January 17, 2023

It’s always fun traversing the country and coming across players we have not seen before. Part of the vballrecruiter.com team spent the past weekend in Cleveland at the JVA Rock’N Rumble doing exactly that. You can catch up on Day 1 happenings here and see who took home the trophies here. Below, we highlight the Show Stoppers from the weekend, the players who caught our attention the most over the two days. DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS Maddie Zechman S/RS EliteVBTC 16 Black: Elite tied for fifth after falling to AVC Cle 16 White in the quarterfinals. Zechman was sound all weekend playing a dual role setting and hitting. We never saw her leave the floor and she contributed in big ways. Kayden McKinney OH EliteVBTC 16 Black: McKinney had her moments, flashing upside as she delivered impressive kills. She’s a wirey outside with a nice arm and she carried her share of the attack. Eva Dittmar OH EliteVBTC 17 Black: Dittmar is a solid outside with a fluid arm. She’s one of the keys on offense, getting the ball quite a bit and helping keep the offense ticking along. Alec Rothe MB Elite VBTC 17 Black: We mentioned Rothe on Day 1 as well. The 4-star Florida recruit is an amazing talent. At 6-3, her length separates her and combined with her big arm, she’s a for-sure next-level contributor. Jenna Shedden OH Southwest 16 Ashley: Southwest had a weekend, reaching the semifinals before falling to eventual champ Pitt Elite 16 Elite. Shedden was a strong contributor throughout the weekend. She stayed aggressive on the outside and was asked to hold it down offensively. Makenna Quigley RS CVC 16 Black: An undersized right side, Quigley has a lively arm and doesn’t hold back. She was getting after it on the attack and giving CVC a threat on the right side that defenses had to respect. Reagan Ennist OH LVC 17-1 (2025): The 6-2 Ennist is a 4-star recruit who caught our attention walking by a court with her length and big arm. She was blasting balls consistently as she was going over smaller blocks like nothing. Chloe Smith RS AVC Cle 16 White: Smith was part of a surprising AVC team that reached the final on Sunday. Smith is an athletic right side who can get off the ground and send it down. Smaller or late blockers paid the price time and time again as she shined in her offensive role. Thea Beran L/DS AVC Cle 16 White: Beran was a steady, reliable passer. She did well keeping AVC in system and helping AVC have a successful weekend. Mi-Na Diggs OH AVC Cle 16 White: Both outsides were key for AVC. Diggs is undersized but she jumps well and isn’t deterred challenging bigger blocks. She gets after it and doesn’t hold back. Fiona Greulich OH AVC Cle 16 White: A lot of the same can be said of Greulich, who gave AVC an inspirational 1-2 punch on the outside. Greulich is also undersized compared to others in the division but she was a firecracker on the left and helped lift AVC. Cassidy Trahan L/DS Pitt Elite 16 Elite: Pitt Elite pulled off the surprise victory and took home the gold. Trahan was a solid presence in the back row and did well defending her space. Ella Koziara OH Pitt Elite 16 Elite: Pitt will rotate their OH2s, with Koziara taking care of business when she was called upon. She’s a hard hitter and brings some power to the attack. Ella Nicotra OH Pitt Elite 16 Elite: Nictora is the tallest member of the Pitt attack. Her length helped at times when she could go against smaller blockers. Natalie Carr OH Pitt Elite 16 Elite (2026): We wrote about Carr on Day 1. The six-rotation mainstay was back at it on Day 2. While Pitt can rotate lineups, we didn’t see Carr come off the court. She was an all-around contributor and a big part of why Pitt took home gold. Isabelle Hoppe S Pitt Elite 16 Elite: Hoppe is another Day 1 Show Stopper we highlighted. She’s a stoic setter, hardly ever showing any emotion. She’s really steady and consistent with her location and sets a very hittable ball. *** DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS Amber Watson OH NOVA 16 Navy: Watson was giving NOVA a steady scoring option as she delivered her share of points. She was also showing up well in serve receive, putting the ball on target consistently. Julia