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March 2, 2023

Red Rock Rave: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

It’s an earlier trip to Las Vegas than usual for those making their way to the Red Rock Rave taking place Saturday-Monday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The qualifier usually falls in April but is among the first to be held this season. This coming weekend is the first of back-to-back weekends and it features the younger ages vying for their bids. Below, we run through the 14 and 15 Open divisions to see how they might play out. 15 Open Number of Teams: 38 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (22): 1. Skyline 15 Royal 4. Madfrog 15 Green 5. TAV 15 Black 7. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder 10. SCVC 15 Roxy 12. Alamo 15 Premier 13. AZ Sky 15G 14. Hou Skyline 15 Royal 15. Wave 15 Brennan 18. Dynasty 15 Black 19. Forza1 North 15 One 21. HJV 15 Elite 23. Drive Nation 15 Red 29. SG Elite 15 Rosh 32. Actyve 15 Black 33. GP 15 Rox 34. Tstreet 15 Curtis 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier 39. Coast 15-1 41. Aspire 15 Premier 42. Club V 15 Ren Reed 46. MAVS 816 15-1   5-star Athletes To Watch Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal Kinsley Young MB TAV 15 Black Brooke Harwood RS Arizona Storm 15 Thunder Finley Krystkowiak OH Wave 15 Brennan Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 15 Black Audrey Flanagan OH SCVC 15 Roxy   4-star Athletes To Watch Erin Clark L/DS/S Aspire 15 Premier Anna Flores S TAV 15 Black Ava McBride S/RS Actyve 15 Black Paisley Pavliska OH Alamo 15 Premier Emmerson Champagne MB/RS Tstreet 15 Curtis Milly McGee S SCVC 15 Roxy Gabi Rodriguez L/DS Madfrog 15 Green Caroline Huseman OH TAV 15 Black Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 15 Black   Outlook/Prediction: With 20 teams in the field featured in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 it makes for a loaded field. With the only path to qualifying coming with a top-three finish, there are going to be plenty of unhappy teams heading home. On the flip side, for the fortunate few who are able to secure bids there is no doubt it will be well deserved. Skyline 15 Royal enters fresh off of winning Triple Crown and looking to keep the momentum going. Triple Crown runner-up SCVC 15 Roxy is also searching for a bid and will carry the confidence of its performance in KC with them to Vegas. Madfrog 15 Green, TAV 15 Black, Arizona Storm 15 Thunder, Alamo 15 Premier and AZ Sky 15G all fared well at Triple Crown too and any of them could walk away with a bid. A team like SG Elite 15 Rosh is ranked No. 29 but can’t be overlooked. SG was close to knocking off Boiler Jrs 15 Gold at Triple Crown. It’s that type of field where the one thing for sure is plenty of unexpected results are going to take place. The final comes down to Alamo knocking off Wave. Skyline takes the final bid.   *** 14 Open Number of Teams: 26 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (14): 2. Arizona Storm 14 Thunder 3. Tstreet 14 Carson 4. Madfrog 14 Green 5. Skyline 14 Royal 10. MAVS KC 14-1 11. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar 14. Forza1 14 One 15. Wave 14 Tammy 16. AZ Rev 14 Premier 19. Forza1 North 14 One 22. AZ Sky 14G 25. Club V 14 Ren Silver 33. HJV 14 Elite 47. Coast 14-1   Outlook/Prediction: Much like 15 Open, it’s going to take a special effort to come through with one of the three bids in play. There is no trickle down, so teams must place in the top three. That leaves very little if any wiggle room. Lots of eyes will be on the favorites like Arizona Storm 14 Thunder, Tstreet 14 Carson, Madfrog 14 Green and Skyline 15 Royal. All showed strong at Triple Crown and it’s hard envisioning not one in the group earning a bid. It’s possible three of the four get bids. Still, it’s volleyball. Wave 14 Tammy was close to upsetting Arizona Storm in KC and could surprise. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar is likely hungry to finish higher than it did at Triple Crown and get its bid out of the way. MAVS 14-1 can’t be forgotten about and certainly has what it takes to get the bid. It’s a tough field to predict, but the call goes to Tstreet beating Storm in the final. MAVS takes the third bid.

