March 11, 2024

The 30th anniversary of the Adidas Bluegrass tournament did not disappoint! Here is a rundown of the Open finals from Sunday. While I didn’t get to watch this 18s final match I did get to see both of these squads in the Gold Bracket all day. Team Pineapple 18 Black ended up sweeping WVBA 18 Adidas (25-17,25-12). A 5-star Notre Dame signee, Morgan Gaerte was on fire. She was hitting over or around blocks with ease. Her setter Mya Ball, a 3-star Central Florida signee, did a great job quarterbacking on the court too. And on the WVBA side of the net 2026 3-star recruit Laura Eichert was terminating balls on the regular in each match. The 17 Open match up ended with Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal defeating Adidas KIVA 17 Red in three sets (25-16, 24-26, 18-16). In game one KIVA couldn’t find their normal groove and Tribe was happy to jump on the opportunity. The second game was a bit closer where KIVA started to play like they have all weekend. In the end Tribe took the title with a 18-16 win in the third set. A couple of tidbits from the match includes the fact that one of KIVA’s middle 5-star Louisville commit Addison Makun was on the sideline cheering on her squad with a boot on. Another tidbit about both of these squads is that both of them genuinely look like they love playing together and have this feeling of fun on the court which I so love to see. And there were so many shining stars on the court for this matchup. On the KIVA side of the net setter and 3-star recruit Emilee Fuller was dishing with ease consistently while Libero Kristen Simon, a 5-star Wisconsin commit, was holding the line in serve receive and defensively. On the Tribe side of the net, Charlotte Glass, a 5-star recruit committed to Duke, was shining both in the assists department and offensively (her dump is pretty lethal). Also the pins 5-star Minnesota commit Kelly Kinney, 3-star Oklahoma commit Tekoa Barnes, and 4-star UCLA commit Mija Bendziute were continuously cranking on the ball with a vengeance. Boiler Jrs 161E Gold ended up sweeping Illini Elite 16 Cardinal in 2 sets (25-15,25-20) for the 16s Final. Boiler Jrs all weekend looked incredibly strong offensively and completely tenacious on defense. A 4-star recruit setter, Lexi Shondell and 4-star libero Ellie Hepler are a duo that literally betters their teammates. On the Illini Elite side of the net 4-star Lily Bosworth was a wall defensively in every match. That being said Illini Elite was the team I loved watching get better and better as the tournament went on. Passionate is how I would describe Munciana 15 Blue. In the finals their chemistry helped them defeat Tri-State Elite 15 Blue in 2 sets (25-19,28-26). That being said, Tri-State Elite really pushed their opponent and was another squad I loved to see get better and better as the tournament went on. Impact players for this match included Munciana athletes 5-star middle blocker Carsyn Comer and outside hitter Shania Rhamy along with Tri-State Elite middle blocker Jillian Forrest and 2028 3-star setter Penelope Reisman. Circle City 14 Purple played well this weekend and defeated Munciana 14 Chipmunks in 3 sets (25-16, 19-25, 15-13) in the finals. Circle City was led by 3-star outside hitter Audrey Utterback and 3-star setter Charlee Groninger while Munciana was led by middle blocker 3-star Abbie Powell and setter Paislee Terry. The 13s final was well in the afternoon (and I had to catch a flight) BUT Elevation 13 S J swept Circle City 13 Purple 25-20, 25-18. I watched both of these squads leading up to the finals and both squads have a ton of upcoming talent! Elevation was anchored by libero Miranda Ludwick while Circle City had outside hitter Abby Mccory firing away consistently. The 12s Finals are always fun to watch. Yes, serving is a huge force in the end BUT watch out for both of these squads in June. Boiler Jrs 121E Gold defeated Elevation 12 Berg in 2 sets (25-22, 25-17) and was the team that not only capitalized on being consistent but attacking well at the net. One thing about the Boilers you don’t see everyday is no libero on the court. And watch out for setter Story Nixon. She might be small but she is cunning. On the Elevation side of the net the S/MB duo of Kennedy Mallory and Anna Richter are always going to be going after it hard!