June 26, 2022

The 2022 version of AAU in Orlando is all done with after the 16s finished up on Sunday. The 16 Open division concluded with A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe sweeping Tri-State Elite 16 Blue to earn the gold medal. OT 16 Jason and Capitanas 16 earned the bronzes. We’ll have more on that in a separate article. For now, we want to focus on the Day 4 Show Stoppers, which you can find below. Hannah Benjamin, OH, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe – A four-star recruit, Benjamin’s game was on full display as A5 brought home the 16 Open gold medal. She has a big, powerful swing with the ability to hit any part of the court. It makes her a nightmare to defend and cover. Logan Wiley, MB, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe – Another four-star recruit, Wiley also keeps defenses on their toes with her scoring prowess. A5 can use her as a decoy or the main option and she has a wide variety of shots in her bag as well. Gabriela Cornier, L, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe – Cornier isn’t scared of hitting the floor to make a save or pass out of serve receive. She was consistently on point when served and did a nice job making hustle plays throughout the day. Molly Kate Patten, RS, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe – A 6-6, three-star recruit, Patten changes the dynamic of the lineup when she’s across the front row. She puts up a big block and can discourage teams from using their outsides. She’s also someone A5 will use in various spots to attack, including running combo plays to get her swings out of the middle. Lola Schumacher, L, Munciana 16 Moana – Schumacher continued to shine on the final day. A five-star recruit, she commands the back row. She isn’t one to challenge too often in serve receive as she’s rarely off the mark to her target. Lauren Evans, OH, Munciana 16 Moana – The outside duo is a position of strength for Munciana. Evans – a three-star recruit – can mash it at times. She’s an aggressive, free swinger and challenges defenses to make plays on her. Delaney Lawson, OH, Munciana 16 Moana – Lawson – a three-star recruit – is similar in her ability to pressure defenses. She’s lanky with nice extension and can generate lots of pace on her swings. Melina Schrader, S, Munciana 16 Moana – A bit undersized, Schrader has a sharp release and is on target regularly. She does well getting her various hitters involved when in system. Kate Duffey, S/RS, City 16 Gold – A vital piece of the puzzle, Duffey plays a key role as a setter and hitter. She has a nice touch and shows consistent location setting. On the attack, she can bring heat at times. Madeline Way, MB, City 16 Gold – Way – a three-star recruit – is a legitimate scoring threat out of the middle. She has a great extension with high contact and can send balls down over and over. Jenna Garner, OH, City 16 Gold – A three-star recruit, Garner carries a good chunk of the offensive load. She has a nice arm and keeps coming at blockers and defenders. Elana Erickson, OH, Far Out 16 Black – Erickson – a three-star recruit – was difficult to slow down in the Round of 16 matches. She was showing her smarts, hitting off speed shots to open spots or taking her swing down the line. Audrey Kocon, S/RS, Northern Lights 16-1 – Kocon fills a valuable role as a setter and hitter. She was consistent hitting her spots when in the back row. Up front, the lefty was putting pop on her swings and was a reliable scoring option. Julia Kakkis, S/RS, Momentous 16 Dan – Another setter/right side, Kakkis does well putting up a hittable ball on a consistent basis. She also carries a big arm and can hammer balls at times.     Isabel Clark, OH, Momentous 16 Dan – A three-star recruit, Clark is who Momentous turns to when it is in need of a point. She has a powerful swing and can slam kills down when the opportunity is there. Annah Legaspi, L, Momentous 16 Dan – Legaspi – a three-star recruit – is routinely on point when she’s targeted in serve receive. She does well covering tips and touches and was showing her ability to run down errant balls and extend rallies. Taylor Parks, S, OT 16 Jason – This three-star recruit is smooth with her delivery. She can be hard to read and is rarely off her mark. Maria Happ, MB, OT 16 Jason – Happ – a three-star recruit – proved to be a great scoring presence. She was consistently scoring when her number was called, showing power at times with big kills. Bailey Higgins, RS, OT 16 Jason – A three-star recruit, Higgins is an offensive weapon any team would love to have. The lefty can sky and rip it, making her tough to dig. Camdyn Stucky, S, Shockwave 16 Sean – Watching Stucky it’s easy to see why she’s a four-star recruit. She has a great touch and sets a clean ball seemingly every time. She knows how to mix it up by going to her various hitters and keeping defenses guessing. Gracie Morrow, OH, Shockwave 16 Sean – Morrow – a three-star recruit – was at it again. She provides valuable offense with her ability to score in a variety of ways. London Wijay, OH, Supernova 16 All Star – A three-star recruit, Wijay carries a lot of the offensive load. She can score from all over. She jumps and swings well and helps keep Supernova in matches at times. Mallorie Meyer, L, VCNebraska 16 Ellite – Meyer was solid in both her passing and defending skills. She did well chasing down balls and showing her range. Faith Young, MB, Tri-State Elite 16 Blue – Young was a menace out of the middle. She has

