By Rhett Workman
The club girls’ volleyball season has opened up, and it’s looking like Valley youth and high school volleyball fans will have some teams to watch during this winter and spring season.
The preseason Puget Sound Region “seeding” tournaments for girls’ U16, U17 and U18 teams took place last weekend at sites primarily in the South Sound, and there were some good showings.
The U16 age group will be a fun one to watch this season, if this past weekend is any indication. Two teams with Valley high school players ended up seeding among the top five teams in the region, and that could mean strong seasons ahead for both.
The Washington Volleyball Academy’s U16 “Molten” team, based in Woodinville and which includes Cedarcrest High School player Makenna Wehmeyer on its roster, ended the weekend as the third overall seed heading into the first week of league play later this month. Right behind them is the Kent Juniors’ 16’s, from Kent and which includes Mount Si’s Haley Holmberg, returning after helping this team as a U15 squad last season emerge as one of the top teams in the region. KJ will go in as the fifth overall seed. These seedings can change based on how the teams fare in league play, so it will be interesting to see how things develop.
Meanwhile, in the U17 and U18 divisions, Sudden Impact’s teams in those age groups, both with Valley players, fared well and look to also emerge as top teams in the region in those age groups. The Sudden Impact 17s, with Mount Si’s Anna McCreadie, and the Bellevue-based club’s 18s, with Mount Si’s Lindsay Carr and Cedarcrest’s Hanna Halverson, seeded in the top 15 teams in the U18 level, so both of them will be aiming to remain there this season.
Teams representing local clubs also competed this past weekend; the Valley View 18’s from Carnation and Duvall will head in to league play seeded 37th in the U18 division and the Ridge Valley 16’s from Snoqualmie will start the season seeded 59th overall in that age group.
Play for younger age groups starts this weekend, and next weekend, the first big tournament weekend takes place over the MLK holiday. Several of the teams with Valley players will be competing. We’ll have more on that for you next week.
Again, a reminder for local volleyball parents, club coaches and club directors – if you want your club’s action featured in our volleyball coverage this season, drop us a line. Email us at [email protected] and let us know.
About Rhett Workman
Rhett Workman is the editor of the Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal. Workman is a veteran sports journalist, having covered Snoqualmie Valley sports for nearly a decade with the Snoqualmie Valley Record newspaper before starting up the SVSJ. Workman’s coverage has earned the support and respect of Valley coaches, players, parents and fans, and the SVSJ continues the standard of coverage that Workman brought to the Valley Record.View all posts by Rhett Workman →