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Bluegrass Tournament: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

When the club schedule reaches March, it’s qualifying season to be sure. Still, not every tournament in March and April is centered on earning a bid for Junior Nationals. Take the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament for example. The two-day event takes place Saturday and Sunday in Louisville and is hosted by KiVA. That’s where I’m headed this weekend and will be on hand providing coverage. Given that, let’s take a look at what we might expect. Below, is a preview and prediction for the 14-18 Open age groups. 18 Open Number of Teams: 31 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 3. Munciana 18 Samurai 15. Circle City 18 Purple 20. Adidas KiVA 18 Red 23. Tri-State 18 Elite 30. Elevation 18 Spinney 33. NKYVC 18-1 Tsunami 41. Far Out 18 Black 45. Union 18-1 UA   5-star Athletes To Watch Ramsey Gary L/DS Munciana 18 Samurai (Indiana) Lola Schumacher L/DS Munciana 18 Samurai (Wisconsin, 2024) Brooke Bultema MB Elevation 18 Spinney (Kentucky) Nya Bunton OH/MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red (Texas) Navea Gauthier OH Far Out 18 Black (2025)   4-star Athletes To Watch Gabby Dean MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red (Illinois) Charlotte Vinson OH/RS Munciana 18 Samurai (2025) Abbigail Pickard S Far Out 18 Black (2025)   Outlook/Prediction: Munciana 18 Samurai is the team to beat after taking bronze at Triple Crown. Munciana should run into familiar opponents in Tri-State Elite 18 Blue and Adidas KiVA 18 Red. All three are part of the Mideast Power League. Thrown into the mix in this tournament is SPVB 18 Elite, which will be seeing its stiffest competition of the season to date. Circle City 18 Purple just recently punched its ticket to 18 Open in Columbus after qualifying at Music City and is going to be among the top contenders. When the dust settles, look for Munciana lifting the trophy over SPVB. *** 17 Open Number of Teams: 38 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (7): 9. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami 21. Academy 17 Tsunami 23. Tri-State 17 Blue 37. Elevation 17 Ulland 40. Adidas KiVA 17 Red 41. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold 50. Team Pineapple 17 Black   5-star Athletes To Watch Morgan Gaerte OH Team Pineapple 17 Black (Notre Dame) Allie Shondell S Boiler Jrs 17 Gold (Purdue)   4-star Athletes To Watch Kiana Dinn S/RS Tri-State Elite 17 Blue (Pitt) Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Mya Ball S Team Pineapple 17 Black (Central Florida) Julia Hunt MB NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (Washington) Elizabeth Tabeling L/DS NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (Ball State) Alaleh Tolliver OH Academy 17 Tsunami Alec Rothe OH/MB EliteVBTC 17 Black (Florida)   Outlook/Prediction: Triple Crown champ NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami is the highlight of the field but is not the top seed. That honor goes to Academy 17 Tsunami followed by NKYVC at No. 2. Academy defeated NKYVC at Central Zone when NKYVC was playing shorthanded. No doubt NKYVC would like pay back and is going to be seeking that this weekend. We’ll see if anyone can turn it on and surprise, but the contenders should be the usual suspects. In addition to Academy and NKYVC, Tri-State Elite 17 Blue, Boiler Jrs 17 Gold and Adidas KiVA 17 Red are factors as well. We are sticking with the collision course, with NKYVC downing Academy in the final. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 40 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 11. Circle City 16 Purple 19. AVC Cle 16 Red 23. Adidas KiVA 16 Red 24. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue 25. Munciana 16 Blaze 29. Team Pineapple 16 Black 40. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami 50. Pitt Elite 16-1   5-star Athletes To Watch Addison Tindall OH Team Pineapple 16 Black Annabelle Groomes S/RS AVC Cle 16 Red   4-star Athletes To Watch Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite Ava Tilden OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 16 Purple Kristen Simon L/DS Adidas KiVA 16 Red Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple Katie Gielas RS Elevation 16 Goller Julia Grace NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Lauren Coyne RS SPVB 16 Elite Riley McCloskey OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red Ava Harris S Team Pineapple 16 Black   Outlook/Prediction: The 16s division might be the most competitive of the bunch. Circle City 16 Purple is playing its toughest tournament since Central Zone, when it finished runner-up to 1st Alliance 16 Gold. Circle City might be the team to beat here but is hardly a lock. AVC Cle 16 Red showed solidly in Kansas City. AVC has shown to be competitive against other top teams and hasn’t had a bad loss yet. The MEPL group of Adidas KiVA 16 Red, Tri-State Elite 16 Blue and Munciana 16 Blaze are going to be in the mix. I think Munciana gained a lot of confidence from its time at Triple Crown and could be on the rise. The pick comes down to Circle City beating Tri-State Elite for gold. *** 15 Open Number of Teams: vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold 8. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami 17. Elevation 15 Tony 20. Far Out 15 Black 22. AVC Cle 15 Red 24. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue 35. Team Pineapple 15 Black 48. TVC 15 Black   5-star Athlete To Watch Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (2027)   4-star Athletes To Watch Cala Haffner L/DS Team Pineapple 15 Black Sienna Fry RS Summit 15 Blue Elite Sydney Geselbracht MB Elevation 15 Tony Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Sidney Sprada OH Elevation 15 Tony Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Ella Grimes L/DS Elevation 15 Tony Addison Haberthy S Circle City 15 Purple   Outlook/Prediction: On paper, this division looks to be all Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. The question is can anyone stop Boiler Jrs from taking gold? It’s not the deepest 15s field and that means it is a great opportunity for an unexpected club to grad the spotlight. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami having success wouldn’t

