September 8, 2022

The Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament – which we previewed here with teams and players to watch – isn’t the only event happening this weekend that vballrecruiter.com will have boots on the ground at. Members of the team will also be out at the Dave Mohs tournament in Huntington Beach this Friday and Saturday as well. It features the nation’s top-ranked team in Cathedral Catholic of San Diego. The Division 1 field – which features all California teams – consists of seven pools of three teams. Below we highlight the top teams in the field plus players to watch for. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC – The top seed is coming off its victory at the Kamehameha tournament in Hawaii last week. The Dons best be careful not to overlook anyone this weekend as the field contains a few teams capable of pulling off the upset. The country’s top team is led by 5-star recruit and Stanford commit Julia Blyashov. Also on the outside is senior Milan Bayless. Ayva Moi – a junior – is the right side with senior Ryleigh Patterson and junior Jenna Hanes in the middle. Club teammates Amanda Saeger (JR) and Maya Evens (Soph) set and play libero respectively. On the roster but yet to play this season is senior right side Noemie Glover. HUNTINGTON BEACH – The only setback so far this season for the Oilers is a loss to Mater Dei. One of the host schools for the tournament, Huntington Beach is paced by junior setter Dani Sparks and junior outside Haylee LaFontaine. MATER DEI – After securing an opening-season victory over Ann Kang Invitational champion Mira Costa the Monarchs stumbled with losses to Lakewood and Redondo Union. Since they’ve defeated Huntington Beach and Foothill and look to keep the winning streak going this weekend. Junior outsides Isabel Clark and Babi Gubbins are the top kill leaders followed by senior middle Liz Hertzog. Freshman right side Layli Ostovar has also been a contributor, as well as junior right side Cymarah Gordon. Senior Amelie Lima and sophomore Ayva Ostovar have taken on the setting duties with junior Malyssa Cawa suiting up at libero. PALOS VERDES – The Sea Kings have yet to lose on the mainland. The two setbacks suffered to date came to Redondo Union and Sierra Canyon as part of the Ann Kang tourney last month in Hawaii. With sophomore Kaci DeMaria and junior Kendall Beshear on the outside Palos Verdes is a handful to deal with for any opponent. MARYMOUNT – The Sailors are led by standout outside and senior Torrey Stafford. She’s backed by junior outside Kate Martin and senior middles Dior Charles and Catherine Maffei. Setting is senior Lauren Brooker. LA COSTA CANYON – After a tough start to the season, La Costa Canyon has come on of late. The Mavericks downed Torrey Pines in the final to capture the CA Challenge last weekend and followed that by beating a solid Vista Murrieta squad. Sophomore outside Jaidyn Jager is a lineup anchor. Senior Eva Rohrbach gives the team versatility with her ability to play either in the middle or on the left. Junior middle Sienna Manning is another to keep an eye out for as well as senior right side Kate Lewis.  MORE PLAYERS TO WATCH Reese Olson SR OH Corona del Mar Reiley Murphy JR OH Corona del Mar Tatum Johnson JR MB JSerra Charlotte Nowack FR OH JSerra Ruby Hill SO RS JSerra Aubrey Beaver SR OH Temecula Valley Savannah Sheridan FR L Temecula Valley Sofia Williams JR OH San Clemente Quinn Loper SO OH San Clemente Lily Dwinell SR OH San Clemente Makenna Jackson SR L Edison Molly McCluskey JR RS Edison Eva Travis SR OH Laguna Beach Kyra Zaengle SO OH Laguna Beach Brooklyn Yelland SR L Laguna Beach Halie McGinest JR OH Long Beach Poly Anabel Kotzakov SR OH Newport Harbor Brooke Dombkowski SR OH Menlo School Regan Shields JR OH Santa Margarita Memphis Burnett FR OH Santa Margarita Brooklyn Drumwright SO OH Santa Margarita Madyson Smith SR OH Aliso Niguel Nicole Feliciano SR S/RS Aliso Niguel Danet Whiting SR L Aliso Niguel

