Another weekend forthcoming, another national tournament on the slate. This Friday and Saturday features the Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament taking place at Assumption and KiVA. It’s a smaller affair than the past two weeks with Volleypalooza and the Nike TOC Southeast. Still, the tournament packs a punch with three defending state champions in the field in Mother McAuley IL, Notre Dame Academy KY and Clearwater Central Catholic FL. Check out the nationally-ranked teams competing, the 3, 4 and 5-star athletes participating and our outlook and predictions below.
Number of Teams – 24
vballrecruiter.com’s Nationally-Ranked Teams (6):
- 2. Mother McAuley IL
- 3. Notre Dame Academy KY
- 30. Assumption KY
- 31. St. Ursula Academy OH
- 37. Sacred Heart Academy KY
- 44. Clearwater Central Catholic FL
5-Star Athletes to Know:
- Annabelle Groomes JR S/RS St. Joseph Academy OH (San Diego)
- Kristen Simon JR L Assumption KY (Wisconsin)
4-Star Athletes to Know:
- Ellie White SR OH Mother McAuley IL (Michigan)
- Kiana Dinn SR S/RS Ryle KY (Pitt)
- Kiernan Stamey SR OH Maryville TN (Kennesaw State)
- Elizabeth Tabeling SR L/DS St. Henry KY (Ball State)
- Ava Tilden JR OH Notre Dame Academy KY (Xavier)
- Riley McCloskey JR OH Notre Dame Academy KY
- Lauren Hurst JR OH Cleveland TN (Kentucky – basketball)
- Audrey Dyas SO MB Notre Dame Academy KY
- Sydney Geselbracht SO MB Mount Notre Dame OH
3-Star Athletes to Know:
- Samantha Falk SR L Mother McAuley IL (Loyola-Chicago)
- Ellery Rees SR MB Mother McAuley IL (Alabama)
- Kenzie Cogan SR L Mount Notre Dame OH (Illinois)
- Jessica Neiman SR RS Padua Franciscan OH
- Macy Lentz SR RS St. Henry KY
- Alivia Skidmore SR OH/MB St. Henry KY (Western Kentucky)
- Charlotte Moriarty SR OH Assumption KY (Xavier)
- Chloe Smith SR OH Assumption KY
- Kinslee McGowan SR S Cleveland TN (North Alabama)
- Addy Brus SR OH St. Ursula Academy OH (Saint Louis)
- Delany Gash SR OH Dunbar KY (Akron)
- Claire Morrissey SR OH St. Joseph Academy MO (Missouri)
- Taylor Bedinghaus SR OH Clearwater Central Catholic FL
- Bridget Egan JR OH Sacred Heart Academy KY
- Anna Powell JR OH Sacred Heart Academy KY (Georgia Southern)
- Sydney Buchanan JR OH Mother McAuley IL
- Julia Grace JR L Notre Dame Academy KY (Xavier)
- Zoe Baliva JR OH St. Joseph Academy MO (Florida State beach)
- Emilee Fuller JR S Assumption KY
- Bailey Blair JR MB/RS Assumption KY
- Elise Hart JR MB Sacred Heart Academy KY
- Isabella Pereira JR OH Clearwater Central Catholic FL
- Isabela Haggard JR S/RS Dunbar KY (Indiana)
- Emsley Venard JR S St. Ursula Academy OH
- Gabby Semona SO MB St. Ursula Academy OH
- Emma Frietch SO L/DS St. Ursula Academy OH
- Addison Buckner SO OH/RS St. Joseph Academy OH
- Emily Keiran SO L/DS Assumption KY
- Morgan Heater SO S Ryle KY
- Peyton Heatherly FR S/RS Mother McAuley IL
- Kendall Hubbard FR S/RS Mount Notre Dame OH
- Maisie Jones FR OH St. Ursula Academy OH
- Lola Waleskowski FR OH St. Ursula Academy OH
- Francesca Hansel FR L Ryle KY
OUTLOOK: Last year’s tournament played out with Mother McAuley IL taking home the title for the first time in program history as the Macs went on to capture the 4A state championship in Illinois. The defending tournament champions return and are aiming to go back-to-back as the Macs start off as the top seed. Right behind Mother McAuley is Notre Dame Academy, which claimed the Kentucky state championship a season ago and returns the majority of its roster. Both Sacred Heart Academy KY and Assumption KY have what it takes to contend, while a team to watch out for is fifth-seeded St. Ursula Academy OH. The Bulldogs have young talent on the roster and will look to take it to the more experienced teams seeded ahead of them. The sixth overall seed is Clearwater Central Catholic. The Marauders handed Westminster Christian FL its only loss by beating the Warriors in the Florida 3A state championship a season ago. The two-day tournament starts off with eight, three-team pools. The pool winners advance to Saturday’s eight-team gold bracket.
PREDICTION: There’s no doubt all eyes are on Mother McAuley to repeat, but this tournament has a way of surprising. Therefore, the pick is for Assumption to reverse its fortune from last year and take down Mother McAuley in Saturday’s final.
