June 14, 2023

We are happy to present our first-ever daily All Red Hat Team! With the vballrecruiter.com team on hand for the start of 14 Open at the AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando, we spent the day like we usually do – scouring the gym and taking in as much action as possible. That brings us to our All Red Hat Team for Day 1 of 14 Open. We’ll be releasing a daily All Red Hat Team for the remainder of our time in Orlando as well as for the USAV Girls Junior National Championships coming up in Chicago at the end of the month. Naturally, you’re wondering what is the All Red Hat Team and how does it differ from our daily Show Stoppers? For starters, we are aiming to put together a daily team consisting of outsides, middles, right sides, setters and liberos who were our absolute favorite players of the day. Favorite doesn’t mean only a 5-star recruit or a familiar name. These are players who stood out to us for a variety of reasons, from amazing play to great energy or attitude or making key hustle plays. In a way, these are daily all-stars who really stood out the most to us for one reason or another. Without further delay, our Day 1 All Red Hat Team for 14 Open is below. ALL RED HAT TEAM Jordyn Jones OH Mich Elite 14 Mizuno: Jones was definitely a personal favorite. What a gamer she is! Though Jones is undersized compared to other outsides we caught, she brings nothing but fire on the court. She was taking aggressive swings and challenging the defense then catching them with well-timed tips to keep them off guard. Carson Caraway OH IVBA 14 Open: Caraway is another with great energy and emotion. We featured her early this season at one of our Elite ID Clinics. At 6-2, she has nice size for any age and a solid arm to back it up with. Carsyn Comer MB Munciana 14 Chipmunks: Comer continues to improve from earlier this season. The 6-0 middle is playing six rotations and taking serves in receive! She’s more than likely a future outside because of it. Comer has a calmer and more stoic demeanor on the court but she’s no less effective in tormenting defenses. They had little answers for her at the net. Kamryn Cocherl MB Mintonette Sports m.41: It looked as if Cocherl came to Orlando for two things – to chew bubble gum and put away sets. And she was all out of bubble gum on Day 1. All I saw her do was power balls down for kills. She’s a bit undersized but Mintonette was feeding her and she was delivering with loud winners. Kaelyn Bjorklund S/RS Northern Lights 14-1: Bjorklund plays a vital role and does it well for Northern Lights hitting and setting. At 6-0, she is a physical presence at the net and does well dishing and feeding her various hitters. She’s another steady player who doesn’t seem to get too high or too down. Emerson Dorr S/RS IVBA 14 Open: Dorr, also a 6-footer, was another who was just coming with it and playing with lots of intensity and determination. She also stood out as a two-way player who flashed plenty of potential. She’s a wirey attacker who can generate pace. She also showed well as setter putting up a nice hittable ball. Josalyn Samuels S Kairos 14 Alpha: Samuels is a future stud! She’s part of the Class of 2028, is playing up an age group and is already touching 9-10. She’s mature for her age and is a step ahead of setters a year older. She’s smooth and does well connecting with her hitters. Sophia Dostic S OT 14 Laura: Dostic is another up-and-coming setter who stood out with her strong play. She has great demeanor on the court as she doesn’t seem to get rattled and remains steady. She was running the offense well, getting her hitters involved and setting a clean ball consistently. Ella Horvick L/DS OT 14 Laura: Horvick was a wall in the back row. She had command, was reading and covering well. She also had on-point passing and provided a defensive edge. Addison Thompson-Stepp L/DS Legacy 14-1 Adidas: Thompson-Stepp is an upbeat libero who was holding it down defensively. She was putting the ball on target and passing well out of serve receive.

