June 20, 2023

And finally!! The one drawback of the AAU format is unless there are big-time upsets in pool play, we have to wait until the fourth and final day for the top teams to actually be on the same court together. Of the 12 teams remaining in gold-medal contention in 15 Open, four are ranked in our Top 10 in No. 1 Skyline 15 Royal, No. 2 Mintonette Sports m.51, No. 3 Boiler Jrs 15 Gold and No. 8 Legacy 15-1 Adidas. The quartet combined to go 12-0 without dropping a set Tuesday. The highest-ranked team eliminated was No. 11 AP 15 Adidas, which fell to both Mintonette and Top Select 15 Elite to finish 1-2. Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal, ranked No. 19, overcame an upset loss to MN Select 15-1 to still win its pool. Tribe downed WPVC 15 Armour Black head-to-head to win the pool outright. There was a lot of drama behind top-seeded Skyline in Pool 1. NE Elite 15 Phoenix, Tri-State Elite 15 Blue and SPVB 15 Elite ended in a three-way tie at 1-2. It was Tri-State catching the break and taking second. Tri-State Elite is ranked No. 25 in our Top 50 and avoided being the second-highest ranked team to not make the gold bracket. Instead, it was No. 30 Jupiter Elite 15E finishing in third in its pool and failing to advance. Here’s how the modified 12-team gold bracket looks for Wednesday:   The way the bracket is set up could lead to an epic chase for gold. If we could see the four teams ranked in the Top 10 all make the semifinals and go from there, that is the best-case scenario from a fan’s perspective. *** DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS Emmi Merhi MB Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal: Merhi fills her role well, providing offense when called upon and doing a fine job of getting her hands on balls. With the outside threat so dangerous, the is opportunity for Tribe to take advantage in the middle and that’s what they do with Merhi. Ashlyn Cobb RS Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal: Cobb is another who helps spread out the Tribe attack or at the very least gives another threat to think about on the pin. She has a good arm and is an aggressive attacker who pressures the defense by not tipping too much. Macy McAmis L/DS Jupiter Elite 15 E: McAmis goes all out in the back row and is all over the court in efforts to make plays and keep rallies going. She’s a steady passer who moves well. Bre Morgan MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: We featured the middle duos from Legacy and Skyline on Day 2 and this go around it’s the pair from Boiler Jrs. They are similar in how the handle the position. Morgan is a strong hitter who hits with authority and puts up a solid block. Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: Resmer assures the middle spot never slows, as she’s another force at the net with her attacking and blocking. She moves well and hits with nice extension. She has a whippy arm and crushes balls. Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: Shondell sets with such smarts and IQ is fun to watch. She has hitters all around her and when in system it is game on! She has a great hands and can locate any set she needs to deliver. She does a great job of getting her hitters one-on-one looks or even confusing defenders to the point no block is up. Sofia Guerrero-Wilson MB A5 15 Bob: Middle is a position of strength in 15 Open and Guerrero-Wilson has to be included in the reason why. She has unbelievable potential. She’s tall at 6-2 and has a cannon for an arm. Taylor Clarke RS Skyline 15 Royal: Clarke – part of the Class of 2025 – is like a cheat code. She hits at such crazy angles and has so much range defenses can’t cover it all. She closed out Skyline’s first victory of the day with back-to-back aces as well. Kiley Brooks L/DS Skyline 15 Royal: There is so much firepower on Skyline that the defensive side can get overlooked. But Brooks handles business in the back row with consistent passing. Gabi DiVita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas: Legacy rolled on Day 3 in part with the attacking of DiVita. She’s a wirey outside who gets off the ground and lets it go with her fluid swing. Combined with her range of shots, she’s one of the top offensive options in the division. *** Brooklynne Brass OH SPVB 15 Elite: Sports Performance’s run ended but Brass did her part in trying to extend it. She’s a bit undersized but gets up and doesn’t hold back. She stays aggressive and doesn’t back down. Elle Mottola S WPVC 15 Armour Black: Mottola is among the top setters here. She’s smooth and dishes a clean ball consistently. She locates well with her soft hands and does well getting her hitters different looks. Sophia Stallworth MB WPVC 15 Armour Black: We featured Stallworth on Day 1 and could feature her every time we