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Sunshine Classic: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

The second half of the Sunshine Classic takes place Friday-Sunday in Orlando. Last weekend, the youngers punched their tickets to Junior Nationals in Chicago this summer. Who is going to join them by earning bids this weekend? Below, we take a look at the 16 and 17 Open divisions and make the guess as to who is going to win it all as well as gain the bids. 17 Open Number of Teams: 39 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club (1): A5 17 Jing vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (10): 1. A5 17 Jing 4. TAV 17 Black 5. Triangle 17 Black 10. OT 17 Aaron 24. OT 17 Felix 25. Miami Hype 17 Emilio 27. Skyline 17 Royal 30. MKE Sting 17 Gold 33. Top Select 17 Elite 43. Rock City 17-1   5-star Athletes To Watch Nayelis Cabello S/RS Top Select 17 Elite (Louisville) Favor Anyanwu MB TAV 17 Black (USC) Jadyn Livings OH TAV 17 Black (USC) Cari Spears OH TAV 17 Black (2025) Ryan Hunter RS Triangle 17 Black (2025) Hannah Benjamin OH A5 17 Jing (Kentucky) Camille Edwards S TAV 17 Black (Michigan) Gillian Pitts L/DS TAV 17 Black (2025)   4-star Athletes To Watch Fallon Stewart OH OT 17 Felix (Cincinnati) Taylor Parks S OT 17 Aaron (Florida) Sarah Brodner OH/RS Jupiter 17 Elite (Virginia) Asia Thigpen OH Triangle 17 Black (Kentucky) Kiarrah Horne OH Triangle 17 Black Ashlyn Philpot MB Triangle 17 Black (Illinois) Samantha Bowron OH Top Select 17 Elite (Coastal Carolina) Mia Hood MB A5 17 Jing (Michigan State) Molly Kate Patten RS A5 17 Jing (Georgia) Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Notre Dame) Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing (Georgia Tech) Chelsea Sutton MB OT 17 John (Tennessee) Claire Luoma L/DS MKE Sting 17 Gold (Clemson) Anna Bjork MB MKE Sting 17 Gold (Notre Dame) Mikala Young OH TAV 17 Black (TCU) Anna Boatner MB TAV 17 Black   Outlook/Prediction: I’m excited to see what the 17s bring in Orlando. Triple Crown was wild in that division with big-time upsets rocking the final standings. I’m looking for A5 17 Jing and TAV 17 Black to re-establish themselves after finishing out of the running in Kansas City. For TAV, that means earning an Open bid. A5 doesn’t have that concern, as it’s the only club in the field with an Open bid after qualifying at Northern Lights in January. Everyone else, including TAV, is chasing one of the three available bids. It can’t trickle down past fourth place, that’s if A5 finishes in the top three. Triangle 17 Black showed strong at Triple Crown and is a team to pay attention to. Miami Hype 17 Emilio is an intriguing team, having beat Dynasty 17 Black in KC. And of course OT 17 Aaron earned the silver in KC, so that club is going to be feeling confident about bidding this weekend. As for the picks, I think A5 tops Triangle in the final. Triangle gets its bid, as does TAV and OT Aaron. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 40 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (16): 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal 8. A5 16 Gabe 9. OT 16 JP 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno 15. Dynasty 16 Black 16. Legacy 16-1 Adidas 17. Austin Skyline 16 Royal 18. Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal 20. Skyline 16 Royal 22. OT 16 Roberto 30. HPSTL 16 Royal 39. MAVS KC 16-1 41. Top Select 16 Elite 42. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite 43. No Name 16 Sarah 44. GP 16 Rox   5-star Athletes To Watch Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 16-1 Kelly Kinney OH Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Amina N’diaye OH OT 16 Roberto Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 16 Royal Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas Charlotte Glass S Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal   4-star Athletes To Watch Zoey Matias L/DS Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Lily Dee Davis OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 16 Royal Kayden Green S/RS GP 16 Rox Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal Ella Lewis OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal Taylor Porter OH/RS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Taylor Cook S Skyline 16 Royal Leni Stanton-Parker OH Metro 16 Travel Bella Ocampo OH Skyline 16 Royal Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe Camryn Jeffery RS A5 16 Gabe Addison Gaido OH/RS Austin Skylin 16 Royal Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe Izzy Mogridge S OT 16 JP Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 16 Mizuno   Outlook/Prediction: This is the first qualifier of the season for the 16s, so teams must finish in the top three to earn one of the three Open bids. It’s going to make for an exciting weekend. The favorite without question is Hou Skyline 16 Royal, which is both the highest seeded and ranked team in the field and is coming off a silver medal at Triple Crown. It would be shocking if Hou Skyline doesn’t earn a bid here. A5 16 Gabe is looking to keep its good play going. After struggling at Central Zone, A5 did very well with a bronze at Triple Crown. If A5 can keep with that type of consistency this weekend, it’ll bid for sure. OT 16 JP, OT Roberto, Austin Skyline 16 Royal and Mich Elite 16 Mizuno are other teams to watch for in terms of bidding, as well as Dynasty 16 Black. MAVS KC 16-1, Legacy 16-1 Adidas, Skyline 16 Royal and HPSTL 16 Royal could bid as well but are longer shots to do so. In the end, Hou Skyline tops Mich Elite for gold. Both qualify, with A5 beating Austin Skyline for the final bid.

