River City Juniors President's Day Classic: 11/12 Division Winners!

To be honest, I had no intention of watching this age group play this weekend. I was drawn over to their court for the championship match between SWI 3rd Degree 12 Black and VCN 11 Elite by the cheering of their rather large crowd. Watching them play, I grew more and more impressed. Quite honestly, these young athletes were really good and I can just see them in 4 or 5 years when they are mostly grown and are being the leaders on their high school teams. The SWI 3rd Degree 12 Black team will mostly graduate in 2026. The VCN 11 Elite athletes will graduate in 2027. I know that seems a long way away from now, but it really isn't that far away. They will almost be in high school in two or three years. This championship match was eventually won by SWI 3rd Degree 12 Black but I don't think that takes anything away from the VCN 11 Elite team's amazing run through this tournament. VCN 11 Elite is coached by Bryce Hickerson and assistant coach, Abby Plouzek. They have 10 athletes on this team. Gracie Lauenstein, Hallie Lauenstein, Estelle Addison, Alexandra Kroll, Brooklyn Marquez, Kaelynn Lottman, McKinley Moser, Jocelyn Steuter, Laurel Johnson, and Baylor Belgum make up the very consistent, great serving, very smart VCN 11 Elite team. SWI 3rd Degree 12 Black coaches are Ashtyn Neill as head coach and Nicole Vetter as the assistant coach. They have 9 athletes on this team including Ella Thornton, Carly Nelson, Jocelyn O'Neal, Hailey Ambrose, Makenzie Vetter, Jacey Young, Emily Sebeniecher, Reese Gute, and Rylee Perrine. Key Players: SWI 3rd Degree 12 Black Emily Sebeniecher (Setter) Emily really knew what she was doing as she set the hitters for this championship team on Sunday. She has great parity and with a little more development will definitely be one to watch in high school! Rylee Perrine (Middle) Rylee is a really good blocking middle. She also had some great digs off the net, which is difficult for the oldest of players sometimes, so very impressive. We look for great things for her in the future. Jocelyn O'Neal (OH) Jocelyn is one of the outside hitters for this young team and is also a 6-rotation player. She is very good in the front, had great digs, and I can't wait to see her play in high school! Makenzie Vetter (Middle) Makenzie is a middle for her club team as well. She had great coverage at the net and is an all-around good player. Carly Nelson (Right) Carly is a right-side hitter for her club team. I noticed her for her nice hits from the right and really smart placement which indicates an awareness of the court beyond her years. Hailey Ambrose (DS/L) Hailey is a DS and all-around player for her club team. She is really quick and already has a great platform to receive the ball to get it to the right place for her setter. VCN 11 Elite Kaelynn Lottman (DS/all-around) Kaelynn is quick! She is very good at defense, plays all-around, and has a great beginning to some massive skills by the time she is playing in high school. She is very persistent and follows the ball wherever it goes to get it back into play. Gracie Lauenstein (Middle/all-around) Gracie is a good blocking and hitting middle. The game I watched she was set several times and I could tell she has good court awareness because she would put the ball down almost every time and get a kill. Estelle Addison (OH/all-around) Estelle was the OH for her team during the game I watched on Sunday and was very good at hitting from most places on the court. She did everything she could to put her team into a position of strength. Laurel Johnson (Right) Laurel is a right-side hitter and had good court awareness and the ability to get points for her team. She had really nice serves. Hallie Lauenstein (DS/all-around) Hallie is a DS and a 6-rotation player with really quick footwork and great communication skills.