The buildup is over. We’ve been hurtling toward the season-ending national championships since the start of the new club year. And here we are, at the start of AAUs in Orlando! The vballrecruiter.com team is fired up for all the action coming our way. We’ll be all over the competition in both Orlando and Chicago as teams look to complete their season in dream fashion – with a gold medal. Kicking off all the fun and excitement is 14 Open, which got underway Wednesday at the Orange County Convention Center. If you aren’t familiar with the AAU format, it’s a bit of a slow build toward the gold bracket. Only fourth-place teams are eliminated from contention on the opening day. That meant only nine teams were bumped from Group 1 for Day 2. So of the 39 teams to start competition, 30 still remain. It changes the next two days, because on Days 2 and 3 only the top-two teams in each pool advance. It’ll ultimately set up the eight-team gold bracket set for Saturday. As for the first day of action, it was not quite the coronation for top seeds as it was last year. Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal – seeded No. 3 overall – was upended by Mauloa 14 Green in the 1 v 2 match. Tribe finished 2-1 while Mauloa fought off the time change from Hawaii to go 3-0. Tri-State Elite 14 Blue – seeded No. 6 overall – went down as well. Vaqueras 14-1 beat Tri-State in the 1 v 2 match to finish in first ahead of Tri-State. GP 14 Rox was a third No. 1 team in its pool to fall. The No. 10 overall seed was swept by Northern Lights 14-1 and finished 2-1 behind 3-0 Northern Lights. Pool 1 was a three-team pool, where all three teams advanced. Out of the remaining nine pools, seven of the No. 4 teams were knocked out after going 0-3. The two exceptions were Elevate Athletics 14 Nike and Panda 14-1 Simo. Both went 1-2 and remain in the hunt. The highest-seeded team to be eliminated was Club V 14 Ren Stef. Club V was the No. 2 team in Pool 5 and was the No. 16 overall seed. *** DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS Jenny Glushakov RS Top Select 14 Elite: A lanky right side, Glushakov has tremendous upside. She stayed in for six rotations and was taking swings out of the back row. She showed nice extension and was hitting at a high contact point. Andie Bowron S Top Select 14 Elite: A bit undersized, Bowron is quick and gets around well on the court. She’s a smooth disher who is on target on the regular. Haley Higgins MB Top Select 14 Elite: Higgins was providing consistent scoring as Top Select was utilizing her effectiveness. She has a nice arm and was putting balls away with pace. Calli LeFevre OH Legacy 14-1 Adidas: A 5-10 outside, LeFevre helps anchor the offense. She has a really good arm and takes big swings to pressure defenses. Kampbell Niepagaen OH SPVB 14 Elite: Niepagaen was another outside who was carrying a big load offensively. Sports Performance was looking for her a lot and she was up for the task. Madeline Bryant S SPVB 14 Elite: Bryant displayed a nice touch and consistent location. She also sets a clean ball regularly. Isabel Incinelli MB WPVC 14 Armour Black: At 6-2, Incinelli stands out. She also has tremendous potential. She was impacting both sides of the net. She also uses her length to her advantage, going over the block. And she also gets sets on the pin as Winter Park moves her around. Ellie Enger OH WPVC 14 Armour Black: Enger was among the better outsides we saw on Day 1. She has a lively arm and was bringing it time and time again. Liliana Tripi S Mich Elite 14 Mizuno: Tripi was among the taller setters in the division. She has a consistent release and nice touch. She also did a good job trying to get her hitters involved. Sophia Farah MB Rev 14-1 Bulldogs: Farah flashed her potential. She’s a strong middle who takes up space and can be tough for defenses to slow. Sophia Azevedo S Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal: Count Azevedo among the players to keep tabs on. She’s a 6-0 setter/right side who was mostly setting on Day 1. With her height, she can be impactful at the net. She puts up a nice block and has unbelievable upside. *** Caitlin Crino S Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal: Crino was also taking on the setting duties. She’s a bit undersized but she moves well and has a clean release. Sage Mattson OH Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal: Mattson is a 6-0 pin who was playing on the outside. She has a big arm and can bash balls down in style. Addison Otto RS Northern Lights 14-1: Otto is another prospect who caught our eye. The lefty is 6-0 and a featured part of the attack when she’s front row. They run her in different spots to get her the ball and keep the defense on its toes. Ryah Cotton S Northern Lights 14-1: Cotton is a setter on the taller side, especially for the age group. She came in to set in the back row and did well locating and keeping her hitters involved. Zaley Madkin OH IVBA 14 Open: Madkin is a bit undersized but has no problem making up for it with her jump. She gets up well and can bring it at times. She unleashed a couple of head-turning kills that showed what her potential could be. Aubrie Wirkkala OH Kokoro 14-1: Wirkkala is a bit undersized at the position but she jumps very well. It helps her unload on the ball and rocket a few big winners. Mesa Jameson MB Kokoro 14-1: Jameson is a taller middle with tons of potential. She’s lanky, moves well and does a good job of