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.