Angert L/DS Clev Prime 16.1: Angert was holding it down in the back row and doing well extending rallies. Jordyn Hughes MB Dead Frog 16 Black: At 5-10 and touching 10-0, Hughes has no issues getting off the ground. She’s a quick leaper at that. When Dead Frog was able to connect cleanly with her, watch out. Hughes can get up and send it down in a hurry. Kaylie McIntosh OH OPVC 16 Robinson: We wrote a bit about McIntosh above. She’s a key offensive piece for OPVC. When she’s able to really extend and connect, it’s fun to watch. Mariah Gaines OH OPVC 16 Robinson: With Gaines, opponents don’t get a break. She’s a different hitter than McIntosh but she can be equally effective. She sent a couple to the floor that had the fans clapping in appreciation. Zari Gillispie MB OPVC 16 Robinson: Gillispie is a very active middle. She’s always moving, trying to read to set up the block or get herself positioned to attack. Natalie Carr OH Pitt Elite 16 Elite (2026): Carr is playing up and is a six-rotation anchor for Pitt Elite. She provides offense both front and back row and helps to steady out serve receive. Isabelle Hoppe S Pitt Elite 16 Elite (2026): Hoppe is also playing up an age group. She has a soft, consistent touch and locates well. Isabelle Bardin S/RS Metro 16 Travel: Bardin does a lot for Metro, from her setting to her hitting. She’s able to

With the seedings tossed in the air on a wild Day 1, who knew what the conclusion of 17 Open was going to look like as the JVA Rock’N Rumble wrapped up in Cleveland on Sunday? As for 16 Open, a mild Day 1 quickly gave way to a big upset to open Day 2. A couple of thoughts I walked away from Saturday with was Metro 16 Travel was a true No. 1 seed in 16 Open and should be able to hold it all the way through. Another centered around Pitt Elite 16 Elite. Despite being the No. 15 seed overall, Pitt Elite looked like a dark horse or sleeper team which could rise up and surprise. As the draw happened to break in 16 Open, it was Metro and Pitt Elite matched up against each other in one of the eight challenge matches Sunday morning, with the winner getting a spot in the gold bracket quarterfinals. Something had to give though, either Metro knocking out a potential sleeper or Pitt Elite delivering the upset and looking to keep it rolling. After a true thriller with Pitt Elite escaping, 21-25, 25-17, 23-21, we had part of our answer. Now, could Pitt Elite finish the deal? Pitt kept it going by downing Defensa 16 Purple, 25-19, 24-26, 15-10, and Southwest 16 Ashley, 27-25, 25-18, to reach the final, where another surprise team was waiting in AVC Cle 16 White. AVC opened as the No. 12 overall seed, going 2-1 on Day 1 with a loss to Pakmen 16U Gold. Yet, AVC got hot on Day 2 and was playing very well, taking out Rock City 16-1 in challenge play then upsetting both EliteVBTC 16 Black, 25-23, 21-25, 15-8, and OPVC 16 Robinson, 28-26, 25-19, to set up the unexpected clash for the title. It was Pitt Elite hoisting the trophy after outlasting AVC in three, 25-16, 22-25, 15-11. Last year, Pitt Elite took 33rd in 15 National in Indy and with most everyone back will look to jump up the charts this season. Winning Rock’N Rumble is a great start, especially beating an Open hopeful like Metro on the way to the championship. In 17 Open, it was No. 6 overall seed Rock City 17-1 sweeping its way to the championship, including taking down HRVC Hurricanes 17, 25-13, 25-22, in the final. Rock City scored a solid victory in the semifinals, sweeping original top seed Legacy 17-1 Adidas in the semifinals. Legacy was upset by AVC Cle 17 White on Day 1, part of an afternoon full of them. However, AVC was unable to make it past Sunday morning’s challenge bracket, falling to Maverick 17 Elite, 25-22, 25-21. Meanwhile, Legacy fended off EliteVBTC 17 Black, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12, while Rock City swept NOVA Jrs 17 Navy, 25-20, 25-15, as both advanced. In 18 Open, Pakmen 18 Gold swept EliteVBTC 18 Black, 26-24, 29-27, in the championship match. Pakmen went 6-0 on the weekend. CVC 18 Black and Premier Academy 18 Onitsuka finished tied for third. We’ll have our tournament Show Stoppers from Rock’N Rumble out this week as well, so check back for that.