The First Weekend of April Brings Qualifiers Galore

It seems like just about every club team is booked and busy this weekend given how many qualifiers are taking place across the country. Here’s a quick preview of the main qualifiers featuring 2028 talent.

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West Coast Junior National Qualifier

Location: Anaheim, California

Dates: April 2-4

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In the 16 Open bracket, there are 16 club teams participating, including highly competitive teams like SG Elite 16 Roshambo (the only team in the division who has earned a 16 Open bid), Idaho Crush 16 Bower, and COAST 16-1 Nilay. 

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Players to watch include Silver-level opposite Lana Frelix and Elite Red outside Saylor Halvorsen of SG Elite, Elite Orange outside hitter Bryn Neibaur from Vegas Aces, and Elite Orange outside hitter Malaya Gibbs from AZ Sky.

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Windy City National Qualifier

Location: Chicago, IL

Dates: April 3–5

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40 teams in the 16 Open division are headed to Chicago, including the already qualified Circle City 16 Purple, Metro 16 Travel, and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold among others. High-seeded squads looking for their 16 Open bid are KC Power 16-1 (currently holding onto a 16 National bid), Actyve 16-Navy, and T-Street 16 Bailey.

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There will be no shortage of high-level talent to watch here. In the libero category, Legacy’s Ashlyn Pelon and AVC’s Lola Loncar are two Elite Red prospects, while Elite Orange prospects Channing Minton of KC Power and Carsyn Chitty of Mintonette are also promising 2028 liberos. Some top-tier middle blocker talent will also be present, including Silver prospects McKenzie Andrews of Legacy and Jordyn Blair of Circle City. You also can’t go wrong watching setters like Legacy’s Payton Woodruff (Elite Red) or TStreet’s Riley Stringer (Elite Orange).

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Big South Qualifier (Weekend 2)

Location: Atlanta, GA

Dates: April 3–5

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The second week of the Big South Qualifier features two teams that have already qualified in the 16 Open division: A5 16 Gabe (which earned its second bid two weeks ago) and Academy 16 Diamond. Those two squads feature plenty of 2028 talent including Academy’s Chloe Burbage (setter, Silver) and A5’s Leilani Lamar (outside, Gold), but the remaining 32 teams at the qualifier also have lots of extremely promising prospects.

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Red-level middle blockers Mandela Masimini of VA Juniors and Eden Knapp of OTVA have both been climbing our ranks lately and will no doubt be ones to watch. Don’t sleep on Elite Orange setter Maddie Gonyeau of Triangle or OTVA 16 J Will’s Juliette Watson, two setters who have shown a lot of promise.

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Lone Star Qualifier

Location: Houston, TX

Dates: April 3–5

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This event features a lot of teams that have already earned their bid in the 16 Open division, including TAV’s 16 Black Yun and Houston 16 Black as well as Alamo 16 Premier, Dallas Skyline 16 Royal-Paul, and AJV 16 Adidas. That means the opportunity is ripe for non-qualified teams to show out and earn their bid.

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With so many Texas teams participating in this in-state competition, some of the best 2028 prospects in the nation will be on display. Silver-level setters Molly Monday of Tribe and Sydney Whisenton of Alamo are two huge boons to any roster, while Houston Juniors’ Nlonna Okwura and Dallas Skyline’s Grace White are two Silver middle blockers who bring height and power to the net.