If it’s a weekend in September we are probably gearing up for another big-time tournament here at vballrecruiter.com. That’s the case with this coming weekend’s Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament (LIVT) hosted by Assumption. I’ll be heading there for the two-day event, which features the best programs from Kentucky and a handful of out-of-state teams like Mother McAuley IL, Mount Notre Dame OH and St. Joseph’s MO. The field features 24 teams broken down into eight pools of three teams. Pool winners from Friday advanced to Saturday’s eight-team gold bracket. Below, we shine a spotlight on the top seeds as well as more players to watch for in action. TEAM SPOTLIGHTS MOTHER MCAULEY IL – The top seed out of Illinois is surely to get its undefeated record challenged over the two days. Ellie White – a 5-11 junior outside hitter – is the team’s kill leader and is off to a hot start to the season. While the Macs do rely a lot on White, the offense behind her is spread out between others who include sophomore outside Sydney Buchanan and junior middle Ellery Rees. Seniors Tess Hayes and Olivia Klapp share setting duties while senior Gigi Navarrete – who was part of 1st Alliance 17 Gold run to the 17 Open gold medal in Indianapolis – suits up at libero. ASSUMPTION KY – The hosts gear up for a busy couple of weeks. After participating in its own tourney over the weekend, the Rockets travel west to take on Mater Dei CA in Orange County before traveling to Las Vegas for the weekend to compete in the Durango Fall Classic. Assumption is off to an 11-0 start, including victories over St. Henry and Mercy. Both those schools are also in the LIVT. Senior setter Whitney Woodrow runs a balanced attack. Junior outside Charlotte Moriarty, junior outside Chloe Smith, senior pin hitter Alexis Strong, sophomore middle Bailey Blair and senior middle Gabrielle Gerry are all players to watch for on the attack. Defensively, Assumption uses sophomore Kristen Simon at the libero position. ST. HENRY KY – After traveling to Florida last weekend for the Nike TOC Southeast tourney, the Crusaders remain in-state and open the LIVT as the No. 3 seed. If an opponent is going to beat St. Henry it needs to contain junior outside Alivia Skidmore, the team’s kill leader. Junior Anna Guard is another to pay attention to. At setter, the Crusaders use juniors in Audrey Leonhard and Macy Lentz. At libero is junior Elizabeth Tabeling, who is averaging over 4.0 digs per set. MOUNT NOTRE DAME OH – The Cougars – who begin as the No. 4 seed – enter this weekend having just three matches under their belts. Seniors Shaye Wolf, Audrey Armbruster and Katie Wilking are all part of the mix. NOTRE DAME KY – As the No. 5 seed, the Pandas should be in contention on Saturday. Senior Sydney Nolan is the big arm and comes in as the kill leader. While Nolan takes the most swings, the trio of sophomore Riley McCloskey, senior Peyton Mast and sophomore Ava Tilden get roughly the same amount of swings and are also key contributors on offense. The Pandas also featuring rising freshman middle Audrey Dyas. The team is also young at the setting position with sophomore Lauren Ott and freshman Lizzy Larkins. It’s the opposite at libero, where the Pandas utilize senior Kamden Schrand. ST. JOSEPH’S MO – Last week we saw Lafayette from Missouri playing in the Nike TOC Southeast event. This weekend it’s another team from the Show Me state in the Angels, who open as the No. 6 seed. Like Notre Dame KY, the Angels use a pair of underclassmen at setter in sophomore Katie Hickman and freshman Charlie Frederick. Outsides in junior Claire Morrissey and sophomore Zoe Baliva take a lot of the swings while senior Madison Smith dons the libero jersey. MERCY KY – The Jaguars – the No. 7 seed – are senior-heavy except at libero, which features sophomore Madisyn Green. Senior setter Cameron Downs’ main target are fellow senior outsides Katie Poynter and Maddie Hagan as well as senior middles Emma Barnett and Meredith Brown. MORE PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR Sophie Henry JR OH Walton GA Kiana Dinn JR OH Ryle KY Alexis Woolf JR L Ryle KY Amanda Mack JR OH Maryville TN Kiernan Stamey JR MB Maryville TN Liv Gravatt SR S Maryville TN Ashley Taylor JR L Maryville TN Annabelle Groomes SO S/OH St. Joseph Academy OH Brooke Green SR OH Clearwater Central Catholic FL Taylor Bedinghaus JR OH Clearwater Central Catholic FL Josephine Hensley SO S Clearwater Central Catholic FL Isabella Pereira SO OH Clearwater Central Catholic FL Trinity Ward SO L Holy Cross KY Alyssa Adams SO L Knoxville Catholic TN Blair Cherry SR OH Knoxville Catholic TN Kennedy Holley JR OH Knoxville Catholic TN Jessica Meiman JR RS Padua Franciscan OH Ava Siefke SR OH St. Ursula Academy OH Ivey Stocks SR MB St. Ursula Academy OH Addy Brus JR OH St. Ursula Academy OH Anna Powell SO OH Sacred Heart KY Elise Hart SO MB Sacred Heart KY