2015-2016 Club Season

[volleyfan3121]

This is a region to region breakdown of everything I know.  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or add any info you have.

Great Lakes (Chicago)
-18s for SPRI is extremely deep because most of the 18 Mizuno (5th in 18 Open) and 18 Runbird (5th in 18 Open) return because they are class of 2016. They also added Cameron Lilly (from Hitmen 16-Elite) and Thomas Kovanic (from SPVB B16 Mizuno), both in the class of 2017, but are extremely talented
-teams for both SPRI and Ultimate have not been set yet because they want to see how these players compete before they split them up
-Ultimate B16 Gold will be top 16's team with the addition of Ian Piet who played with the 16 Gold last season (outside htiter in USA select A1)
-I don't know much about what Adversity is up to, but they usually qualify a team in every open age group so they should be good
-Ultimate B17 Gold and Hitmen 17-Elite will both probably still be solid but they are losing some key players to other teams

Northern California
-top teams in 18s will be Pacific Rim and Bay to Bay
-Pac Rim 18s have all of the non graduating players from their 18 open winning team (led by Gage Worsley) and added Eli Irizarry from Coastal and Thomas Nelson from Bay to Bay
-Bay to Bay 18s got Alex Li (USA Youth A1) back from Pac Rim 17-1, and also added Joel Schneidmiller from Bay to Bay 16-1; Nathan Smith is a top ten recruit at the setter position also on this team, should qualify for open
-MVVC 17s coached by Jonah Carson and Armen Zakarian, both former college coaches and top coaches for USA Select A1 Program
-MVVC 16s is deep at the pin hitting position with Jerod Nelson, Nick Alftin and Ben Weinberg (all 6'4 or taller) so they should be a contender in 16 Open after finished 9th in 15 Open with only one of those pin hitters on the team

Southern California
-Noah Dyer (Balboa Bay) and Erik Beatty (The HBC) bothreportedly going to 949 18s
-Minsberg also staying at 949 in the 18s age group even though he could play 17s
-lots of movement in the OC area; lots of Balboa people moving around as well as HBC
-Tanner Woods staying at Balboa Bay 18s even with Cvrtlik also there
-Kyler Presho to 949 18s
-Shane Holdaway reportedly staying at HBC
-unsure about what Mason Tufunga is doing, could go back to OCVC 
-All San Clemente 16s guys from last year going to 949 except for Matin Bikdeli who is going to Balboa 17s
-MB Surf looks like the top team in the 17s age group, adding setter Chris Hall (SMBC), Ian Parish (Surf 17s), and Johnny Hunter (SCVC 16s) 
-Rockstar 17s could be getting Sam Lewis from Highline so they will be getting a lot better
-Spectrum reportedly getting Colin Bailey from Seaside 17-Black so they should be a contender as well
-Surf 16s could possibly be adding Matt Johnson (SCVC 16s), Daniel Matheny (Rockstar 16s) and Jaxon Drake (SG Elite 15s and USA Select A1) - if they land all those players they will be the favorites to win 16 Open
-949 16s is bringing back all key pieces and are also contenders to win 16 open

Hawaii
-Aoakoa 18s should contend for 18 open gold medal - Austin Matautia, Kelsey Yogi, Wil Stanley, Hugh Hogland, among others
-Aoakoa 17s will probably not be as good as last year because of the loss of Hogland at the opposite position
-Kuikahi 18s and 17s could be getting players from other clubs and should both qualify for their respective open divisions

Puerto Rico
-Carlos Rivera (from Balboa Bay) going to Borinquen Coqui 17s to join forces with Gabi Garcia and Molina (I don't know his first name) so they should be extremely competitive in the 17 open division

Wisconsin & New York still in school seasons

[vbf]

Thanks for sharing. That is a lot of info you gathered.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out with all the movement in Southern California. I would be surprised to see Noah Dyer go back to 949. Balboa would really miss his play. But with the two middles and setters and if they added those two outside hitters 949 18 would be very very good. SCVC has to be considered the favorites to repeat unless enough talent gathers together on one team to beat them.

What positions do Matt Johnson, Daniel Matheny, and Jaxon Drake play? MB Surf 15 was really good last year. Are all the guys returning? Getting three new players that would be better than the guys they already have would make them the heavy favorites.

[volleyfan3121]

Daniel Matheny going back to Rockstar (17s). Confirmed today.

Matt Johnson is a setter and Jaxon Drake is a middle. Rumor of Luke Grafton moving to libero and Matt Johnson / Ethan Shinn running a straight 6-2. Max Cajuste and Dane Johnson would still be the outsides and Ethan Talley and Jaxon Drake would be the middels. That's a really good team. Above average at every position.

Other news: Spencer Olivier to Balboa Bay 17s, Trent Williams to 949

[vballguy4]

Any news of SMBC, Santa Barbara Clubs, or San Diego area clubs?

[vbinca]

I heard that most of last year's Seaside 17's players tried out at Coast. I haven't seen a final roster to see who made the 18-1's. Not sure how much better a team Coast will have, seemed like most of the players at given positions were equal. Coast 17's last year placed higher at Nationals but lost to Seaside head to head at Nationals.

[notimportant]

Who's excited to see MB Surf 18s flop again this year?

[vbguy]

Sept 15, 2015 22:42:57 GMT -5 notimportant said:

Who's excited to see MB Surf 18s flop again this year?