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15s: Top 50 National Rankings (March 2)

March 2, 2023

We continue our week-long National Rankings release with the 15s division. While the 17s and 16s presented their own challenges in sorting through the muddy waters, the 15s was a bit easier to navigate. We all know these rankings are going to change as we enter qualifying season. For now, Skyline 15 Royal takes over the top spot in the rankings. It wasn’t just about winning Triple Crown, it was about Skyline’s overall results to date. Skyline, I feel, has the best argument to be No. 1 based on that. Skyline has just three losses – Madfrog 15 Green, Hou Skyline 15 Royal and Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. Skyline has defeated Madfrog twice and Hou Skyline, plus has beaten a really good Austin Skyline 15 Royal group three times and TAV twice. Skyline also has victories over Mintonette Sports m.51 and SCVC 15 Roxy. Mintonette finished 17th at Triple Crown but only dropped one spot to from being previously No. 1 to No. 2. Mintonette lost to Austin Skyline in Kansas City but avenged that loss in winning the Sunshine Classic this past weekend, where Mintonette went undefeated. That helped keep Mintonette near the top of the rankings for now. There were also a few big moves, as Arizona Storm 15 Thunder climbed way up into the Top 10, while AP 15 Adidas jumped from No. 37 to No. 16. vballrecruiter.com TOP 50 NATIONAL RANKINGS 1. Skyline 15 Royal (TX) (3) 2. Mintonette Sports m.51 (OH) (1) 3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (IN) (2) 4. Madfrog 15 Green (TX) (5) 5. TAV 15 Black (TX) (7) 6. Austin Skyline 15 Royal (TX) (13) 7. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder (AZ) (31) 8. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami (KY) (6) 9. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (MI) (12) 10. SCVC 15 Roxy (CA) (16) *** 11. Pohaku 15-1 (KS) (20) 12. Alamo 15 Premier (TX) (11) 13. AZ Sky 15G (AZ) (17) 14. Hou Skyline 15 Royal (TX) (4) 15. Wave 15 Brennan (CA) (9) 16. AP 15 Adidas (TX) (37) 17. Elevation 15 Tony (OH) (8) 18. Dynasty 15 Black (KS) (27) 19. Forza1 North 15 One (CA) (14) 20. Far Out 15 Black (MI) (29) *** 21. HJV 15 Elite (TX) (25) 22. AVC Cle 15 Red (OH) (18) 23. Drive Nation 15 Red (TX) (38) 24. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue (IN) (22) 25. Top Select 15 Elite (FL) (47) 26. Tribe 15 Elite (FL) (50) 27. TAV Houston 15 Adidas (TX) (10) 28. A5 15 Bob (GA) (39) 29. SG Elite 15 Rosh (CA) (36) 30. Academy 15 Diamond (NC) (n/r) *** 31. WPVC 15 Armour Black (FL) (41) 32. Actyve 15 Black (CA) (30) 33. GP 15 Rox (FL) (19) 34. Tstreet 15 Curtis (CA) (21) 35. Team Pineapple 15 Black (IN) (32) 36. Sunshine 15 Westside (CA) (n/r) 37. Jupiter Elite (FL) (33) 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier (AZ) (23) 39. Coast 15-1 (CA) (n/r) 40. MKE Sting 15 Gold (WI (15) *** 41. Aspire 15 Premier (AZ) (n/r) 42. Club V 15 Ren Reed (UT) (n/r) 43. High Tide 15 Elite (FL) (35) 44. Michio 15 National (IL) (45) 45. Triangle 15 Black (NC) (44) 46. MAVS 816 15-1 (KS) (n/r) 47. Excel 15 National Red (TX) (n/r) 48. TVC 15 Black (OH) (40) 49. HPSTL 15 Royal (MO) (26) 50. Northern Lights 15-1 (MN) (28) ON THE CUSP Co Jrs 15 Sherri (CO) (42) Iowa Rockets 15R (IO) (43) Rev 15-1 Fuego (IN) (34) Circle City 15 Purple (IN) Metro 15 Travel (DC) (48) 1st Alliance 15 Gold (IL) (49) Wildfire 15 Ore (FL) NorCal 15-1 Black (CA) Illini Elite 15 Cardinal (IL)

