20 Performances To Know From Prairie State Showdown

So many names to know from the Prairie State Showdown by Prep Dig this past weekend with the 15-18s being held at Sky High in Crystal Lake. With teams from four different state this brought a fun dynamic with new matchups.  Here are some names who rose with impressive performances.     Watching Janelle Elise Ibeagha was really exciting at the Prairie State Showdown. The 2028 outside hitter was touching a different height than anyone else. The one video clip I got of her attacking on Saturday gathered over 1500 likes and 50,000 views on Instagram (is that considered viral?). Her Chicago Elite 16 Elite team was electric, they played with plenty of passion and had multiple attackers who could put points on the board. However, when they needed points the most it was Ibeagha who would come up clutch. She was someone the defense always needed a plan for. With her athleticism and skill, she is someone who needs to be on the board for college coaches when it comes to getting athletes to camp this summer.     Ultimate 15 Gold took home the 15s title from the Prairie State Showdown. The one who made this offense run on all cylinders is 2029 setter Grace Prskalo. I was impressed with her poise above all else, she has a quiet confidence where you can tell her teammates look to her to lead. When it comes to her skill, she has an all around skill set. She defends her position well, she's left handed where she can turn and swing or could be on the right side, and has a smooth release where she can set all the tempos. She will continue leading this squad into the summer where they have a bid to Indy in the 15 Freedom Division.     It didn't take long to see Claire Connolly make an immediate impact for her Ultimate 15 Gold team. The 2029 middle blocker brings a dynamic style to the court where she is real quick with her feet and her armswing. She can close the block on the pins and can transition quickly to be available to attack. She is real terminal off of one foot, she is able to run the slide behind her setter to swing big. Aside from her ability on the court, she brings a fun vibe. With a camera on my throughout the day, she had plenty of pictures where she's smiling showing a true joy for the game.     The Iowa Select 15 Black team had quite a showing this past weekend. They were second in the 15s division powered behind a balanced lineup. A middle blocker I thought was highly effective was Taylor Camarena. She was fast to the ball, wasn't afraid to take a big swing and knew how to find the deep corners of the court.     Audri Brown was a key piece for Springfield Shock 16UA Storm. She is a six rotation outside hitter who was able to do a little bit of everything for her team. From serve receive to passing to scoring points she was able to make a positive impact with each touch. This Shock team was able to advance to gold after a strong day one performance.     Adelynn Temple was automatic from the libero position this weekend at the Prep Dig Prairie State Showdown for Iowa Rockets 16-1. She plays with great composure where she had great control with her feet and her platform. She was able to handle a high volume in serve receive while also being able to take pace off a ball from left back. Her performance of getting her side of the net in system was extremely key for Rockets to run a balanced offense. They were powerful all weekend where they took home the 16s title.     Iowa Rockets 16-1 had plenty of attackers who made an impact at the Prairie State Showdown this past weekend. One to know would be Kendyl Kidwell who was able to score a lot of points. The sophomore who preps at Solon High School has an active arm. She was able to score on the outside while also being a go to attacker on the right side when she was in serve receive. This Rockets 16-1 team has put together a big season where they have a bid to Indy for USAV Nationals in the 16 American Division.     Across the board, Ultimate Volleyball Club had some really impressive setters. One who was able to set and play on the right side was Olivia Healy. The 2028 prospect had a mature presence to her game. She was under control, she had a presence, she made the smart play, and very confident body language. This is a small detail, but I saw her hustle to get a ball on the court next to her to prevent it from impacting the play on the other court during warm ups. In the semifinal match, she had the final touch sending the ball to the deep corner against Chicago Elite to advance to the finals. She continuously found away to impact the game.     Summer Barrett was quite a presence for Chicago Elite 16 Elite. The 2028 middle blocker who is a sophomore at DePaul Prep was extremely active. She is fast to the ball whether she's blocking or scoring points on offense. Her hand contact was solid, she knew how to hit the ball square each time. She was able to run multiple tempos, connecting with her setters. She was also the middle blocker who was the server. I know writing about the backrow defense of a middle blocker isn't very common, but she held her own and beyond. She has a nasty serve and she had some key defensive plays in the backrow.     