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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.