June 5, 2022

The JVA SummerFest might be a quick tournament but the two days is packed full of exciting teams and players. vballrecruiter.com is at the event in Columbus taking notes and on the lookout for the individuals who are catching our attention the most. We found 20 Show Stoppers on Day 1 in 12-17 Open and highlight them below. Also, continue scrolling for a recap of the day’s action as well. vballrecruiter.com DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS Nya Bunton, MB, Adidas KiVA 17 Red – A 6-3, five-star recruit committed to Texas, Bunton is fun to watch do her thing. She gets way off the ground and has a strong swing. When she connects she’s nearly impossible to stop. Laurece Abraham, MB, Legacy 17-1 Adidas – Abraham – who is a four-star recruit committed to Yale – is a valuable piece to the puzzle at middle. She’s 6-1, is quick, runs the slide well and almost has her elbows at the net when blocking. Safi Hampton, OH, Metro 17 Travel – Hampton is a 6-1, three-star recruit committed to North Carolina. She jumps like she was shot out of a cannon. She gets up high and fast and there’s really nothing the average block can do about it. She goes straight over most. Macaria Spears, OH, Metro 16 Travel – A five-star recruit, Spears is a 6-4 freshman playing up an age group. She’s a freak athlete with great length. She goes over smaller blocks with ease and absolutely torments the defense with her scoring ability. Asia Thigpen, OH, Triangle 16 Black – Thigpen was showing tremendous potential. She was taking aggressive swings and showcasing a quick arm that was lighting defenses up. Morgan Gaerte, OH, Team Pineapple 16 Black – This five-star recruit is 6-4 and a potent offensive piece. Gaerte is long with a nice extension. She’s a threat out of the back row as well and is tough for defenses to figure out. Munachiso Mmuo, MB, EC Power 16-Empire – A bit undersized at 5-10, Mmuo is quick and moves very well. She carries a good arm and proved to be a consistent, reliable scorer when called upon. Navea Gauthier, OH, Far Out 15 Black – A four-star recruit, Gauthier is a highlight reel. She hits from everywhere on the court. Her jumping ability combined with a high contact point and big arm makes her a huge weapon wherever she is. Kelsie Thompson, OH, ECJ 15-1 – This outside was getting after it with some aggressive attacking. Thompson, a three-star recruit, has a good swing and isn’t afraid to challenge bigger blocks with it. Sakura Codling, L, Tri-State Elite 15 Blue – Codling – who is a three-star recruit – was sharp. She provides a steadying presence in the back row and at times was passing almost 50 percent of the court in serve receive. Jada Aksu, RS, Metro 15 Travel – A three-star recruit, Aksu commands attention from defenses when she’s across the front row. The lefty can carry the offensive load at times with her quick swing and ability to generate pace. Meredith Martin, L, Legacy 14-1 Adidas – Martin was controlling the back row like no else. She was passing lights out in serve receive and was passing nearly half the court. Lexi Shondell, S, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – It appears the future is bright for Shondell. She’s a super smooth disher with great hands and spot-on location. Addyson Bianchini, S/RS, NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami – Bianchini was running a 5-1 and part of a 6-2 at times. She’s an excellent setter with great touch and accuracy. She can also hit across the front row if needed, giving NKYVC lineup options. Layla Hoying, OH, Mintonette Sports m.41 – Hoying was getting after it with her attack. She has a decent jump with a fluid swing. It was leading to some hard kills and consistent scoring. Cala Haffner, L/OH/S, Team Pineapple 14 Black – The first time we watched Haffner she was lineup at outside. The next set she was part of a 6-2, setting and hitting on the left. The next match she was wearing the libero jersey. That’s some amazing versatility and she was doing all three things at an above-average level. Kaniyah Ball, L, Metro 13 Travel – Ball was one of the standout liberos. She was steady in helping anchoring the defense and keeping rallies alive. Morgan Meiring, OH, Elevation 13 Lippert – Meiring was a heavy-hitter on offense, helping carrying the load. She was also nails at middle back and contributing in multiple ways. Kenadi Sieg, L, NKYVC 12-1 Tsunami – One way to describe Sieg’s play was smooth. She was very consistent running the back court. Elise Parker, OH, HPSTL 12 Royal – Parker displayed her skills all around. She passed well out of the backrow. She also was swinging well and providing offense. *** With AM and PM pools taking place Saturday, this is going to be a quick write up because of the late hour. With SummerFest incorporating two, four-team power pools in 14-17 Open none of those teams were eliminated on Day 1 regardless of the results. In 17 Open, the eight teams in power pools were Legacy 17-1 Adidas, Adidas KiVA 17 Red, Top Select 17 Elite and Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite in Pool 1 and Mintonette Sports m.71, Elevation 17 Goller, Paramount 17s and AVC Cle Rox 17 Red in Pool 2. Both Top Select and AVC Cle went 3-0 in their respective pools. Metro 17 Travel and NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami are teams to watch for outside of power pools. Metro went 3-0 in its pool while NKYVC was 2-1, losing to EC Power 17-Steel. As for 16 Open, Metro 16 Travel, Triangle 16 Black, Far Out 16 Black and Union 16-1 formed one power pool. The other consisted of NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami, Tri-State Elite 16 Blue and K2 16-1 Adidas Zac. Metro and NKYVC went 3-0 in their pools. The eight teams appear to