This team has some very talented and powerful hitters. <strong>Abbie Stigler</strong> (Prep Dig Rank #28) is an outside and an aggressive hitter in both the front and back row. <strong>Katelyn Duero</strong> is also an outside who is great on offense but is also very strong on serve receive and defense. On the right side is lefty<strong> Lydia Biggin</strong> who makes a huge impact on the match every time she is on the court. The back row is also talented with libero <strong>Trisha Shankar</strong> defending the backcourt. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">MEQ is a fun tournament that has a high level of competition. Each of these teams will be challenged and learn a lot during the course of the three-day tournament. It has been a month since I have seen most of these teams play and have yet to see four of the teams on the court, so it should be a great weekend of volleyball and coverage!</span></p>
