Wagner’s own #16, Ravyn Medricky and her club volleyball team recently qualified to play in the USA Volleyball (USAV) National Tournament that will be held in Dallas, Texas on June 30th through July 3rd. Ravyn plays middle blocker for the Kairos 16 Alpha club out of Sioux Falls. The team has a current winloss record of 19-8.

This is Rayvn’s first time playing with this traveling club team. There is a process to becoming a part of a travelling team. It takes commitment from both the players and their families which includes tryouts, practice, time, expenses and travel. There are nine members of the Kairo team coming from different volleyball teams throughout the state including Harrisburg, O’Gorman, Sioux City, Lincoln, Washington, Sergeant-Bluff, Brandon and Wagner. Before joining the team, Ravyn was familiar with many of her teammates as they all attend AA schools and played in the 2024 SD State AA Volleyball Tournament, but had never met them. Her teammates include Kaitlyn Hardie, Jade Jere, Jersie Melcher, Ruthie Robinson, Josalyn Samuels, Mallory Schneider, Bergen Stiff and Mya VanWesten. Head coach and recruiting manager is Haylee Vosler and the team’s assistant is Alaina Wolff, former volleyball player for the University of South Dakota.

What excites Ravyn about the National tournament is the opportunity to play against some of the top volleyball recruits in the nation. The team will be playing in the Open division of the tournament which will begin with pool play amongst the 36 teams that will either qualify or earn a bid to nationals. There are national qualifying tournaments held throughout different regions during the club volleyball season. At these qualifying tournaments the teams that place in the top three receive an automatic qualifying spot at the National tournament. The Kairos attended the Nike Ace of Clubs Volleyball Qualifier in Minneapolis February 22 and 23 where they took home third place. Thus far in the season which started in December, they have frequently played in weekend tournaments with tournaments in Colorado, Kansas City and Minneapolis. The Kansas City tournament was the most challenging so far this season. There were 156 teams in the 16-year-old open division. Out of the 156 teams, the Kairos placed 21st.

Playing with the Kairos has taught Ravyn several new techniques including reading the court, getting a better feel for the match’s tempo and new blocking techniques. In her opinion the most important aspect of the game that she has learned is how to keep up with the team’s high level of play, which she finds to be very exciting. Ravyn has also learned that it is better to focus on what she can do as a player to help her team. Having a positive mindset and being a good teammate is hugely emphasized in the Kairos program, which is a very important lesson that she has learned.

Ravyn hopes to see herself playing college volleyball one day, continuing her love for volleyball. Her dream would be to play for a D1 school, but she would be happy to play at any college level. Volleyball has always been a big part of Ravyn’s life. She gives a lot of credit to her older sister, Aubrey because Aubrey would come home after volleyball practice and the two girls would go into their backyard where Aubrey would teach Ravyn what she learned at volleyball practice and practice the skills. Not only did it give Ravyn a good start on her volleyball skills, but also was a way for her and Aubrey to bond. Ravyn feels that being able to play volleyball year-round on top of the other sports she participates in is not a burden for her. Instead, she feels that it is worth it as she is allowed to continue her volleyball journey.