Lilly Lipke is another athlete from Providence Catholic who is playing for Ultimate Volleyball Club. Lipke was able to play at the state tournament for Providence where they finished third in Class 3A. The connection between setter Olivia Healy and Lipke was impressive. Lipke was running a slide in front of Healy which was tough for their opponents to stop. She was lethal with a one foot approach. She has a fast arm swing where she knew how to find the open spots on the court. Based on this past weekend, Ultimate 16s and Providence Catholic will be ones to watch the rest of 2026.     The Galena Spikers 16U were in town for the Prep Dig Prairie State Showdown this weekend. Alexa Stroyan was one to watch for this squad where she has a big left handed swing on the right side. Her length can pose a problem for opponents where she can make an opposing outside think twice about swinging big. She's not the only Stoyan on the squad. Her triplet sisters Addison Stroyan and Avery Stroyan are also on the team.     What an arm swing. Olivia LaLonde of Mindset Premier 16 Red can pack a punch on the outside. She was a key piece to their winning formula this weekend where they finished in the final four of the Prep Dig Prairie State Showdown 16s Division. Her athleticism jumped out right away where she had an impact in the front and backrow. She was an outlet to get a swing in the backrow, but it was on the outside she did most of her damage.     Brielle Borner was on the Future 18s team that finished second overall at the Prep Dig Prairie State Showdown. Borner is a Class of 2027 outside hitter who has quite an armswing. She has a blend of speed and power that is tough to defend. Her ability to handle a high volume swings is impressive. She was smart about using her angles as well as using the block to put points on the board.     Impulse 15 Red had a nice weekend at the Prep Dig Prairie State Showdown. I was impressed with their ability to feed the middles and their all around skill set. One athlete who could do a little bit of everything was Adalynn Cox. She was able to attack in the front row and was a setter in the backrow. She has great footwork, a smooth release, and isn't afraid to push the tempo to her attackers for a fast attack.     McKenzie Campbell is a Class of 2029 middle blocker playing up on the 16s team for Ignite. There were multiple times where I saw the other team's attackers change their shot late because Campbell was there with the block. She was really strong with reading the other side of the net. I was also impressed with her offensive ability whether it was a quick out of the setters hands or shoot across the net. She will be one to watch this summer as she appraoches her sophomore year at Bishop Noll out of Hammond, Indiana.     Sky High had plenty of teams at the Prairie State Showdown this past weekend and their 14s took an opportunity to play up in the 15s Division. One of their athletes to know was Lydia Meng. She was a setter/attacker combo player where she was able to impact the game in multiple ways. I first wrote her name down as an attacker who wasn't afraid to swing big, then she went to the backrow and started setting. I always enjoy seeing athletes who can impact the game in multiple ways.     The game of Eliana Snopek is so fun to see. She is a six rotation outside hitter who was crafty with her shots, she knew how to find the open spots, use the block, and change up speeds. However, the strength to her game is her ballcontrol. There were times where she was serve receiving half the court, and opponents were still trying to avoid her. Aside from her volleyball ability, she plays with a smile, celebrates big, and brings a major spark to the court.     Iowa Rockets 16-1 was a dominant team this weekend. Plenty of balance, strong ball control, but the one who was able to find the open attackers was setter Ava Hohn. She has a cool, calm presence on the court where she knew how to keep the defense off balance. There wasn't anything flashy, just really clean, simple fundamentals that allowed her to be so efficient.     Another dynamic athlete who was a big presence for Wisconsin Elite 18 Elite is Lauren Ossman. She is a setter/right side combo player who can score points on the right side or find her teammates open for an attack as a setter. She is committed to Southeastern Louisiana, a division one school in Hammond, Louisiana part of the Southland Conference. With her all around skill set and physicality she is the type of athlete who can improve a gym.     Mindset Premier 15 Red was an impressive team this past weekend at the Prep Dig Prairie State Showdown. An outside hitter from the Class 2030 is making an impact at an age group above. She has the length and an active arm to score points at a high volume. This team dropped a tough semifinal match to Ultimate 15 Gold, but they have had a huge season where they won the 15 American Division at MEQ, punching their ticket to USAV Nationals in Indy.

So many names to know from the Prairie State Showdown by Prep Dig this past weekend with the 15-18s being held at Sky High in Crystal Lake. With teams from four different state this brought a fun dynamic with new matchups. Here are some names who rose with impressive performances.