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.
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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.
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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.
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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 be unexpected, as NKYVC appears to be Boiler Jrs’ biggest competition. Elevation 15 Tony is also going to have something to say about the final results. I’m going with Boiler Jrs beating Elevation in the final.
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14 Open
Number of Teams: 36
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (7):
- 12. Elevation 14 Molly
- 13. Adidas KiVA 14 Red
- 18. Munciana 14 Chipmunks
- 21. HPSTL 14 Royal
- 26. Tri-State Elite 14 Blue
- 28. Far Out 14 Black
- 36. NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami
Outlook/Prediction: We know anything is possible in the 14s. In fact, HPSTL 14 Royal came on strong at the Sunshine Classic and earned its Open bid. That was a surprise and HPSTL will look to keep pushing forward this weekend. Elevation 14 Molly, Adidas KiVA 14 Red and Munciana 14 Chipmunks certainly enter as the favorites, but Tri-State Elite 14 Blue knows those teams well and will be ready to compete. Ultimately, KiVA defends its home court, beating Elevation in the final.