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Red Rock Rave: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

It’s an earlier trip to Las Vegas than usual for those making their way to the Red Rock Rave taking place Saturday-Monday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The qualifier usually falls in April but is among the first to be held this season. This coming weekend is the first of back-to-back weekends and it features the younger ages vying for their bids. Below, we run through the 14 and 15 Open divisions to see how they might play out. 15 Open Number of Teams: 38 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (22): 1. Skyline 15 Royal 4. Madfrog 15 Green 5. TAV 15 Black 7. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder 10. SCVC 15 Roxy 12. Alamo 15 Premier 13. AZ Sky 15G 14. Hou Skyline 15 Royal 15. Wave 15 Brennan 18. Dynasty 15 Black 19. Forza1 North 15 One 21. HJV 15 Elite 23. Drive Nation 15 Red 29. SG Elite 15 Rosh 32. Actyve 15 Black 33. GP 15 Rox 34. Tstreet 15 Curtis 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier 39. Coast 15-1 41. Aspire 15 Premier 42. Club V 15 Ren Reed 46. MAVS 816 15-1   5-star Athletes To Watch Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal Kinsley Young MB TAV 15 Black Brooke Harwood RS Arizona Storm 15 Thunder Finley Krystkowiak OH Wave 15 Brennan Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 15 Black Audrey Flanagan OH SCVC 15 Roxy   4-star Athletes To Watch Erin Clark L/DS/S Aspire 15 Premier Anna Flores S TAV 15 Black Ava McBride S/RS Actyve 15 Black Paisley Pavliska OH Alamo 15 Premier Emmerson Champagne MB/RS Tstreet 15 Curtis Milly McGee S SCVC 15 Roxy Gabi Rodriguez L/DS Madfrog 15 Green Caroline Huseman OH TAV 15 Black Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 15 Black   Outlook/Prediction: With 20 teams in the field featured in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 it makes for a loaded field. With the only path to qualifying coming with a top-three finish, there are going to be plenty of unhappy teams heading home. On the flip side, for the fortunate few who are able to secure bids there is no doubt it will be well deserved. Skyline 15 Royal enters fresh off of winning Triple Crown and looking to keep the momentum going. Triple Crown runner-up SCVC 15 Roxy is also searching for a bid and will carry the confidence of its performance in KC with them to Vegas. Madfrog 15 Green, TAV 15 Black, Arizona Storm 15 Thunder, Alamo 15 Premier and AZ Sky 15G all fared well at Triple Crown too and any of them could walk away with a bid. A team like SG Elite 15 Rosh is ranked No. 29 but can’t be overlooked. SG was close to knocking off Boiler Jrs 15 Gold at Triple Crown. It’s that type of field where the one thing for sure is plenty of unexpected results are going to take place. The final comes down to Alamo knocking off Wave. Skyline takes the final bid.   *** 14 Open Number of Teams: 26 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (14): 2. Arizona Storm 14 Thunder 3. Tstreet 14 Carson 4. Madfrog 14 Green 5. Skyline 14 Royal 10. MAVS KC 14-1 11. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar 14. Forza1 14 One 15. Wave 14 Tammy 16. AZ Rev 14 Premier 19. Forza1 North 14 One 22. AZ Sky 14G 25. Club V 14 Ren Silver 33. HJV 14 Elite 47. Coast 14-1   Outlook/Prediction: Much like 15 Open, it’s going to take a special effort to come through with one of the three bids in play. There is no trickle down, so teams must place in the top three. That leaves very little if any wiggle room. Lots of eyes will be on the favorites like Arizona Storm 14 Thunder, Tstreet 14 Carson, Madfrog 14 Green and Skyline 15 Royal. All showed strong at Triple Crown and it’s hard envisioning not one in the group earning a bid. It’s possible three of the four get bids. Still, it’s volleyball. Wave 14 Tammy was close to upsetting Arizona Storm in KC and could surprise. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar is likely hungry to finish higher than it did at Triple Crown and get its bid out of the way. MAVS 14-1 can’t be forgotten about and certainly has what it takes to get the bid. It’s a tough field to predict, but the call goes to Tstreet beating Storm in the final. MAVS takes the third bid.

