The 15s take on Gateway League

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Gateway League is unique compared to what we see across the state with the Heart of America. One of the biggest differences is that the first four play dates give the teams options to inter-age before returning to their age for bid play. The top 15s team has the option of playing up in the 16-18 age group for the first four play dates. The positive for these teams is the opportunity to test themselves against potentially tougher competition to prepare them for qualifier season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>HPSTL 15 Royal decided to take on the test and had a good showing going 9-2 over the four dates. They dropped their final two matches to HP Illinois 18 Select and HP Illinois 18 National. They secured wins over some good teams like [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 16 Navy, FVA 17-1, and HP South 18 Premier. This team is one to watch as they attempt to get an open bid in their age group with players like [player_tooltip player_id='729500' first='Kendall' last='McDowell'], who had a strong debut season for Saxony Lutheran with 258 kills on the season. [player_tooltip player_id='729467' first='Gillian' last='Pfeiffer'] had a productive year for Lindbergh and is another featured player on this roster. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the actual 15s division, [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Elite had a final record of 9-3. They won their first seven matches before facing a good Blue Steel Volleyball 15s squad. They were then defeated by the Rockwood 14 Elite team before Blue Steel handed them their final loss of the four dates. The team has a well-built roster, featuring 5'11" setter [player_tooltip player_id='545003' first='Eden' last='Wilson'] of Holt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 15 National finished tied for 5th and left with a 6-5 record. Two of those losses were to the before-mentioned Rockwood 15 Elite squad. Lynlee Smith is a gym rat and a strong defender who teams up with [player_tooltip player_id='729500' first='Kendall' last='McDowell'] at Saxony Lutheran. Another player to keep your radar on with this team is [player_tooltip player_id='778330' first='Lila' last='Roth'], who produced just under 150 kills in her debut high school season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>HPSTL 15 Orange and [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Navy finished tied among four teams in the seventh position with matching 4-7 records. 15 Navy was able to collect 11 set wins along the way as they battled in four three-set contests. [player_tooltip player_id='545000' first='Hazel' last='Adams'] had a good season in the 14s and is a player on this 15s roster for Rockwood. [player_tooltip player_id='778336' first='Charlotte' last='Fischer'] saw some varsity time for Howell Central as a freshman and hopes to transfer that experience into a busy and competitive club season. HPSTL won 9 sets in their four wins. They opened up play on day one with back-to-back three-set matches splitting the results. They did close out their four-date play with a win over HP Illinois. [player_tooltip player_id='630719' first='Samantha' last='O'Day'] is a defender on this team who was a standout in her first year at Lutheran, delivering 426 digs and 628 receptions. Look for her to play a key role defensively for this HPSTL 15 Orange team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->