7 Takeaways from 2020 Mizuno Showcase
It was an exciting weekend in Lake Delton as the first weekend of the Mizuno Showcase stormed the town. Here are our 7 takeaways from the weekend. 1 VC United Dominates: This super club from Illinois came in like an army…
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Continue ReadingIt was an exciting weekend in Lake Delton as the first weekend of the Mizuno Showcase stormed the town. Here are our 7 takeaways from the weekend.
1 VC United Dominates: This super club from Illinois came in like an army taking out one team after another. Their 16’s teams, VC United 16-1 Elite, took 1st place in the 16’s division. They only lost one match all weekend. The 17-1 Elite team tied for 5th and just missed going to the championship match; losing a close match to SPVB in three sets. Likewise, their 18’s & 15’s tied for third. It is quite a feat to have top finishes at each age group.
2 Love it or Hate it: Playing in the “dome” can be a challenge. The temperature never seems quite right. The noise created makes communication difficult. If you leave a weekend at the dome and still have your voice, consider yourself one of the lucky few; and, the lighting and ceiling heights make setting and depth perception problematic. On the other hand, some love playing in the “bubble.” This facility type is not common in the Midwest. The awe of walking into the air-filled space is always present on a player’s first experience there. Remember, everyone has the same things to deal with when playing there; the strong competitors embrace the adversity.
3 College Coaches Everywhere: In the days leading up to the event, we previewed players in attendance and the 70 college coaches couldn’t have been disappointed by the talent. Each division was well represented from Drake and Kansas to smaller school like Waldorf and the WIAC schools. During the weekend, you could catch crowds of recruiters gathering around the 17’s and 16’s biggest matches. This was a huge weekend for networking.
4 Thursday Night was a Blast: They held an “exposure camp” Thursday night and there were a ton of players in attendance. It was a great intro to the weekend. Coaches got to see players highlight their skill in a more practice like setting. It was also great for the girls to see who the recruiters/coaches were.
5 15’s Everywhere: The 15’s division was the largest at the Showcase. It was made up of 15/14’s level teams. Sports Performance Volleyball Club had 12 teams participating in this age group; and their SPVB 15 Elite took first overall. We always like when true 15’s teams get to battle it out with their own age vs. always playing 16 year olds.
6 Standout Athletes: So many talented players but here are few who stood out for their athleticism and leadership.
- 18’s – Jasmine Weidemann Jasmine Weidemann 5'9" | S Lakeville South | 2021 State MN (M1), Makenna Holman (Kokoro), Breelyn Borum (SPVB)
- 17’s – Lauren Thull Lauren Thull 6'0" | MB Academy of Holy Angels | 2021 State MN (Vital), Saari Kuehl Saari Kuehl OH Gladbrook-Reinbeck | 2021 State IA (SixPack), Rylie Gregg Rylie Gregg 5'11" | RS DSHA | 2021 State WI (Motion MVP 17 Blue),
- 16’s – Elle Cotton Elle Cotton 6'0" | S Elk River | 2022 State MN (MN Select), Maya Wegand (Impact 16 National), Dorci Walker Dorci Walker OH Columbus Catholic | 2022 State WI (Wisconsin Ice 16 Purple), Kaitlin Leider Kaitlin Leider 5'8" | RS Belvidere North | 2022 State IL (VC United)
- 15’s – Katherine Arnason (Kokoro), Kylie Schulze – VC United 151,
7 All Star Teams: Although they didn’t finish where they may have hoped, these teams showed a lot of heart this weekend:
- Six Pack 17’s finished 10th but that doesn’t tell is that they only lost two close matches the entire weekend. Surely if they would have played in the 17’s they could have finished top 5. They were the only 17’s team to play up a division.
- MN Select 16-2’s had a solid performance finishing only one spot behind their 1’s team.
- VC United 16-4 defeated many great teams: Madison Elite 16 Black, Crossfire 16 Black, and Kokoro 16-4’s