I'm actually expecting them to be a top 8 team at JOs. They added Will Bantle, a top '17 outside from SCVC 17s, and an opposite from Brazil. Plus, they have a skilled coach in John Beckwith who won't let them goof up again. Jack Truman, the 6'10 UCSB commit, is gonna be hard to stop in the middle. Their libero this year Colin Enzer recently committed to CSUN. 

[notimportant]

Sept 15, 2015 23:39:42 GMT -5 vbguy said:

Sept 15, 2015 22:42:57 GMT -5 notimportant said:

Who's excited to see MB Surf 18s flop again this year?

I'm actually expecting them to be a top 8 team at JOs. They added Will Bantle, a top '17 outside from SCVC 17s, and an opposite from Brazil. Plus, they have a skilled coach in John Beckwith who won't let them goof up again. Jack Truman, the 6'10 UCSB commit, is gonna be hard to stop in the middle. Their libero this year Colin Enzer recently committed to CSUN. 

Yes they are talented but they are talented every year and they always seem to fall apart at JOs. Maybe this year is different but I can't shake off their performances the last two years at JOs.

[vbvictory1]

Word is Big OH from UNO left for Ultimate 18 Gold. If true, makes that team much better.

[Deleted]

Sept 16, 2015 8:15:27 GMT -5 vbvictory1 said:

Word is Big OH from UNO left for Ultimate 18 Gold. If true, makes that team much better.

Anything would make Ultimate 18 Gold better this year. If true, UNO just got worse. I would think Sports Performance remains the frontrunner in 18s in Illinois no matter what any team adds.

[032558]

949 18's is a real good team. Good outsider hitters (gaines & Eric) - Good setters and very good/big middles

[Deleted]

Sept 15, 2015 20:08:20 GMT -5 thattalldude said:

the top midwest 18s team will either be SPVB or hpstl

They're not in season yet, but Milwaukee Sting will add Matt Zeske, an OH from MVC 18-2 last year/Lightning 17 the year before, and the preseason favorite to win Wisconsin's Player of the Year for high school (Scott Stadick's high school doesn't have boys volleyball). He was too old for his class and had to play up since starting high school, and actually played Lightning 17 when his class was 15s, then stayed at 17s with Lightning for his class's 16s year, and then played MVC 18-2 this past club season. Not a physically dominating player, but a fundamentally sound, good ball control OH, which is what that team desperately needs.

This age group has yet to finish outside of the top 10.  1st at 13s (Lightning), 5th at 14s (Lightning), 3rd at 15s (Lightning), 9th at 16s (Lightning), and 5th at 17s (Sting).

Stadick, Szews, and Zeske give Sting a solid core of players. They will be competitive again.

[stlvb2014]

Sept 16, 2015 19:07:17 GMT -5 thattalldude said:

Sept 16, 2015 11:58:22 GMT -5 @notpatfoley said:

They're not in season yet, but Milwaukee Sting will add Matt Zeske, an OH from MVC 18-2 last year/Lightning 17 the year before, and the preseason favorite to win Wisconsin's Player of the Year for high school (Scott Stadick's high school doesn't have boys volleyball). He was too old for his class and had to play up since starting high school, and actually played Lightning 17 when his class was 15s, then stayed at 17s with Lightning for his class's 16s year, and then played MVC 18-2 this past club season. Not a physically dominating player, but a fundamentally sound, good ball control OH, which is what that team desperately needs.

This age group has yet to finish outside of the top 10.  1st at 13s (Lightning), 5th at 14s (Lightning), 3rd at 15s (Lightning), 9th at 16s (Lightning), and 5th at 17s (Sting).

Stadick, Szews, and Zeske give Sting a solid core of players. They will be competitive again.

I don't know much about Sting, but I do know that HPSTL is going to be good. They will have two 6'6+ middles in addition to George Huhmann, a starting 6'11 middle for the bynt along with Stadick. Paul Henken is one of the top setters athletically in the 18s class, plus he is relatively new to volleyball, so he will only get better. Also, the 18s Open Bronze medal team last year left two starters, Shawn Hughes as OH and a starting libero. The other pins are all solid, and two of them are '17 (Alex Gettinger and Leo Henken). If they can crack down on their defensive skills, they will be lethal.  

Leo Henken moved up to 18s? 

[volleybro11]

Sports Performance 18's will be a powerhouse this year. Teams are still not official, but with returning players like Bischoff, Meyer, and Kotsakis, they will be a very tough team. Kyle Piekarski, 18-1's returning middle, is looking to be one of the best middles in the Midwest this year. With the additions of Cam Lilly and Thomas Kovanic, this team will finish very high at JO's this year.

[vballfan3840]

Sept 15, 2015 2:42:31 GMT -5 volleyfan3121 said:

Daniel Matheny going back to Rockstar (17s). Confirmed today.

Matt Johnson is a setter and Jaxon Drake is a middle. Rumor of Luke Grafton moving to libero and Matt Johnson / Ethan Shinn running a straight 6-2. Max Cajuste and Dane Johnson would still be the outsides and Ethan Talley and Jaxon Drake would be the middels. That's a really good team. Above average at every position.

Other news: Spencer Olivier to Balboa Bay 17s, Trent Williams to 949

If Luke Grafton is playing libero, does that mean the MB Surf 16s team lost Zachary Brill?  He was one of the best liberos in the 15s division last year.  Anyone know if he went to a different club.