Part of the vballrecruiter.com team is headed to the Central Zone Invitational on Saturday and Sunday in Indianapolis. Over the years this tournament has really grown in strength and once again boasts a loaded, loaded field, especially for the younger age groups. I’m personally super excited, because in my years of covering club volleyball I’ve never attended this event! That’s about to change and I’m eager to get to see these teams playing in the new year.
Below are rundowns on the 15-18 Open divisions as we look at nationally-ranked teams in the field, top recruits and offer thoughts and predictions on those age groups.
15 OPEN
Number of Teams: 32
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (14):
- 1. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
- 3. Mintonette Sports m.51
- 7. Elevation 15 Tony
- 11. Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- 12. HPSTL 15 Royal
- 13. MKE Sting 15 Gold
- 16. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami
- 21. A5 15 Bob
- 29. AVC Cle 15 Red
- 34. Rev 15-1 Fuego
- 43. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue
- 44. Circle City 15 Purple
- 45. TVC 15 Black
- 49. Team Pineapple 15 Black
***
5-Star Athletes
- Kayla Nwabueze MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Gabi DiVita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Bennett Raterman MB HPSTL 15 Royal
4-Star Athletes
- Margaret Czajka MB MKE Sting 15 Gold
- Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
- Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
- Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
- Meredith Martin L/DS Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
- Emma Cugino L/DS Mintonette Sports m.51
- Audrey Dyas MB NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami
- Addison Haberthy S Circle City 15 Purple
- Kalyssa Taggart S/RS A5 15 Bob
Outlook/Prediction: There is no way this division can disappoint, can it? I don’t believe it can, not with 14 of the 32 teams ranked in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. It includes top-ranked Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, one of three Top-10 clubs in the field, and one of seven Top-20 teams vying for the championship. Also in the field is No. 3 Mintonette Sports m.51 – the defending 14 Open gold medalist from Indy last summer – and No. 7 Elevation 15 Tony, which earned bronze last summer in 14 Open. Another team to follow is No. 11 Legacy 15-1 Adidas. Legacy captured the 15 Open title at the JVA Rock’N Rumble earlier this month, where it defeated No. 29 AVC Cle 15 Red in the finals. Given the youth and depth of the division, anything can and probably will happen. Certainly, I’m expecting the higher-ranked teams in the field to excel, but it’s likely someone else is going to rise up and surprise by making a deep run. In the end though, the pick is Boiler Jrs beating Legacy in the final.
***
16 OPEN
Number of Teams: 32
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (13):
- 4. A5 16 Gabe
- 9. Circle City 16 Purple
- 10. 1st Alliance 16 Gold
- 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno
- 14. HPSTL 16 Royal
- 15. Legacy 16-1 Adidas
- 27. MKE Sting 16 Gold
- 33. Mintonette Sports m.61
- 39. Adidas KiVA 16 Red
- 41. AVC Cle 16 Red
- 42. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami
- 49. Elevation 16 Goller
- 50. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue
***
5-Star Athletes
- Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas
- Addison Tindall OH Team Pineapple 16 Black
- Annabelle Groomes S/RS AVC Cle 16 Red
- Abby Vander Wal OH 1st Alliance 16 Gold
4-Star Athletes
- Ava Tilden OH/RS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami
- Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple
- Julia Grace L/DS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami
- Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe
- Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe
- Riley McCloskey OH/RS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami
- Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red
- Madison Quest OH MKE Sting 16 Gold
- Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe
- Ava Harris S Team Pineapple 16 Black
Outlook/Prediction: With 13 of the 32 teams appearing in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings, the 16 Open Division figures to be very competitive as well. Part of that is the field features seven teams ranked in our Top 15, including No. 4 A5 16 Gabe, No. 9 Circle City 15 Purple and No. 10 1st Alliance 16 Gold, which starts off as the top seed. I really expect the depth of this division to show up over the two days, with some unexpected results and upsets taking place throughout. A lot of the teams are bunched together in the rankings and there isn’t much separating many of them. It should produce a lot of close, three-setters as this is going to be the most competitive tournament teams have played in so far as they begin gearing up for qualifying season. When the dust settles, the pick is 1st Alliance over Mich Elite 16 Mizuno for the gold.
***
17 OPEN
Number of Teams: 27
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (8):
- 12. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami
- 16. Circle City 17 Purple
- 18. Tri-State Elite 17 Blue
- 33. HPSTL 17 Royal
- 37. Rev 17-1 Raptors
- 42. Adidas KiVA 17 Red
- 43. Mintonette Sports m.71
- 49. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold
***
5-Star Athletes
- Ava Utterback OH Circle City 17 Purple
- Allie Shondell S Boiler Jrs 17 Gold
- Lauren Harden OH Rev 17-1 Raptors
4-Star Athletes
- Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold
- Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas
- Elizabeth Tabeling L/DS NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami
- Julia Hunt MB NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami
- Alexis Maesch RS Circle City 17 Purple
Outlook/Prediction: Though no clubs from our Top 10 is in attendance, there is still eight clubs from the Top 50. Our rankings follow the top three seeds, as No. 12 NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami, No. 16 Circle City 17 Purple and No. 18 Tri-State Elite 17 Blue open as the top three seeds respectively. While those teams figure to make it deep into Sunday’s action, there’s a great chance for someone else to come on and surprise. One could be HPSTL 17 Royal, which is looking to make the jump to Open this season. Rev 17-1 Raptors and Adidas KiVA 17 Red are two more who could get hot and pull off upsets. Two teams we don’t have ranked to keep tabs on is AVC Cle 17 Red and Academy 17 Tsunami. The ultimate pick though is Tri-State Elite topping NKYVC for the gold.
***
18 OPEN
Number of Teams: 24
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (7):
- 16. Circle City 18 Purple
- 22. Adidas KiVA 18 Red
- 26. Legacy 18-1 Adidas
- 27. AVC Cle 18 Red
- 34. Elevation 18 Spinney
- 49. Union 18-1 UA
- 50. NKYVC 18-1 Tsunami
***
5-Star Athletes
- Brooke Bultema MB Elevation 18 Spinney
- Nya Bunton OH/MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red
4-Star Athletes
- Gabby Dean MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red
- Laurece Abraham MB Legacy 18-1 Adidas
- Kira Holland OH AVC Cle 18 Red
- Erin Kline S Legacy 18-1 Adidas
Outlook/Prediction: With three 18s national qualifier happening this weekend, the 18 Open field is a light one by comparison. Though seven of the 24 teams appear in our Top 50, none are from the Top 15. Circle City 18 Purple is the top seed, followed by No. 27 AVC Cle 18 Red as the No. 2 seed and unranked Tri-State Elite 18 Blue as the No. 3 seed. As for the winner, Legacy 18-1 Adidas tops Circle City for the title.
