Triple Crown Day 3: Show Stoppers (12-14s)
The 2023 version of the Triple Crown NIT is over. But vballrecruiter.com’s coverage is not. Below, you can find our version of the Day 3 Show Stoppers, featuring the players who stood out the most to us from the 12-14s divisions. Mary-Christine (MC) Crutcher OH Excel 12 Red: MC is a six-rotation outside hitter built with strength, fire and explosion. Skye Lincoln OH Excel 12 Red: Lincoln helps bolster her team’s dominance by swinging away on the outside. And like her teammate MC she brings a lot of fire to the court. Gabriella Fiori S Excel 12 Red: Fiori is a steady setter who puts up a clean ball in good locations for her hitters to score. Anna Lukas S Excel 12 Red: Lukas’ serve was pretty much unstoppable. Oh, and she is court savvy with a great touch. Maveti Faumuina OH Mizuno Long Beach 12 Rockstar: Faumuina is a young athlete who definitely rises to any occasion. She definitely showed her strength, aggression and feistiness on the court. Delaney Holder S Mizuno Long Beach 12 Rockstar: Holder again ran the 5-1 setter position with confidence and direction. Lily Vandeweghe MB Mizuno Long Beach 12 Rockstar: Vandeweghe is literally a WALL. She has such a knack for tracking the ball and sealing the net. Charlee Bengard MB Mizuno Long Beach 12 Rockstar: Like her teammate, can also track the ball incredibly well for her age. Collins Alonzo L Madfrog 12 Green: Alonzo helps set a rhythm for her squad every time she touches the ball. She’s a great passer and dares teams to come at her. Kennedy Jefferson S Madfrog 12 Green: Jefferson has a soft touch and incredibly fast feet. Harper Krawiec OH 1United 12N Jennifer: Krawiec is a key component, as she’s the team’s most powerful scorer. She also showed up well in the back row. Katie Kinzig MB 1United 12N Jennifer: Kinzig is a technical undersized middle blocker BUT jumps incredibly well along with the ability to hit a heavy ball. Brylie Milo OH KC Power 12 Black: A six-rotation outside hitter, Milo gets up well, swings hard and unloads with a fury when she connects. Maggie Nash L KC Power 12 Black: Nash was a steadying presence defensively along with being a reliable passer out of serve receive Kari Knotts OH A5 12-LA: Knotts is one of the many offensive weapons on her squad. She’s a handful for defenses and she can unload on the ball well. Gia Stokes MB A5 12-LA: Stokes puts up a wall of a block and causes problems for hitters coming at her. Macurdy Harden OH A5 12-LA: Harden is a gamer and a smart hitter. Bella Turcios L Tstreet 13-Bailey: Turcios was great in both her passing and defending and really took ownership of the back row. Abby Moffett S/Opp Tstreet 13-Bailey: Moffett is strong, sets on point and delivers reliable and consistent offense across the front. Ava Champagne OH Tstreet 13-Bailey: Champagne is a strong, hard hitter who puts plenty of pressure on the defense with her scoring abilities. Bethany Benjamin OH A5 13 Karen: Benjamin is a savvy six-rotation outside hitter who brings fire to the court. Meredith Abney L A5 13 Karen: Abney creates such a great rhythm in the libero position for her squad. She’s also incredibly cunning defensively. Leah Stickney OH A5 13 Karen: Like her teammate Benjamin, Stickney is a geat six-rotation outside hitter. She’s an aggressive swinger and doesn’t back down. Kayleigh Rogers OH Adidas KIVA 13 Red: Rogers is a gamer on the attack. She can bring serious heat at times while also tooling blocks with smart swings. Lyla Crowder MB 1United 13N Bill: Crowder is a strong presence in the middle. She moves side to side well and gets up on the block to cause problems for attackers. Aleyna Bramschreiber S/Opp Madfrog 13 Green: Whether it’s hitting or setting, Bramschreiber is a gamer. She reads her opponents well and dishes with precision. Maya Ogbogu OH Madfrog 13 Green: Ogbogu is a huge weapon on the outside. Basically when she connects with the ball its “hammer time”. Brynli Burgess L Madfrog 13 Green: Burgess was literally everywhere on the court. She’s smooth and steady on the backline. Chloe Kim S Madfrog 13 Green: She showed a nice touch and was consistent in mixing up her sets and getting her hitters involved. Olivia Permenter OH TAV 13 Black: Permenter can get up well, swings hard and unloads with a fury when she connects. Sarah Floyd Opp/OH TAV 13 Black: Floyd, a lefty, is a huge pin for her squad. She has a strong, powerful arm and doesn’t hold back too often. Caitlin Carrizales OH TAV 13 Black: Carrizales isn’t as tall as her teammates on the outside, but this six-rotation athlete is a scrapper. Her defensive reactions and hitting smarts help bolster her squad. Brynn Stephens/Sophee Peterson S/RS TAV 14 Black: Stephens and Peterson are such integral parts and were keys to the squad winning 14 Open. They both set in the back and hit across the front, bringing high-level skill to the setting position and showing smarts with their attacking. Naomi Livings OH TAV 14 Black: Livings was bringing the boom, sending down loud, powerful kills in helping TAV get past Arizona Storm in the semifinals. Livings was adding the wow factor and firing up the team in the process. Mariah Akinsola MB TAV 14 Black: Akinsola can make herself known in the middle with both her blocking and attacking. She has a great ceiling and is one to watch as she continues to improve. Nyla Livings MB TAV 14 Black: Livings is a force across the front and can change the dynamics of the match with her ability to impact both sides of the ball. Kendall Omoruyi MB Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Omoruyi is such a presence in the middle with her length and size. She closes gaps in a hurry with her blocking while being able to see over the defense and hurt defenses with the variety of ways she can score. Pulelehua Laikona L/DS Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Laikona showed her range and grit covering the back row against big-swinging opponents and