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Bluegrass Tournament: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

When the club schedule reaches March, it’s qualifying season to be sure. Still, not every tournament in March and April is centered on earning a bid for Junior Nationals. Take the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament for example. The two-day event takes place Saturday and Sunday in Louisville and is hosted by KiVA. That’s where I’m headed this weekend and will be on hand providing coverage. Given that, let’s take a look at what we might expect. Below, is a preview and prediction for the 14-18 Open age groups. 18 Open Number of Teams: 31 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 3. Munciana 18 Samurai 15. Circle City 18 Purple 20. Adidas KiVA 18 Red 23. Tri-State 18 Elite 30. Elevation 18 Spinney 33. NKYVC 18-1 Tsunami 41. Far Out 18 Black 45. Union 18-1 UA   5-star Athletes To Watch Ramsey Gary L/DS Munciana 18 Samurai (Indiana) Lola Schumacher L/DS Munciana 18 Samurai (Wisconsin, 2024) Brooke Bultema MB Elevation 18 Spinney (Kentucky) Nya Bunton OH/MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red (Texas) Navea Gauthier OH Far Out 18 Black (2025)   4-star Athletes To Watch Gabby Dean MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red (Illinois) Charlotte Vinson OH/RS Munciana 18 Samurai (2025) Abbigail Pickard S Far Out 18 Black (2025)   Outlook/Prediction: Munciana 18 Samurai is the team to beat after taking bronze at Triple Crown. Munciana should run into familiar opponents in Tri-State Elite 18 Blue and Adidas KiVA 18 Red. All three are part of the Mideast Power League. Thrown into the mix in this tournament is SPVB 18 Elite, which will be seeing its stiffest competition of the season to date. Circle City 18 Purple just recently punched its ticket to 18 Open in Columbus after qualifying at Music City and is going to be among the top contenders. When the dust settles, look for Munciana lifting the trophy over SPVB. *** 17 Open Number of Teams: 38 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (7): 9. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami 21. Academy 17 Tsunami 23. Tri-State 17 Blue 37. Elevation 17 Ulland 40. Adidas KiVA 17 Red 41. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold 50. Team Pineapple 17 Black   5-star Athletes To Watch Morgan Gaerte OH Team Pineapple 17 Black (Notre Dame) Allie Shondell S Boiler Jrs 17 Gold (Purdue)   4-star Athletes To Watch Kiana Dinn S/RS Tri-State Elite 17 Blue (Pitt) Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Mya Ball S Team Pineapple 17 Black (Central Florida) Julia Hunt MB NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (Washington) Elizabeth Tabeling L/DS NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (Ball State) Alaleh Tolliver OH Academy 17 Tsunami Alec Rothe OH/MB EliteVBTC 17 Black (Florida)   Outlook/Prediction: Triple Crown champ NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami is the highlight of the field but is not the top seed. That honor goes to Academy 17 Tsunami followed by NKYVC at No. 2. Academy defeated NKYVC at Central Zone when NKYVC was playing shorthanded. No doubt NKYVC would like pay back and is going to be seeking that this weekend. We’ll see if anyone can turn it on and surprise, but the contenders should be the usual suspects. In addition to Academy and NKYVC, Tri-State Elite 17 Blue, Boiler Jrs 17 Gold and Adidas KiVA 17 Red are factors as well. We are sticking with the collision course, with NKYVC downing Academy in the final. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 40 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 11. Circle City 16 Purple 19. AVC Cle 16 Red 23. Adidas KiVA 16 Red 24. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue 25. Munciana 16 Blaze 29. Team Pineapple 16 Black 40. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami 50. Pitt Elite 16-1   5-star Athletes To Watch Addison Tindall OH Team Pineapple 16 Black Annabelle Groomes S/RS AVC Cle 16 Red   4-star Athletes To Watch Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite Ava Tilden OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 16 Purple Kristen Simon L/DS Adidas KiVA 16 Red Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple Katie Gielas RS Elevation 16 Goller Julia Grace NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Lauren Coyne RS SPVB 16 Elite Riley McCloskey OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red Ava Harris S Team Pineapple 16 Black   Outlook/Prediction: The 16s division might be the most competitive of the bunch. Circle City 16 Purple is playing its toughest tournament since Central Zone, when it finished runner-up to 1st Alliance 16 Gold. Circle City might be the team to beat here but is hardly a lock. AVC Cle 16 Red showed solidly in Kansas City. AVC has shown to be competitive against other top teams and hasn’t had a bad loss yet. The MEPL group of Adidas KiVA 16 Red, Tri-State Elite 16 Blue and Munciana 16 Blaze are going to be in the mix. I think Munciana gained a lot of confidence from its time at Triple Crown and could be on the rise. The pick comes down to Circle City beating Tri-State Elite for gold. *** 15 Open Number of Teams: vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold 8. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami 17. Elevation 15 Tony 20. Far Out 15 Black 22. AVC Cle 15 Red 24. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue 35. Team Pineapple 15 Black 48. TVC 15 Black   5-star Athlete To Watch Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (2027)   4-star Athletes To Watch Cala Haffner L/DS Team Pineapple 15 Black Sienna Fry RS Summit 15 Blue Elite Sydney Geselbracht MB Elevation 15 Tony Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Sidney Sprada OH Elevation 15 Tony Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Ella Grimes L/DS Elevation 15 Tony Addison Haberthy S Circle City 15 Purple   Outlook/Prediction: On paper, this division looks to be all Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. The question is can anyone stop Boiler Jrs from taking gold? It’s not the deepest 15s field and that means it is a great opportunity for an unexpected club to grad the spotlight. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami having success wouldn’t