see her. She has a huge impact across the front row. She’s quick with a great arm and it makes her such a tough cover. Isabella Umpierre RS WPVC 15 Armour Black: Umpierre is a little undersized on the right side but the lefty is fearless. She has a really nice arm and jumps well. It leads to big kills at times. Amelia Mancino OH WPVC 15 Armour Black: Mancino is also a bit undersize but is a smart attacker who hits from various spots, including running combos. Kaela Jenkins MB Black Swamp 151: Jenkins plays a valuable role for Black Swamp. She changes the dynamic of the attack when she checks in. She hits hard and is someone defenses need to be ready for when in system. Alana Whitfield OH Illini Elite 15 Cardinal: Whitfield was another outside shouldering a

Why do we do this to ourselves? Picking an All Red Hat Team with the type of talent, passion and determination we see on a daily basis from the players and teams we are covering doesn’t make it easy to narrow the list down to only 10 players. Still, we made the tough decisions and choices to bring our All Red Hat Team from Day 3 of 15 Open at AAUs in Orlando. The goal is to highlight a daily team consisting of two players from each position – outside, middle, right side, setter and libero – 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. These are daily all-stars who really stood out the most to us for one reason or another. DAY 3 ALL RED HAT TEAM Ryan Sadler OH A5 15 Bob: Sadler is a walking highlight reel! The outside is listed at 5-11, but that might as well be her vertical the way she jumps. She gets up with ease and floats before unloading with her lively arm. It’s next-level talent and brings plenty of reaction from the sidelines of those watching. Henley Anderson OH AP 15 Adidas: We try hard not to only highlight 5-star recruits on the All Red Hat Team but it’s impossible to ignore Anderson, vballrecruiter.com’s National HS Freshman of the Year. The 6-3 outside is in her own category. The way she extends, the height she hits at, combined with the wrist snap and ability to crush balls with spin down deep in the court is so difficult to cover, especially in 15 Open. She’s hitting shots no one else here is and we know from our time talking with her she has an amazing attitude and outlook. Katie Rowe MB VCNebraska 15 Elite: It was a tough day team-wise, as VCNebraska went 0-3. However, Rowe is exactly the type of player we love to have on the All Red Hat Team. She was working hard in the middle and playing with lots of passion and fire. She flashed nice potential as well as she has a solid arm and was blowing up blocks. Jenna Hunt MB NorCal 15-1 Black: NorCal was also eliminated after going 1-2, but Hunt is another under-the-radar middle who stood out to us with her play and attitude. She’s a physical presence in the middle, one who can power down balls with her big arm and put up a strong block. She’s also showed great passion and competitiveness. Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: Ward is a 5-star recruit from the Class of 2027 and much like Anderson, she does things no one else is doing. She’s an athletic marvel, with her length and jumping ability. She skies, extends and unloads and there’s nothing smaller blockers can do but hope she messes up. That doesn’t happen very often. Lyla Stewart RS Mintonette Sports m.51: We love the way Stewart just comes with it. She has a whippy arm and can really let it loose when she catches one. Not only does she help open up the court, she has a great on-court demeanor and always seems upbeat. Jasmine Daniels S Rev 15-1 Fuego: Rev did well in going 2-1 and staying in the hunt. Daniels was running a 5-1 and doing it very well. She’s a bit undersized compared to other setters but she’s a gamer and competitor. She moves very well and gets to the ball and can fling it around to all of her hitters, including running tempo sets. Mallory Matheny S Mintonette Sports m.51: Depending what Mintonette wants to do, Matheny can run a 5-1 or just set in the back row. Either way, she’s one of the smoother setters in the division. She dishes the ball with ease with soft hands and spot-on location. Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: Hepler is in total control of the back row. She brings a ton of energy to the defensive side and sees plays ahead of time. She’s a sharp passer and defender who doesn’t miss many plays in front of her. Mallory Johnson L/DS Far Out 15 Black: We loved what Johnson was doing. As a libero, she’s more on the stoic side who doesn’t have the big reactions of others. But that doesn’t matter at all as she’s a smooth operator who plays under control and passes dimes all over the court. She also covers well and like Hepler doesn’t miss very many plays. It’s part of the reason why Far Out went 3-0 on Day 3.