Striking Gold at the Las Vegas Classic
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Washington Teams Roll Into the Gold Brackets: 15 & 16 Divisions The Las Vegas Classic is one of several large tournaments filling the Presidents Day Weekend in mid-February. Coaches from all levels of the NCAA can recruit events in person,…
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Continue ReadingWashington Teams Roll Into the Gold Brackets: 15 & 16 Divisions
The Las Vegas Classic is one of several large tournaments filling the Presidents Day Weekend in mid-February. Coaches from all levels of the NCAA can recruit events in person, making the weekend a defacto starting point for the club season. Scoring an invite to the Triple Crown NIT in Kansas City is challenging, leaving Vegas a good option for teams on the left coast. From the 15U up to the 18U, clubs from Washington stacked the Gold Bracket; here is a look at the results from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center last weekend.
15 Club
Shockwave 15. Champions. The team from the Tri-Cities ran up an 11-0 record to finish first in a 148-team field. OH Grace Hammond Grace Hammond 5'9" | OH Kamiakin | 2027 State WA was hard to handle from the pin, Callie Stemp Callie Stemp 5'5" | S Kennewick | 2027 State WA did terrific work pushing the ball from the setter position, and libero Mallory Raines Mallory Raines 5'2" | DS/L Kennewick | 2027 State WA is another excellent defender in the Shockwave pipeline.
15 Premier
CPA 15 Benson. 2nd. Emery McMurray Emery McMurray 5'8" | S Mt. Spokane | 2027 WA and fellow setter Sophia Campbell Sophia Campbell 5'8" | S Ridgeline | 2027 State WA had a terrific tournament, feeding an improving group of attackers along the CPA front line. Leigha Hardesty, out of Ridgeline High School, is an OH to watch, with a tremendous attitude and a knack for making winning plays.
Puyallup Juniors 15 National. 5th. Setter Olivia Puttler Olivia Puttler 5'7" | S Emerald Ridge | 2027 WA and MB Ava Knapp worked hard and connected for PJVBC 15’s. Knapp has turned it on in the early part of the club season as a blocker and attacker; she is a six-footer from Puyallup High School with great potential. Puttler has strong hands and will throw over a scoring dump when the defense is scrambling.
SIVBC 15 Typhoon. 9th. Nehmat Bhutani Nehmat Bhutani 5'8" | S Eastside Preparatory School | 2027 WA worked the setter spot smoothly and found her emerging attackers: MB Sabrina Kuehner, OH Avery McIntosh, and opposite Parker Johnson. SIVBC knocked off PJVBC 15 in pool play but ran into a tough Ascent 15 team in the Gold bracket, dropping a 3-set decision.
16 Premier
CPA 16 Benson. 2nd. Mara Sandberg Mara Sandberg 5'11" | OH Gonzaga Prep | 2027 State WA set the tone for CPA from the jump. The OH is one of the top-ranked prospects in the 2027 class, and she played like it in Vegas. Her team benefits from her passing in the middle back- she did an excellent job setting up CPA attackers with on-point deliveries to her setter. That back line is bolstered by two quality liberos who played lights out all weekend, Gabrielle Reich Gabrielle Reich 5'7" | DS/L Mead | 2025 State WA from Mead and Jade Livingston Jade Livingston 5'7" | DS/L Ridgeline | 2026 State WA from Ridgeline. CPA dropped a three-set battle to Texas Storm 16 Smack in the championship- and held a late lead in set two before the Storm hustled their way to a victory.
SIVBC 16 Thunder. 3rd. Maya Quitquit Maya Quitquit 5'8" | S Kennedy Catholic | 2026 State WA was dishing to Selana Morales Selana Morales 6'1" | OH Curtis | 2026 State WA on one pin and Lauryn Coleman Lauryn Coleman 6'0" | MB Lakeside | 2026 State WA at the other, with Jasmine Terry Jasmine Terry 5'11" | MB Rogers | 2026 State WA bringing heat down the middle. That group had their way with nearly every other team before running into the Texas Storm 16 squad. SIVBC has a boatload of firepower and may have the highest ceiling of any local club team; seeing them play in June after a season spent training will be interesting.
Puyallup Juniors 16 National. 9th. This team has skilled, athletic players up and down the roster from the 2026 and 2027 classes. A loss to Hive in the initial Gold Bracket game dropped PJVBC to 6-2 overall for the weekend. Kathryn Harris Kathryn Harris 5'6" | S Curtis | 2027 State WA delivered tempo sets to high-flying attackers and played excellent defense from her setter position. Mia Nelson Mia Nelson 5'9" | MB Curtis | 2027 State WA from Curtis is a scorer from the OH spot; she can work the ball down the line or to the corner and has a great vertical.