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Sunshine Classic: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

The second half of the Sunshine Classic takes place Friday-Sunday in Orlando. Last weekend, the youngers punched their tickets to Junior Nationals in Chicago this summer. Who is going to join them by earning bids this weekend? Below, we take a look at the 16 and 17 Open divisions and make the guess as to who is going to win it all as well as gain the bids. 17 Open Number of Teams: 39 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club (1): A5 17 Jing vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (10): 1. A5 17 Jing 4. TAV 17 Black 5. Triangle 17 Black 10. OT 17 Aaron 24. OT 17 Felix 25. Miami Hype 17 Emilio 27. Skyline 17 Royal 30. MKE Sting 17 Gold 33. Top Select 17 Elite 43. Rock City 17-1   5-star Athletes To Watch Nayelis Cabello S/RS Top Select 17 Elite (Louisville) Favor Anyanwu MB TAV 17 Black (USC) Jadyn Livings OH TAV 17 Black (USC) Cari Spears OH TAV 17 Black (2025) Ryan Hunter RS Triangle 17 Black (2025) Hannah Benjamin OH A5 17 Jing (Kentucky) Camille Edwards S TAV 17 Black (Michigan) Gillian Pitts L/DS TAV 17 Black (2025)   4-star Athletes To Watch Fallon Stewart OH OT 17 Felix (Cincinnati) Taylor Parks S OT 17 Aaron (Florida) Sarah Brodner OH/RS Jupiter 17 Elite (Virginia) Asia Thigpen OH Triangle 17 Black (Kentucky) Kiarrah Horne OH Triangle 17 Black Ashlyn Philpot MB Triangle 17 Black (Illinois) Samantha Bowron OH Top Select 17 Elite (Coastal Carolina) Mia Hood MB A5 17 Jing (Michigan State) Molly Kate Patten RS A5 17 Jing (Georgia) Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Notre Dame) Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing (Georgia Tech) Chelsea Sutton MB OT 17 John (Tennessee) Claire Luoma L/DS MKE Sting 17 Gold (Clemson) Anna Bjork MB MKE Sting 17 Gold (Notre Dame) Mikala Young OH TAV 17 Black (TCU) Anna Boatner MB TAV 17 Black   Outlook/Prediction: I’m excited to see what the 17s bring in Orlando. Triple Crown was wild in that division with big-time upsets rocking the final standings. I’m looking for A5 17 Jing and TAV 17 Black to re-establish themselves after finishing out of the running in Kansas City. For TAV, that means earning an Open bid. A5 doesn’t have that concern, as it’s the only club in the field with an Open bid after qualifying at Northern Lights in January. Everyone else, including TAV, is chasing one of the three available bids. It can’t trickle down past fourth place, that’s if A5 finishes in the top three. Triangle 17 Black showed strong at Triple Crown and is a team to pay attention to. Miami Hype 17 Emilio is an intriguing team, having beat Dynasty 17 Black in KC. And of course OT 17 Aaron earned the silver in KC, so that club is going to be feeling confident about bidding this weekend. As for the picks, I think A5 tops Triangle in the final. Triangle gets its bid, as does TAV and OT Aaron. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 40 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (16): 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal 8. A5 16 Gabe 9. OT 16 JP 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno 15. Dynasty 16 Black 16. Legacy 16-1 Adidas 17. Austin Skyline 16 Royal 18. Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal 20. Skyline 16 Royal 22. OT 16 Roberto 30. HPSTL 16 Royal 39. MAVS KC 16-1 41. Top Select 16 Elite 42. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite 43. No Name 16 Sarah 44. GP 16 Rox   5-star Athletes To Watch Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 16-1 Kelly Kinney OH Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Amina N’diaye OH OT 16 Roberto Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 16 Royal Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas Charlotte Glass S Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal   4-star Athletes To Watch Zoey Matias L/DS Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Lily Dee Davis OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 16 Royal Kayden Green S/RS GP 16 Rox Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal Ella Lewis OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal Taylor Porter OH/RS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Taylor Cook S Skyline 16 Royal Leni Stanton-Parker OH Metro 16 Travel Bella Ocampo OH Skyline 16 Royal Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe Camryn Jeffery RS A5 16 Gabe Addison Gaido OH/RS Austin Skylin 16 Royal Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe Izzy Mogridge S OT 16 JP Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 16 Mizuno   Outlook/Prediction: This is the first qualifier of the season for the 16s, so teams must finish in the top three to earn one of the three Open bids. It’s going to make for an exciting weekend. The favorite without question is Hou Skyline 16 Royal, which is both the highest seeded and ranked team in the field and is coming off a silver medal at Triple Crown. It would be shocking if Hou Skyline doesn’t earn a bid here. A5 16 Gabe is looking to keep its good play going. After struggling at Central Zone, A5 did very well with a bronze at Triple Crown. If A5 can keep with that type of consistency this weekend, it’ll bid for sure. OT 16 JP, OT Roberto, Austin Skyline 16 Royal and Mich Elite 16 Mizuno are other teams to watch for in terms of bidding, as well as Dynasty 16 Black. MAVS KC 16-1, Legacy 16-1 Adidas, Skyline 16 Royal and HPSTL 16 Royal could bid as well but are longer shots to do so. In the end, Hou Skyline tops Mich Elite for gold. Both qualify, with A5 beating Austin Skyline for the final bid.