The 16 Open division at AAU in Orlando is winding down. Day 3 was key in that it decided the final 14 teams for the gold bracket. Given that, there was fierce competition as clubs fought and scrapped for one of those spots. Below, we highlight the Show Stoppers, featuring the players who caught our attention the most. Logan Wiley, MB, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe – A four-star recruit, Wiley was scoring at will. A5 was running her on quicks and slides. It didn’t matter, she was pounding kills either way. Meghan Roggenkamp, L, Northern Lights 16-1 – Roggenkamp was defending with a passion. She made plenty of nice saves in helping hold down the back row defense. Kamryn Utley, S, Rev 16-1 – A three-star recruit, Utley was doing a good job of spotting her sets accurately. She also showed a nice touch and consistent release. Lauren Harden, OH, Rev 16-1 – Harden – a five-star recruit – is a difference anywhere she is on the court. She’s long and can go over blocks. Or she hits hard enough to blow them up. She proved difficult to slow time and time again. Reese Wuebker, OH, Tri-State 16 Elite – Wuebker was part of a strong outside attack for Tri-State. A three-star recruit, Wuebker jumps well and swings fast. It allows her to generate pace on her shots and makes her tough to dig. Addy Brus, OH, Tri-State 16 Elite – Another three-star recruit on the left for Tri-State, Brus was also tough to slow consistently. She was displaying nice extension on her swings and hitting at a high contact point. Leah Richmond, S, Academy 16 Yeti – Richmond has good hands and soft touch. She was on point with her location. She was also helping on the defensive end with blocks for points. Samantha Bowron, OH, Top Select 16 Elite – Top Select has a strong outside duo, with Bowron – a three-star recruit – a part of it. She can get up well and swings hard. It makes for big kills at times. Dionna Mitchell, OH, Top Select 16 Elite – A three-star recruit, Mitchell can also jump well and swings hard. Given that, she puts a lot of pressure on the defenders to make plays as she brings the heat. Jayda Redd, RS, Top Select 16 Elite – Redd – a three-star recruit – was a reliable scoring option. She has a big arm and was popping winners with authority. Chelsea Sutton, MB, OT 16 Will – Sutton – a three-star recruit – contributes on both sides of the ball. When in system, she’s always a viable scoring threat. She can also be a menace with her blocking. Connor Rahn, OH, OT 16 Will – A lanky outside, this three-star recruit has a fluid swing and high contact point. It allows her to go over smaller blockers. She also hits with pace and can be tough to dig up. Jenna Garner, OH, City 16 Gold – Garner – a three-star recruit – was attacking with a vengeance. She was ripping balls through the seam and down the line and scoring lots of points. Havyn Rolle, MB, City 16 Gold – Rolle showed her value on both sides of the ball. She was getting up and sending balls down with power. She was also touching and blocking balls when attacked against. Landry Braziel, OH, OP2 16-1 – Braziel was taking aggressive cuts and was backing down. OP2 likes to move her around, running her on the combo to utilize her scoring ability. Juleigh Urbina, S, OT 16 Roberto – Urbina – a three-star recruit – has a good release and consistently sets a clean ball. She was doing well running the offense, getting her hitters good looks. Fallon Stewart, OH, OT 16 Roberto – Stewart can be tough to slow down. She’s long with a high contact point. She’ll go right over the block with big rips at the ball. Bailey Higgins, RS, OT 16 Jason – Higgins – a three-star recruit – can be an offensive force. She gets up very well with a fluid swing. She can bring real heat and is tough to keep in check consistently. Taylor Parks, S, OT 16 Jason – A three-star recruit, Parks has a very nice hands and a soft touch. She can go behind her with ease and is rarely off the mark with her delivery. Kyla Firestone, S, Supernova 16 All Stars – Firestone is a bit undersized but she’s quick and gets to the ball well. She hits her spots regularly and does well moving the ball around. Alanah Clemente, RS, Supernova 16 All Stars – A freshman playing up, Clemente has huge upside. She’s a long 6-0 and a lefty. She can really extend and hits well when the set is lined up. Taylor Lewis, MB, Munciana 16 Moana – Lewis – a three-star recruit – is someone defenses have to pay attention to. Munciana loves going to her and she has the ability to score on slides or quicks with her big arm. Lola Schumacher, L, Munciana 16 Moana – A five-star recruit, Schumacher is a defensive force. She makes everything she does look easy and smooth, from passing in serve receive to showing great range in coverage. Lauren Evans, OH, Munciana 16 Moana – Evans keeps coming at blockers and doesn’t let up. A three-star recruit, she has a nice swing and can power balls deep cross court to the corner regularly. Amanda Mack, OH, K2 16 Adidas – A four-star recruit, Mack is the go-to on the left for K2. When the opportunity is there, she can unleash with a fury and crush balls down. Natalie De Paula, S/RS, Tribe 16 Elite – De Paula is a vital piece of the lineup with her setting and hitting. She has a nice touch and accurate delivery. Though she’s a bit undersized, she might be even more valuable on the attack. She’s a