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15s: Top 50 National Rankings (March 2)

March 2, 2023

We continue our week-long National Rankings release with the 15s division. While the 17s and 16s presented their own challenges in sorting through the muddy waters, the 15s was a bit easier to navigate. We all know these rankings are going to change as we enter qualifying season. For now, Skyline 15 Royal takes over the top spot in the rankings. It wasn’t just about winning Triple Crown, it was about Skyline’s overall results to date. Skyline, I feel, has the best argument to be No. 1 based on that. Skyline has just three losses – Madfrog 15 Green, Hou Skyline 15 Royal and Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. Skyline has defeated Madfrog twice and Hou Skyline, plus has beaten a really good Austin Skyline 15 Royal group three times and TAV twice. Skyline also has victories over Mintonette Sports m.51 and SCVC 15 Roxy. Mintonette finished 17th at Triple Crown but only dropped one spot to from being previously No. 1 to No. 2. Mintonette lost to Austin Skyline in Kansas City but avenged that loss in winning the Sunshine Classic this past weekend, where Mintonette went undefeated. That helped keep Mintonette near the top of the rankings for now. There were also a few big moves, as Arizona Storm 15 Thunder climbed way up into the Top 10, while AP 15 Adidas jumped from No. 37 to No. 16. vballrecruiter.com TOP 50 NATIONAL RANKINGS 1. Skyline 15 Royal (TX) (3) 2. Mintonette Sports m.51 (OH) (1) 3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (IN) (2) 4. Madfrog 15 Green (TX) (5) 5. TAV 15 Black (TX) (7) 6. Austin Skyline 15 Royal (TX) (13) 7. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder (AZ) (31) 8. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami (KY) (6) 9. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (MI) (12) 10. SCVC 15 Roxy (CA) (16) *** 11. Pohaku 15-1 (KS) (20) 12. Alamo 15 Premier (TX) (11) 13. AZ Sky 15G (AZ) (17) 14. Hou Skyline 15 Royal (TX) (4) 15. Wave 15 Brennan (CA) (9) 16. AP 15 Adidas (TX) (37) 17. Elevation 15 Tony (OH) (8) 18. Dynasty 15 Black (KS) (27) 19. Forza1 North 15 One (CA) (14) 20. Far Out 15 Black (MI) (29) *** 21. HJV 15 Elite (TX) (25) 22. AVC Cle 15 Red (OH) (18) 23. Drive Nation 15 Red (TX) (38) 24. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue (IN) (22) 25. Top Select 15 Elite (FL) (47) 26. Tribe 15 Elite (FL) (50) 27. TAV Houston 15 Adidas (TX) (10) 28. A5 15 Bob (GA) (39) 29. SG Elite 15 Rosh (CA) (36) 30. Academy 15 Diamond (NC) (n/r) *** 31. WPVC 15 Armour Black (FL) (41) 32. Actyve 15 Black (CA) (30) 33. GP 15 Rox (FL) (19) 34. Tstreet 15 Curtis (CA) (21) 35. Team Pineapple 15 Black (IN) (32) 36. Sunshine 15 Westside (CA) (n/r) 37. Jupiter Elite (FL) (33) 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier (AZ) (23) 39. Coast 15-1 (CA) (n/r) 40. MKE Sting 15 Gold (WI (15) *** 41. Aspire 15 Premier (AZ) (n/r) 42. Club V 15 Ren Reed (UT) (n/r) 43. High Tide 15 Elite (FL) (35) 44. Michio 15 National (IL) (45) 45. Triangle 15 Black (NC) (44) 46. MAVS 816 15-1 (KS) (n/r) 47. Excel 15 National Red (TX) (n/r) 48. TVC 15 Black (OH) (40) 49. HPSTL 15 Royal (MO) (26) 50. Northern Lights 15-1 (MN) (28) ON THE CUSP Co Jrs 15 Sherri (CO) (42) Iowa Rockets 15R (IO) (43) Rev 15-1 Fuego (IN) (34) Circle City 15 Purple (IN) Metro 15 Travel (DC) (48) 1st Alliance 15 Gold (IL) (49) Wildfire 15 Ore (FL) NorCal 15-1 Black (CA) Illini Elite 15 Cardinal (IL)

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